UT2 (SCW) Chris Chanley cuts wood for CBU 410's compund rehabilitation project. Photos by JO2 Mike England

CBU 410 builds upon the Seabee tradition

By JO1 Mike England
Assistant Editor

If you were to ask your average Sailor just what exactly the Seabees do, you might get a response like, ''aren't those the guys that can build an entire base with nothing but a pack of matches and a couple of popsicle sticks?''

That might seem like a slight exaggeration, but a Seabee can look like MacGyver compared to your average Bob Villa wanna be. Life for the Navy Seabees of Construction Battalion Unit (CBU) 410 aboard NAS Jacksonville might not be that exciting, but they nonetheless perform a wide variety of tasks in support of warfighter readiness that are essential to the Navy's operations.

''CBU 410 provides peacetime construction in support of the local commander, and maintains the capability to support fleet hospital operations.

Additionally, we provide the base commander the capability to perform disaster relief operations and reinforce the installations security posture during increased threat conditions. Our peacetime construction projects greatly improve the quality of life for all NAS Jax personnel.,'' said CBU 410 Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Lt. j.g. Russell Bates.

EO3 Eric Dennis builds a form for a concrete footer at the pass and identification construction site.

Bates assumed the duties as OIC of CBU 410 June 18. He relieved Lt. Aaron Chetelat who had been the unit's OIC since September of 2002.

CBU 410 is comprised of one Civil Engineer Corps officer, and seven enlisted Seabee ratings, which are: Builder (BU), Steelworker (SW), Engineering Aid (EA), Construction Elect-rician (CE), Utilitiesman (UT), Equipment Operators (EO), and Construction Mechanic (CM). Also assigned to the unit are an independent duty Storekeeper (SK) and Yeoman (YN).

With all construction trades represented, CBU 410 is capable of performing a wide variety of construction tasking, ranging from quality of life improvements to contingency operations.

''Regardless of their rate, each Seabee knows they are a warfighter. We take our responsibilities as warfighters every bit as seriously as we do the project we're working on at the time,'' said CBU 410 Assistant Officer-in-Charge SWCS(SCW) Charles Thomas.

EOCA Jeremy Jones assembles a shelving unit for CBU 410's compund rehabilitation project.

A Seabee project crew consists of a project supervisor, a crew leader, a safety petty officer and direct labor personnel.

The project supervisor is responsible for project management, quality and safety compliance, coordinating material procurement, preparing submittals, and coordinating the efforts of his workforce.

A crew leader is responsible for all work conducted at the project site and ensures that project plans are being executed correctly. The safety petty officer ensures the crew employs operational risk management in each phase of work, identifies potential safety concern areas, and makes sure personal protective equipment is being used when required..

Much of the unit's time is spent ensuring that its personnel's skills are at the highest level possible. Each March and October, the CBU sends members to Camp Pendleton, Calif. for fleet hospital training. This training consists of setting up a 100-bed fleet hospital and establishing a public works department. The public works support provided by the Seabees includes emergency and routine maintenance for electrical and mechanical systems as well as a fire fighting team and an auxiliary security force.

BU3 D'Angelo Hayes uses a transit to make sure everything at the T-Box construction site is built level. Photos by JO2 Mike England

The CBU's primary mission is to support fleet hospital operations in a contingency environment. CBU-410 conducts regular training for fleet hospital missions and each Seabee has his or her own specific jobs and responsibilities.

For example, a BU is responsible for controlling and maintaining all builder shop equipment and vertical construction. They are also required to plan and estimate all projects to support the fleet hospital.

''It takes a lot of team work and training to finish projects quickly, safely and on time,'' said Thomas.

Like the BUs, the SWs are also responsible for their shops and provide construction planning and estimations for small fleet hospital projects.

The CEs are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance on the generator systems for the base camp and the hospital. They also assist with assembling and disassembling the tentage. Performing basic fire fighting procedures is also a requirement of the CEs.

The layout for the fleet hospital is performed by engineering aids using blueprints and standard layout equipment such as surveyors, Philadelphia rods and measuring tapes.

The CMs are assigned to the motor pool where one mechanic is responsible for six pieces of civil engineering support equipment (CESE). They also perform regular maintenance such as oil changes, tune-ups and change worn parts. The mechanics also have the responsibility of fixing any CESE that breaks down.

EOs set up a special motor pool. They assist the other rates with transportation. A major task for them is operating cargo-handling equipment during the assembling and disassembling of the fleet hospital such as 4,000-lb. forklifts and 15-ton cargo trucks. EOs are also designated as emergency vehicle operators.

UTs are responsible for the set up of the base camp heads, mobile utility medical, field laundry and the camp galley. They also set up and maintain the water distribution system and operate sewage trucks, water tankers and hazardous material trucks when an EO is not available.

The Seabees who are assigned to the CBU must also keep their weapons skills at the highest level which means training yearly and qualifying on numerous weapons.

''Every Seabee O3 and below must remain current on their M-16 qualification,'' Bates said.

The training is designed to increase the unit's mobilization readiness in basic military combat skills. Many times, the Seabees work alongside Marine Expeditionary Units and other combat units, and need to be as proficient in defensive combat as they are with their construction skills.

''Regardless of whatever changes the Navy or the Seabees go through, our basic mission will always be to build what needs to be built whenever and wherever the need be,'' Bates concluded.