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Amphibious Construction Battalion 1

October 31, 2023

Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE (ACB1 or ACB-1 or PHIBCB 1 or PHIBCB One) is an amphibious construction battalion in the United States Navy based in Coronado, California. Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO is its sister unit based in Little Creek, Virginia.

Amphibious Construction Battalion 1
ACB-1 Insignia
Active1943–present
CountryUnited States
Branch United States Navy
RoleShip-to-Shore movement of combat cargo and bulk fuel/water; Military construction
Garrison/HQNAB Coronado, San Diego, California
Nickname(s)PHIBCB ONE; "Acey Bone"; "The Bone"
Motto(s)"We put the 'Sea' in Seabees."
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Captain Andy Litteral
104th NCB WWII insignia (Seabee Museum)

Mission edit

ACB-1's primary mission is to provide Ship to Shore transport of combat cargo, bulk fuel and water, and tactical camp operations supporting Amphibious Ready Group, Marine Expeditionary Force, Brigade sized operations, Combined/Joint Logistics Over the Shore (C/JLOTS), and Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) Operations.

History edit

World War II – 104th Naval Construction Battalion

ACB-1 was originally commissioned at Camp Peary, Williamsburg, Virginia, 16 July 1943, as the 104th Naval Construction Battalion and was sent to Camp Endicott, Gulfport, Mississippi. During World War II CBs sent to the Pacific were attached to one of the four Amphibious Corps: I, III, and V were U.S. Marine Corps (under Admiral Nimitz, CINCPOA, Pearl Harbor) while VII Amphibious Corps was U.S. Army (under General MacArthur, SWPA, Brisbane, Australia). During WWII there were five battalions tasked with pontoons, barges and the building of ship to shore causeways: CBs 70, 81, 111, 128, and 302.[1] The 104th was attached to VII Amphibious group in 1943 and sent to Gamadodo Center, Naval Base Milne Bay at Milne Bay, New Guinea; Australia in 1944; and Leyte-Samar Naval Base at Leyte, Philippine Islands, 1945. During these two years, the 104th completed numerous land based construction projects ranging from an airfield on Los Negros Island, in the Admiralties, to Naval Air Station Cubi Point on island of Leyte in the Philippines. The battalion was eventually deactivated in Dec 1945.[2]

In January 1947, the 104th was reactivated and first began their Amphibious mission when the unit was tasked with "the assembly and placement of pontoon structures, beach rehabilitation, harbor development, salvage, and training of reservist in these operations". In October 1950, it was recognized by the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Forrest Sherman, that the 104th and 105th NCBs had specialized capabilities that separated them from the other Naval Construction Battalions and were re-designated Amphibious Construction Battalion One and Two.[2]

Korean War – Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE

 
Yo Do Island ACB 1 refueling Corsairs 15 July 1952 (USN)
 
Operation Restore Hope Seabees from ACB 1 put the finishing touches on a helopad at the U.S. Embassy compound December 1992. (NARA)
 
US Navy 030404-N-1050K-023U.S. Seabees from ACBs 1 and 2 place a deck section in the assembly of the Elevated Causeway System-Modular (ELCAS (M)) at Camp Patriot, Kuwait (4 Apr 2003) It was the first time the ELCAS/M (length 1,400-feet) was assembled in a combat operation.[3]
 
ACB -1 loading cargo 2005 (Seabee Museum)

During the Korean War several detachments were deployed to the Western Pacific in support of amphibious operations. In the September 1950, invasion of Inchon a pontoon causeway was brought into Inchon Harbor on D-Day plus 1 to be used a tide level landing. General Douglas MacArthur came ashore over this pier on D plus 2.[2]

A month after 15 September 1950, landing at Inchon, ACB-1 moved to the east coast of Korea and again supported the 1st Marine Division. This time they landed at the port city of Wonsan as part of the 1st Marine Division's shift from the Inchon-Seoul area to the northeast coast of Korea. While the Marines moved north to positions in the Chosin Reservoir area, the Seabees built piers and unloaded ships.

