Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seven

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN (NMCB 7) was a Navy Seabee battalion based out of Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi). Nicknamed the "Magnificent Seven", it is one of the ten original NMCBs authorized by the U.S. Navy in 1942.

History
United States Naval Construction Battalion SEVEN (NCB 7) was commissioned on June 17, 1942 at the Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Allen, Norfolk, Virginia, under the command of Commander Julius L. Piland, Civil Engineer Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve.

1940s through 1970s
During World War II, NCB 7 saw deployments to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides; Iroquois Point, Hawaii; Marianas Islands; and Okinawa, Japan. NCB 7 was decommissioned for the first time on October 30, 1945 in Okinawa.

On August 22, 1951, MCB 7 was commissioned for a second time at the U.S. Naval Yards and Docks Supply Depot in Davisville, Rhode Island, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Robert F. Smart, Civil Engineer Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve.

From October 1957 to August 1959, MCB 7 set a record by remaining deployed to three isolated islands in the West Indies, completing the largest construction project ever undertaken by a peace time Atlantic Construction Battalion. This project consisted of two complete Coast Guard LORAN Stations.

In 1961 the battalion was ordered to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of the base's ground defense force. In addition to the defense mission, MCB 7, together with her sister battalion MCB 4, constructed more than 20 miles of perimeter roads and other base facilities in record time. NMCB Seven was selected "Best of Type" in the Atlantic Fleet and awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" for fiscal year 1963.

In 1966, MCB 7 was deployed to the Republic of South Vietnam, until her decommissioning at the Construction Battalion Center, Davisville, Rhode Island, in August 1970.

1980s through 2010s
NMCB 7 was commissioned for a third time on August 1, 1985 aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Mississippi under the command of CDR C. David Binning, Civil Engineer Corps, U. S. Navy. The commissioning marked the first time in over 17 years that a new construction battalion had been brought on line. In December 1985, following the completion of a rigorous homeport training program, NMCB Seven made preparations for their first deployment as a newly recommissioned Battalion. The main body deployed to Naval Station Rota Spain with details sent to Bermuda, Greece, Crete, Scotland, Italy, and Germany.

On August 8, 1990, the Battalion was ordered to mobilize for redeployment to the Middle East in direct support of Operation Desert Shield. All details except for the Civic Action Team were rolled back to Okinawa within 72-hours. On September 10, the Air Detachment departed Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa for the Middle East to begin setting up Camp Sierra India Bravo, followed by the Advance Party on September 29, and the Main body on October 10.

From 1991 through 2002 NMCB Seven completed ten deployments to Rota, Spain; Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, Okinawa, Japan

In 2003, NMCB Seven deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Battalion supported Marine units by constructing roads and maintaining camps throughout Kuwait and Iraq. NMCB Seven supported combat operations by maintaining main and alternate supply routes and jointly constructing the longest ever NCF Mabey-Johnson span bridge at Az Zubidayah. For its extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against enemy forces from March – April 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, NMCB Seven was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

In 2005 NMCB Seven provided the initial response to Hurricane Katrina and was the first unit to provide disaster recovery support. In the aftermath of Katrina, NMCB Seven was tasked with many key projects assisting the Mississippi Gulf Coast recovery from the massive devastation. The Battalion assisted the Coast Guard, Gulfport Sheriff’s Department, and Fish and Wildlife Commission gaining access to water assets in order to conduct search and rescue operations. The scope soon expanded to include demolition of old buildings, clearing railroad tracks around the Port of Gulfport, and building temporary shelters for fuel tanks. In all, NMCB Seven removed 250 damaged trees, 3000 tons of steel and scrap metal, and 600 tons of other debris.

NMCB Seven was selected as the Atlantic Fleet Naval Construction Force Battle Efficiency "E" winner.

In February 2006 NMCB Seven deployed to Kuwait, CENTCOM AOR, and other locations in direct support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The battalion was spread over 4 continents and 13 countries in 25 locations.

In June 2007, NMCB Seven deployed to Okinawa, Japan operating the main body from Camp Shields. The majority of NMCB Seven's Seabees were located in the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) area of operations, from San Clemente Island on the California coast to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. An additional 50 Seabees from NMCB Seven were detached to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Afghanistan.

On October 1, 2008, NMCB Seven deployed to Al Taqaddum, Iraq and various other locations, including some smaller detachments in Afghanistan. From there, they began the turnover process once again with NMCB Three. In December 2008, NMCB Seven received orders to redeploy to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan to construction the new base code named Tombstone 1 which eventually became Camp Leatherneck, the headquarters of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. NMCB Seven also pushed out multiple detachments in preparation for joint Spring offenses including Camp Dwyer.

In January 2010, NMCB Seven Air Detachment was dispatched to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to assist with disaster relief amidst the devastation 7.0 earthquake that struck the country. A month later, the battalion deployed to various locations throughout Europe, Africa, and South America as part of its regularly scheduled 2010 deployment to provide contingency construction, humanitarian and civic assistance and exercise related construction projects. By the end of deployment, the battalion had successfully completed construction and contingency projects in 33 separate locations in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Central and South America, with more than 120 Seabees continually assigned to Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, as an enduring Detachment, with smaller Detachments completing projects in Kenya, Comoros, Ethiopia, and the Djiboutian countryside.

Decommissioning
On September 5, 2012, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN was decommissioned at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Mississippi. In addition to its last commanding officer, CDR James G. Meyer, in attendance was Commander FIRST Naval Construction Division (1 NCD) RADM Mark A. Handley and Commander Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) RADM Christopher J. Mossey.