History
Immediately after the tragedy at Pearl Harbor, when our nation was plunged into a world war, the Navy formed Construction Battalions, more familiarly known as Seabees, to establish bases on far-flung islands and newly-won territories. As the footprint of the Seabees expanded throughout the Pacific theater, the need for smaller units became apparent in order to maintain these battalion-constructed bases and installations. This requirement led to the formation of naval construction battalion maintenance units (CBMU) and the commissioning of 136 CBMUs during World War II. CBMUs served throughout the Pacific maintaining, improving, and defending U.S. military bases as territory was re-captured from Japanese forces. After the war, the CBMUs were decommissioned along with many other Seabee units.
The Korean conflict once more signaled the need for CBMUs and again, by 1956, after having served honorably and well in Korea, all maintenance units were deactivated.
After a lapse of eleven years, again the need arose for CBMUs, this time in Southeast Asia. Mobile construction battalions were used to support Army and Marine Corps forces in the Republic of Vietnam. With the vast construction effort underway, it was confirmed that CBMUs were necessary, leading to the formation of CBMUs 301 and 302 in 1967. At one point during the conflict, CBMU-302 had over 1,400 personnel assigned, making it the largest Seabee Battalion since World War II and was the last battalion-sized unit to leave Vietnam. CBMU-301 was subsequently disestablished in 1970, leaving CBMU-302 the only unit retained after the war.
In 1972, CBMU-302 shifted its homeport from Construction Battalion Center (CBC) Port Hueneme, California, to Subic Bay Naval Facility, Republic of the Philippines. The unit provided maintenance and construction support to Camp Jeffries at Subic Bay and to Camp Cummings on Diego Garcia. In addition to executing routine maintenance and construction support to the base, CBMU-302 was tasked to undertake strike support missions in Subic Bay on four occasions; 1979, 1983, 1986, and 1990, in response to local Filipino labor force strikes. The unit’s personnel worked around-the-clock alongside other Naval Construction Force and Public Works Center personnel to ensure that utilities support to the U.S. facility continued unabated.
With the expiration of the Joint Bases Treaty in 1992, CBMU-302 executed a permanent change of duty station from Camp Jeffries, Subic Bay, to Camp Covington, Guam as part of the withdrawal of U.S. Forces from the Philippines. In 1993, they deployed to Saipan to establish a Seabee base camp and begin construction of the American Memorial Park. CBMU-302 was decommissioned July 1994.
In August 1993, CBMU-303 was commissioned as a Reserve unit at U.S. Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco, California. The unit was formed from components of Public Works Centers Guam, Subic Bay, Yokosuka, Pearl Harbor and Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 2, 16 and 18. CBMU-303 was initially headquartered at Treasure Island with three detachments located in San Diego, Bremerton, Washington and Honolulu, Hawaii. CBMU-303 headquarters was relocated to Naval Air Station North Island, California in September 1994 and its detachments were realigned to Alameda and Moreno Valley, California and Honolulu, Hawaii.
In October 2004, a restructuring effort was implemented that realigned or disestablished Construction Battalion Units (CBU) and re-commissioned CBMUs 202 and 303 as active units. The purpose was to align active CBUs and Reserve CBMUs into two active CBMUs with Reserve detachments to enhance command and control and improve responsiveness to combatant commanders. As part of this restructuring:
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CBU-427 at Naval Station San Diego was realigned as CBMU-303 Headquarters
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CBU-406 at Naval Air Station Lemoore was realigned as CBMU-303 Det. Lemoore
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CBU-413 at Naval Station Pearl Harbor was realigned as CBMU-303 Det. Pearl Harbor
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CBU-416 at Naval Air Station Fallon was realigned as CBMU-303 Det. Fallon
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CBU-418 at Naval Submarine Base Bangor was realigned as CBMU-303 Det. Bangor
As part of the restructuring, the CBMU mission was revised, “To deploy rapidly to provide follow-on operations, maintenance, repair and limited construction capabilities at advance-base shore facilities constructed by naval mobile construction battalions; provide Forward Operating Base facility and logistic support to designated Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Expeditionary Group command elements, and Naval Special Warfare squadrons; operate, maintain and repair shore facilities and utilities in support of forward deployed, ground-based fleet hospitals and execute construction readiness training projects at designated naval shore activities."
CBMU-303 has deployed to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait in support of Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield. In addition, CBMU-303 has distinguished itself in Seabee history by creating the Marvin Shields Memorial, located in Gardiner, Washington, in honor of the only Seabee to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
In November 2009, Naval Construction Force Support Unit 2 was decommissioned, and its components realigned to form two CBMU-303 Reserve detachments. The current CBMU-303 footprint includes one active detachment in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and three Reserve detachments located at Pearl Harbor, Port Hueneme, and San Diego, California.
Today CBMU-303 provides minor construction and maintenance support to Navy and Marine Corps installations throughout the Southwest Region and Hawaii, and regularly participates in major joint and fleet exercises such as Rim of the Pacific, Valiant Shield, Dawn Blitz, Pacific Blitz, and Foal Eagle in order to maintain readiness to deploy and execute its assigned major combat operation missions.