What is the Seabee relationship with DoD contractors in the field?

When a unit commander decides he needs an FOB [forward operating base] in a new location, it will most likely be Seabees or other military engineers who will go out, establish the perimeter, build the initial facilities – a helo pad and facilities for command and control. Once a combat unit is able to safely operate from that FOB, then the commander may send in a contractor to do base support and expansion.

Often what we build is all [that] many of those FOBs ever become – built by the Seabees, with an Army or Marine unit operating from it, a very austere but safe location.

So as contractor use has evolved in the combat zone, it is mostly at established bases, although some do projects for the host nation, building roads and such. But it is up to the commander to determine if it is safe enough for contractors to do the job or if it should go to combat engineers.

 

What is expected from a decade of increasingly tight DoD budgets?

My focus areas for the coming years, as we look at austere budgets, is our core capability in the maritime environment the Navy needs in time of conflict and maintaining the ability to re-grow capacity as required. We also will look at the employment of our force in relation to the new defense guidance, which looks as much to preventing wars as winning wars. We expect that to mean more engagement in the Pacific, Africa, Central Command, and maintaining established relationships in Europe and Latin America, all to ensure we are a key element in the Navy’s global force for good.

We also will focus on our personnel and their families; we have seen the stress of 10 years of continuous combat. As we look to the future, we will be releasing some folks to the civilian world, but helping them make that transition – and ensuring those who remain in the Navy get opportunities for advancement and the support they need.

We have a veteran force, well experienced, with great leadership and technical skills. We just need to make sure they have what they need to continue to serve and do what we call upon them to do every day.

 

What changes – size, scope, and location of operations, equipment, etc. – do you anticipate for the Seabees by their 75th anniversary?

There are a couple of things we will look for on the equipment front. We have gone from main troop carriers, like the M35 multipurpose medium truck, to a Humvee, which proved not to be as effective in Southwest Asia, to MRAPs. So as we go forward in the next five years, we probably will determine the vehicle of the future, in alignment with the Marine Corps – a lightweight, protected vehicle to carry us into the future. We also are looking at being more energy efficient, such as all-electric bulldozers, so we will constantly challenge ourselves in those areas.

 

Robotics?

There definitely is a place for the type of automation we have seen. Construction hasn’t gone to fully robotic equipment, but as that evolves, we will incorporate it where it makes sense. Our bulldozers and graders already are being deployed with GPS, for example.

 

And by the 2020s and beyond?

I think it will retain the legacy of our can-do spirit – “with compassion for others, we build for peace and freedom.” As you look at the Navy as a global force for good, the Seabees epitomize that.

Another piece is being a deployable military construction capability in a maritime environment that can build and fight anywhere. The tools will change, equipment will get better, we will reorganize as the demands of the Navy and nation require, but the core of the individual who brings the can-do spirit and compassion for others will continue to be part of the Seabee legacy in 2020 and beyond.

 

If you were to drop a veteran Seabee from the South Pacific in 1944 into Afghanistan in 2012, would he even recognize his old service?

I think he would see himself reflected in the work ethic of today’s young Seabees. The World War II Seabees were known for working long and hard hours, rebuilding airfields after attacks to support aircraft. In Helmand province and western Afghanistan, they are building and rebuilding faster than the enemy can react.

It amazes me when we put young Seabees into some remote locale building a school and they come back realizing the impact they have had on that community – such as East Timor, where the ambassador said the work the Seabees did there, more than anything else, has enhanced the image of the United States.

 

Any final thoughts?

The last 10 years – specifically the past two – we’ve had more Seabees deployed than any time since Vietnam. It has been the most demanding time for our force in my 30 years in the Navy, providing more support to national priorities in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Pacific, and Africa than any time in my career.

This interview was first published in Defense: Fall 2012 Edition.