Bridging the Gap Between Sea and Shore – How the Seabees and Naval Expeditionary Logistics Forces Enable Distributed Maritime Operations and Deliver Advantage at Sea
18 March 2021
GULFPORT, MS & WILLIAMSBURG, VA -- In the wake of Pearl Harbor, the Navy realized that it did not have the forces required to provide the basing, maritime logistics support, and resupply capabilities necessary to keep the Fleet in the fight, especially across the expanses of the Pacific theater. From this need, Construction Battalions – ‘Seabees’ – were born on March 5
th, 1942. To support the follow-on massive materiel movements,
cargo handling capabilities [WKDCUN(1] originated just a few months later as part of the Naval Construction Force (NCF), known as Special Stevedore Battalions, or ‘Seabee Specials.’ Today’s Seabees and Expeditionary Logisticians proudly root their organizational culture, warrior ethos, and ‘Can Do’ spirit in the legacy of their agile, brave, and determined WWII predecessors.
In today’s Navy, the NCF and Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Forces (NAVELSF) are a part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Force (NECF). The CNO’s Navigation Plan 2021 highlighted the need to field a force that is ready to operate in contested spaces, and NECF does just that by dominating in the littorals and reinforcing maritime lethality with agile, flexible, and scalable forces that CLEAR, SECURE, BUILD, and PROTECT in support of Fleet and Joint Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO). NCF and NAVELSF are the NECF components that BUILD the infrastructure, battlespace awareness (with NECF Intelligence Exploitation Teams), logistics chains, and partnerships necessary to support expeditionary operations spanning from competition to conflict. They do this by providing the critical logistics of maritime sustainment – Rearm/Reload, Refuel, Resupply, Repair, Rebuild, Reman, Recover, and Revive. Thanks to these niche, mission-critical capabilities, our nation can keep the fight forward by sustaining our forces around the globe.
In addition to NCF and NAVELSF, key elements of NECF include the Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command’s (NEIC) Intelligence Exploitation Teams (IETs) as well as NECF standing Task Forces (CTFs). IETs provide critical battlespace awareness and insight into adversary intentions building the necessary Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) required by Fleet and Joint Force Commanders to enable DMO. NECF CTF’s further the building of MDA and the Joint Force by commanding NECC task groups in theater and taking Command and Control (C2) of other expeditionary forces when assigned. Through the use of the Navy Expeditionary Tactical Command and Control (NETC2) family of systems, NECF builds scalable and adaptable C4I capabilities to share and build MDA across the Naval and Joint force even while operating in austere environments.
In Major Combat Operations, the Navy must be prepared to keep shooters from going ‘Winchester’ or aircraft from hitting ‘Bingo’ fuel; thanks to NAVELSF and the NCF, our nation’s offensive firepower will get the supplies needed to stay in the fight, regardless of whether they operate afloat, ashore, in the air, or undersea.
NAVELSF’s forward-deployed Expeditionary Ordnance Reload (ExOR) provides the ability to rearm all manner of Naval and Joint platforms, to include Vertical Launch System (VLS)-capable ships and are additionally developing future submarine reload capabilities.
[WKDCUN(2] NCF’s rapid construction capabilities deliver forward arming and refueling points and provide force protection infrastructure that ensures force survivability. Together, these Expeditionary Logistics forces conduct ordnance offload and onload operations afloat, receive and issue ammunition, fuel, and critical supplies, and transport much-needed materiel support to the point of need.
The Seabees BUILD or repair bases, places, and fuel point infrastructure that creates the space needed for NAVELSF to refuel Fleet and Joint forces throughout the operating area – including locations within the adversary’s reach. This ability to provide over-the-shore refueling operations, operate austere refueling points, maintain resilient high-speed refueling systems, and deliver agile bulk fuel storage capabilities means that NAVELSF can fuel the fight for a wide range of aircraft, ground mobility equipment, and maritime assets in a DMO environment.
Feeding the force is just as critical fueling the Fleet, and the Navy’s Expeditionary Logistics experts conduct resupply operations in volatile and uncertain environments in a way that enables sustained application of Integrated American Naval Power around the globe. NAVELSF’s cargo handlers support pier-side and in-stream maritime preposition ship operations in order to administratively offload, combat reconfigure, load, and discharge all classes of cargo to include hazardous material. NCF's Seabees are critical to the Fleet and Joint Forces' ability to establish, maintain, build, and repair aerial ports of debarkation (APOD), seaports of debarkation (SPOD), advanced naval bases (ANB), expeditionary advanced bases (EAB), forward logistics sites, anchorages, and aids to navigation required to secure laydown areas necessary for staging and resupply of fleet and joint operations.
In war, damage is expected and rapid repair capabilities can make all the difference in a complex area of operations like the Pacific. Much like the Seabees of WWII, today’s Seabees are the only asset in the Navy inventory capable of constructing, improving, operating, and recovering the infrastructure required to support fixed and non-fixed forward site expeditionary operations. The Seabees conduct expeditionary airfield damage repair (ExADR) and expeditionary port damage repair (ExPDR) which provide unique and mission-critical damage response capabilities that ensure sustained application of Fleet firepower in a DMO environment. Additionally, Seabees deliver underwater infrastructure assessment and repair capabilities unique among Naval and Joint forces, ensuring access to key tactical maritime infrastructure enabling sustained combat operations.
Like battle damage, unfortunately combat casualties are a gruesome reality of Major Combat Operations, and the Navy’s Expeditionary Logistics and Construction Forces play a critical role in providing the facilities and support needed to care for and revive the force. Seabees build, maintain, and repair Expeditionary Medical Facilities (EMFs) at bases and places in order to provide medical care across a distributed and contested maritime environment. NAVELSF ensures that medical supplies and other logistical support flow to these EMFs after offloading and delivering these EMFs and associated Expeditionary Medical Units (EMUs).
NCF and NAVELSF enjoy strong partnerships with our Naval and Joint counterparts, reaffirming their historic connection with the Marine Corps in today’s fully integrated Fleet Marine Force. A Naval Construction Regiment (NCR) is the Naval Construction Element in the
Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), and NAVELSF is part of the Naval Support Element (NSE) for Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) operations during Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) and Joint Task Force – Port Opening (JTF-PO) operations. Through it all, NAVELSF and NCF develop, generate, employ, and sustain Integrated American Naval Power, wherever they are needed, by conducting expeditionary logistics operations in austere environments. With NECF IETs and CTFs, they build critical Maritime Domain Awareness, infrastructure, and logistics nodes enabling the U.S. Navy to WIN THE FIGHT in complex and competitive environments, thus ensuring stability and security around the globe.
[WKDCUN(1]Regiments were created in 2008; actual NCHBs came into existence in 1949.
[WKDCUN(2]Note: it will be 5 to 6 years before we have SUB VLS capabilities.