Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi)
Naval Construction Battalion Center
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| Gulfport, Mississippi | |
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| Coordinates | 30°22′38″N 089°07′26″W / 30.37722°N 89.12389°W |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 United States Navy
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| Site history | |
| In use | 1942-Present |
Naval Construction Battalion Center is a 1,100-acre (445-hectare) U.S. Navy industrial complex located in Gulfport, Mississippi. It serves as home base for the Atlantic Fleet Seabees, which are the Navy's construction battalions.
The mission of the Naval Construction Battalion Center (CBC) Gulfport is:
“To maintain and operate facilities and provide services and material in support of Naval Construction Force Units, to include Amphibious Construction Fleet Units, the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Enhanced), and other fleet and assigned organizational units deployed from or homeported at CBC Gulfport, and to perform such other functions and tasks as may be assigned by higher authority.”
On June 2, 1942, an Advanced Base Depot was established in Gulfport and the first Seabees arrived. Defense planning during the early years of World War II called for a deep-water port to serve the Caribbean region. Gulfport had the necessary port facility, as well as a semi-tropical climate for year-round training and shipping.
In 1944, the mission of the Center changed to a U.S. Naval Training Center for ratings in basic engineering, diesel engine, radio, quartermaster, and electrician. The Training Center was decommissioned in 1946 and the complex became a storage facility for stockpiling bauxite, tin, copper, sisal and abacá. In 1952, the Naval Storehouse was disestablished and the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center was created.
In the mid-1960s, there was an increasing need for naval construction forces in Southeast Asia. To meet that need, the Naval Construction Battalion Center expanded in both military and civilian personnel and continued to serve as a training facility through the latter half of the 20th century. Before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane Camille, the Seabees at the center helped the surrounding communities tremendously. The military and civilian personnel received numerous medals and commendations from the Navy and local officials. Mississippi Governor John Bell Williams declared October 31, 1969 as "Seabees Awards Day".
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