U.S. Navy Seabees as a Stability Asset

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U.S. Navy Seabees as a Stability Asset

A. W. Park

Since World War II, the Seabees have both supported the Navy's combat mission and promoted good will through construction projects. Given the counter-insurgency and state building challenges of the 21st century, the Seabees need to be integrated into the pursuit of all elements of U.S. national power projection, to include economic development, governance, and establishing the rule of law in developing and/or war-torn countries. This thesis proposes that the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) integrate a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to create a Seabee Stability Team (SST). This highly mobile and self-sufficient organization designed for a SSTR environment will better meet future challenges of irregular warfare and provide a capacity building organization in developing countries and conflict environments. The proposed SST would be scalable and deployable within 48 hours to any global emergent contingency mission. It can conduct military missions in an insecure environment. It would avoid contractor or contractual delays that at present often limit the effectiveness of PRT-led construction projects. An SST would reduce these delays and allow reconstruction to proceed in a timely manner. In an SST, emergent missions could be executed without contractor delays because the construction trades are inherent to the organization.