  • On 21 September 1950 a detachment from ACB 1 went into Seabee history. Aerial reconnaissance reported eight locomotives trapped by broken rail lines in the Yong Dong Po switch yard eight miles North of Inchon. The 10 Seabees, led UT Chief Bloomer, volunteered to attempt to liberate the engines from behind enemy lines. Adjacent to the switch yard was a Kirin Beer Brewery where the Seabees liberated cases of beer to be returned to the South also. They fired the engines and repaired the rails as they went returning to American lines.[4] UTC Donald T. Bloomer, CM1 Welton N. Horn and CM2 Gordon K. Barnett received a letter of commendation with a ribbon and the combat "V" from the Admiral of the 7th Fleet for bravery in the exploit.[5] The engines were turned over to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps.

Operation Crippled Chick: The assignment to build the emergency landing strip behind enemy lines on Yo Do island, fell to ACB-1s Detachment George. Led by Lt. T.E. Rowe, Detachment George was composed of one warrant machinist, six chief petty officers and 69 Seabee enlisted men. Six of these Seabees had landed at Inchon two years earlier. The seabees named the runway Briscoe Field for the Commander of the fleet Admiral Robert P. Briscoe[6]

Vietnam

ACB 1 was the first CB to deploy to Vietnam as a component of Task Force 90 "Passage to Freedom" in 1954.[7] That year an agreement was reached in Geneva recognizing the Communist government of North Vietnam which allowed for people residing in the North to move South before 15 May 1955. Both ACBs were assigned to TF-90.[8] Nine years later, in 1964 ACB 1 would return as the first CB in the Vietnam war.

Gulf War – Somalia – Persian Gulf

In August 1990, PHIBCB ONE was the first Naval Construction Force (NCF) unit to deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. The Battalion assisted in the successful offload of the ships from Maritime Prepositioning Squadron TWO and Maritime Prepositioning Squadron THREE in support of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and provided some limited technical support to other joint units operating in the area.[2]

On 10 December 1992, ACB-1 arrived at Mogadishu as part of the Naval Support Element in Somalia. Within a short time ACB-1 unloaded five of the Marines' Maritime Pre-positioning Force ships, refurbished the port, and provided fuel and water for military forces in Somalia.[9]

In August 1994 and again in August 1995, the command deployed the Offload Preparation Party (OPP) for Maritime Prepositioning Squadron TWO in support of Operation Vigilant Warrior and Operation Vigilant Sentinel in the Persian Gulf due to the threat of resurgence of Iraqi aggression. In each case the personnel returned home after a couple months but were in a 48hr standby until March 1996.[2]

Iraq War

 
US Navy 070127-N-3589B-003 Seabees assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion One offload the Improved Navy Lighter age System (INLS) from the Military Sealift Command (MSC) heavy lift ship SS Cape Mohican (T-AKR-5065). The T-AKR class vessels are known as Seabee (barge)s.
 
US Navy 100811-N-4044H-378 The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) ACB 1 was with the ship to Papua New Guinea for the Pacific Partnership 2010[10]

The Battalion was the first Naval Construction Force unit to deploy during Operation Desert Shield.

Most recently, in January 2003, ACB-1/2 was deployed to Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Moving over 1,200 short tons (1,100 t) of cargo, on nine C-5 Galaxy aircraft, the PHIBs constructed the largest Logistics Support Area (LSA) in ACB history, housing over 4,500 personnel. Additionally, ACBs were instrumental with the complete download of 13 MPF ships encompassing three MPSRONs. ELCAS-M was also deployed to move thousands of ammo containers from ship to shore. A small detachment from ACB-1 also moved forward in Iraq to assist the NMCBs with the anchoring of a floating bridge.[2]

In 2005 ACB 1 took part in the U.S. military's Operation Unified Assistance response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Unit Awards edit

In recognition of outstanding services rendered in the Korean War, personnel of the Battalion received three Bronze Stars, eight Navy Commendations with Combat "V"s, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and numerous letters of recognition for meritorious services. During the Vietnam War, the Battalion was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation. Additionally, the command was awarded a Secretary of the Navy, John Howard Dalton, Letter of Commendation for meritorious service from 1994 to 1996.[2]

