Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, commonly abbreviated NMCB 3, is a United States Navy Seabee unit headquartered at Port Hueneme, California. It is an operational military organization rather than a commercial consumer brand, and its work centers on expeditionary construction, infrastructure development, engineering, maintenance, and support of naval, Marine Corps, and joint forces. The battalion belongs to the Navy’s Seabee community, whose personnel combine construction trades with military training and the ability to operate in austere or combat environments. NMCB 3 traces its origins to the first group of Naval Construction Battalions authorized during the early months of the Second World War. The original Construction Battalion 3 was organized in 1942, when the Navy sought to create military construction units capable of building and maintaining bases in remote areas. The battalion initially operated through geographically dispersed company detachments. Elements were sent to Bora Bora, Nouméa in New Caledonia, and Fiji, where they performed base construction and related engineering work. A company associated with the battalion was later integrated into the 3rd Battalion, 22nd Marines, and participated in amphibious operations in the Marshall Islands, including actions at Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok. The battalion’s wartime work also included urgent naval repair. In 1942, Seabees from its B Company helped repair the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise at Nouméa after damage sustained in the Pacific fighting. The emergency work was completed under severe time pressure and allowed the carrier to return to operations. Other elements developed facilities at Nouméa, including a destroyer base, a pontoon assembly capability, and an aviation-engine rebuild facility. The original battalion was reorganized and ultimately decommissioned in 1944. The unit was reactivated as Mobile Construction Battalion 3 at Port Hueneme on 15 July 1950. Its early postwar assignments included a classified engineering survey on Amchitka in the Aleutians and a major, multiyear construction effort at Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines. At Cubi Point, Seabees moved large quantities of earth and coral, cut through a mountain, reclaimed part of Subic Bay, and created a long airfield and carrier-capable waterfront facility. The battalion subsequently worked on Okinawa, in Thailand, and at other Pacific locations, including construction associated with Marine Corps Air Facility Futenma. During the Vietnam War, the battalion made several deployments to Vietnam and built or improved hundreds of facilities for Marine and Army formations. Its assignments included work at Da Nang, Chu Lai, Phu Bai, Gia Le, Quang Tri, and associated combat bases. Projects included airfields, roads, bridges, ammunition bunkers, fuel storage, quarries, combat-base infrastructure, and general engineering support. In 1967, detachments from several Seabee battalions formed the temporary “Ghost Battalion” to construct an urgently needed airfield at Quang Tri. NMCB 3 also supported the defense and improvement of Gia Le during the Tet period and the Battle of Hue City. In 1968, the Navy adopted the NMCB designation because the Marine Corps also used MCB for Marine Corps Base. NMCB 3 remains a deployable Navy construction unit. Its modern mission is to provide self-sufficient construction and engineering forces for contingency operations, base development, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, and support to fleet and joint commands. Available reference material establishes its Port Hueneme home port and its continuing Seabee identity, but does not provide a current commander, official unit website, current deployment schedule, or a complete post-Vietnam operational chronology.

The unit originated in the Navy’s 1942 expansion of military construction capability. Following authorization to recruit construction tradesmen for three Naval Construction Battalions, the men received military preparation while the Seabee organization was being established. Construction Battalion 3 began arriving at Camp Rousseau at Port Hueneme in May 1942 and became the first construction battalion to use the newly opened base. During World War II, the battalion operated through separate company detachments. A Company sent personnel to Bora Bora to reinforce the Bobcats of Construction Detachment 1. B Company went to Nouméa, New Caledonia, while C and D Companies went to Fiji. The Nouméa element worked on facilities including a destroyer base and a pontoon assembly operation. It also established an aviation-engine rebuilding facility. When the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise reached Nouméa after battle damage, 75 Seabees from B Company joined personnel from USS Vestal in making emergency repairs. The work continued around the clock and enabled Enterprise to return to action during the Guadalcanal fighting. A Company’s Bora Bora element was later combined with the Bobcats and transferred into the 3rd Battalion, 22nd Marines. After field military training and amphibious preparation, the formation took part in operations in the Marshall Islands, including landings and combat at Engebi, Parry, and Eniwetok. The unit received recognition associated with the Eniwetok operation, while the Enterprise repair work was connected with the carrier’s later combat participation and Presidential Unit Citation context. The original CB 3 was reformed in New Caledonia in 1944, returned to California, and was ordered disbanded in July before being decommissioned in August. On 15 July 1950, the battalion was reactivated at Port Hueneme as MCB 3. One of its first assignments was a classified survey on Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands, where its personnel drilled test holes to assess ground and hydrologic conditions relevant to possible nuclear testing. In October 1951, the battalion went to the Philippines for the construction of Naval Air Station Cubi Point. The project required relocation of the Banicain settlement, extensive mountain excavation, and the placement of blasted coral and other fill into Subic Bay and adjacent wetlands. The resulting air station and pier represented one of the largest earthmoving projects undertaken by the Seabees and took several years to complete. Later postwar assignments included construction work on Okinawa, at Marine Corps Air Facility Futenma, and at Nakhon Phanom in Thailand. The battalion also served at other Pacific locations, including Okinawa and Guam. These assignments reflected the Seabee model of deploying construction specialists with the military organization and equipment needed to create or sustain forward bases. MCB 3 first deployed to Vietnam in May 1965. At Da Nang and later at Chu Lai and Gia Le, its personnel constructed and improved hundreds of facilities for the Marine Corps and other U.S. forces. Work included roads, airfield improvements, ammunition storage, fuel infrastructure, quarries, bridges, camps, and general engineering. At the Monkey Mountain facility, the battalion improved difficult road and mountain sites and prepared ground for a missile battery. In 1967, the battalion deployed to Phu Bai in support of the Third Marine Division. It improved an air facility, developed a quarry, helped build Camp Eagle for the 101st Airborne Division, and constructed a large petroleum, oil, and lubricants facility on Tan My Island. An urgent airfield project near Quang Tri brought together detachments from multiple Seabee battalions. The combined force became known as the Ghost Battalion and completed the project under a compressed schedule. NMCB 3 also built and improved Gia Le combat base, which was completed in time for the Tet Offensive and the fighting around Hue. In July 1968, NMCB 3 returned to Da Nang. It worked at Camp Faulkner, on ammunition bunkers, at Camp Haskins South, and on the NSA Bridge Cargo Ramp. Other assignments involved runway matting at An Hoa, improvements on Highway 1 through Hai Van Pass, and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge on Liberty Road. A planned Vietnam deployment in 1969 was changed, and the battalion instead went to Okinawa for work at Camp Kinzer. In 1968, the Navy formally adopted the NMCB designation because the Marine Corps used MCB to mean Marine Corps Base. The unit continues as a deployable Seabee construction battalion based at Port Hueneme.