Unit awards in order of precedence:

Campaign and Service Awards

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ U.S. Marine Corps WWII Order of Battle, Gordon L. Rottman, Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road Weat, Westport, CT, 2002, p. 31 ISBN 0-313-31906-5
  2. ^ a b c d e f g US Navy.
  3. ^ Navy Elevated Causeway System to Lend Big Hand to Big Operation Story Number: NNS030424-10Release Date: 24 April 2003, story By Journalist 1st Class Joseph Krypel, Camp Patriot Public Affairs, U.S.Navy website [1]
  4. ^ 104 NCB The Korean War: The Inchon landing,Naval History and Heritage Command, U.S. Navy Seabee Museum,[2]
  5. ^ Seabee Train Kidnapers,Adapted from a Seabee Coverall article, 1967,Seabee Log – No. 5 (Winter 1999), Dept of the Navy [3]
  6. ^ Operation Crippled Chick, ACB 1 Builds Emergency Airstrip Behind Enemy Lines,By Steve Karoly, The seabeecook webpage [4]
  7. ^ Operation Passage to Freedom First Seabees in Vietnam Evacuate Citizens to South, An operational report by Cmdr. L.N. Saunders, Jr.,Seabee Log Index web-page [5]
  8. ^ " Seabee History: Southeast Asia", NHHC online reading room, published 16 April 2015 [6]
  9. ^ This week in Seabee History, December 9–15, Seabee Magazine, NHHC Seabee Museum Port Hueneme, CA. [7]
  10. ^ U.S. Navy News Service Website, Story Number: NNS100827-09Release Date: 27 August 2010 9:01:00 AM, 1200 Navy Pentagon, Washington, DC.[8]
  11. ^ Naval History and Heritage Command webpage, Seabee History: Southeast Asia [9]
  12. ^ US Navy Awards, Chief of Naval Operations, 2000 Navy Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20350 [10] 28 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ List of Award Abbreviations, Chief of Naval Operations, 2000 Navy Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20350 [11] 31 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading edit

Online resources

  • "About ACB-1". US Navy. Retrieved 27 January 2017.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • William Bradford Huie (2013), From Omaha to Okinawa: The Story of the Seabees, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 978-1-61251-281-5

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1.
  • ACB-1 website
  • NAVDOCKS-100, January 1944, U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Administration Manual
  • 104 NCB & ACB 1 Unit Histories and Cruisebooks search "deployment completion reports"