• 1968

  Designation changed from MCB to NMCB

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  The Navy introduced the NMCB designation to distinguish Naval Mobile Construction Battalions from Marine Corps Bases.

• 1967

  Ghost Battalion airfield project

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  NMCB 3 detachments contributed to the rapid construction of a classified airfield near Quang Tri.

• 1965

  First Vietnam deployment

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  MCB 3 began its first of several Vietnam tours, supporting construction for Marine Corps and other U.S. units.

• 1956

  Cubi Point facility commissioned

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  The major Philippine air station and associated pier were commissioned after extensive earthmoving and reclamation.

• 1951

  Cubi Point construction assignment begins

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  The battalion arrived in the Philippines and began a multiyear project to build Naval Air Station Cubi Point.

• 1950

  Reactivated at Port Hueneme

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  The unit was reactivated as Mobile Construction Battalion 3 on 15 July.

• 1944

  World War II battalion decommissioned

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  After returning to California from New Caledonia, the original battalion was disbanded and decommissioned.

• 1942

  Original construction battalion authorized and formed

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  Construction Battalion 3 was among the first three U.S. Navy construction battalions created during the Seabee expansion of World War II.

• 1942

  First Port Hueneme arrival

  [1]Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org

  The battalion began arriving at Camp Rousseau in May and operated through detachments across the Pacific.

A military engineering and expeditionary construction unit combining skilled construction trades, equipment capability, and combat readiness for U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and joint-force missions.

Product categories. Expeditionary construction · Airfield and runway construction · Military base development · Road, bridge, and earthwork engineering · Fuel, ammunition, and logistics infrastructure · Emergency repair and maintenance · Disaster-response and humanitarian construction support

• 1965Vietnam construction deployments

  Vietnam

  The battalion supported U.S. Marine and joint forces at Da Nang, Chu Lai, Phu Bai, Gia Le, Quang Tri, and related locations through airfield, road, bridge, base, fuel, quarry, and ammunition work.

  Outcome. The deployments provided forward infrastructure and combat engineering support during the Vietnam War.

  Source
• 1951Naval Air Station Cubi Point

  Philippines

  NMCB 3 participated in the large-scale excavation, coral reclamation, airfield, and pier construction project at Cubi Point in Subic Bay.

  Outcome. The facility was commissioned in 1956 and became a major U.S. naval aviation installation.

  Source
• 1942World War II Pacific construction and support

  Bora Bora · New Caledonia · Fiji · Marshall Islands

  Company detachments built and supported forward facilities across the Pacific. Elements also supported amphibious operations after transfer into the 3rd Battalion, 22nd Marines.

  Outcome. The battalion contributed to Pacific base development, naval repair, and combat engineering before being decommissioned in 1944.

  Source

• 1968

  Adopt the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion designationOther

  Background

  The Marine Corps used MCB as an abbreviation for Marine Corps Base, creating potential confusion with Navy Mobile Construction Battalions.

  Action taken

  The Navy changed the unit designation from MCB 3 to NMCB 3.

  Aftermath

  The NMCB designation became the unit’s continuing operational identity.

  Source

1. 1Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3en.wikipedia.org