October 31, 2023
amphibious, construction, battalion, amphibious, construction, battalion, acb1, phibcb, phibcb, amphibious, construction, battalion, united, states, navy, based, coronado, california, amphibious, construction, battalion, sister, unit, based, little, creek, vir. Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE ACB1 or ACB 1 or PHIBCB 1 or PHIBCB One is an amphibious construction battalion in the United States Navy based in Coronado California Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO is its sister unit based in Little Creek Virginia Amphibious Construction Battalion 1ACB 1 InsigniaActive1943 presentCountryUnited StatesBranch United States NavyRoleShip to Shore movement of combat cargo and bulk fuel water Military constructionGarrison HQNAB Coronado San Diego CaliforniaNickname s PHIBCB ONE Acey Bone The Bone Motto s We put the Sea in Seabees EngagementsWWII Korean War Vietnam War Gulf War Iraq WarCommandersCurrentcommanderCaptain Andy Litteral 104th NCB WWII insignia Seabee Museum Contents 1 Mission 2 History 3 Unit Awards 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksMission editACB 1 s primary mission is to provide Ship to Shore transport of combat cargo bulk fuel and water and tactical camp operations supporting Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Force Brigade sized operations Combined Joint Logistics Over the Shore C JLOTS and Maritime Prepositioning Force MPF Operations History editWorld War II 104th Naval Construction BattalionACB 1 was originally commissioned at Camp Peary Williamsburg Virginia 16 July 1943 as the 104th Naval Construction Battalion and was sent to Camp Endicott Gulfport Mississippi During World War II CBs sent to the Pacific were attached to one of the four Amphibious Corps I III and V were U S Marine Corps under Admiral Nimitz CINCPOA Pearl Harbor while VII Amphibious Corps was U S Army under General MacArthur SWPA Brisbane Australia During WWII there were five battalions tasked with pontoons barges and the building of ship to shore causeways CBs 70 81 111 128 and 302 1 The 104th was attached to VII Amphibious group in 1943 and sent to Gamadodo Center Naval Base Milne Bay at Milne Bay New Guinea Australia in 1944 and Leyte Samar Naval Base at Leyte Philippine Islands 1945 During these two years the 104th completed numerous land based construction projects ranging from an airfield on Los Negros Island in the Admiralties to Naval Air Station Cubi Point on island of Leyte in the Philippines The battalion was eventually deactivated in Dec 1945 2 In January 1947 the 104th was reactivated and first began their Amphibious mission when the unit was tasked with the assembly and placement of pontoon structures beach rehabilitation harbor development salvage and training of reservist in these operations In October 1950 it was recognized by the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Forrest Sherman that the 104th and 105th NCBs had specialized capabilities that separated them from the other Naval Construction Battalions and were re designated Amphibious Construction Battalion One and Two 2 Korean War Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE nbsp Yo Do Island ACB 1 refueling Corsairs 15 July 1952 USN nbsp Operation Restore Hope Seabees from ACB 1 put the finishing touches on a helopad at the U S Embassy compound December 1992 NARA nbsp US Navy 030404 N 1050K 023U S Seabees from ACBs 1 and 2 place a deck section in the assembly of the Elevated Causeway System Modular ELCAS M at Camp Patriot Kuwait 4 Apr 2003 It was the first time the ELCAS M length 1 400 feet was assembled in a combat operation 3 nbsp ACB 1 loading cargo 2005 Seabee Museum During the Korean War several detachments were deployed to the Western Pacific in support of amphibious operations In the September 1950 invasion of Inchon a pontoon causeway was brought into Inchon Harbor on D Day plus 1 to be used a tide level landing General Douglas MacArthur came ashore over this pier on D plus 2 2 A month after 15 September 1950 landing at Inchon ACB 1 moved to the east coast of Korea and again supported the 1st Marine Division This time they landed at the port city of Wonsan as part of the 1st Marine Division s shift from the Inchon Seoul area to the northeast coast of Korea While the Marines moved north to positions in the Chosin Reservoir area the Seabees built piers and unloaded ships On 21 September 1950 a detachment from ACB 1 went into Seabee history Aerial reconnaissance reported eight locomotives trapped by broken rail lines in the Yong Dong Po switch yard eight miles North of Inchon The 10 Seabees led UT Chief Bloomer volunteered to attempt to liberate the engines from behind enemy lines Adjacent to the switch yard was a Kirin Beer Brewery where the Seabees liberated cases of beer to be returned to the South also They fired the engines and repaired the rails as they went returning to American lines 4 UTC Donald T Bloomer CM1 Welton N Horn and CM2 Gordon K Barnett received a letter of commendation with a ribbon and the combat V from the Admiral of the 7th Fleet for bravery in the exploit 5 The engines were turned over to the U S Army Transportation Corps Operation Crippled Chick The assignment to build the emergency landing strip behind enemy lines on Yo Do island fell to ACB 1s Detachment George Led by Lt T E Rowe Detachment George was composed of one warrant machinist six chief petty officers and 69 Seabee enlisted men Six of these Seabees had landed at Inchon two years earlier The seabees named the runway Briscoe Field for the Commander of the fleet Admiral Robert P Briscoe 6 VietnamACB 1 was the first CB to deploy to Vietnam as a component of Task Force 90 Passage to Freedom in 1954 7 That year an agreement was reached in Geneva recognizing the Communist government of North Vietnam which allowed for people residing in the North to move South before 15 May 1955 Both ACBs were assigned to TF 90 8 Nine years later in 1964 ACB 1 would return as the first CB in the Vietnam war Gulf War Somalia Persian GulfIn August 1990 PHIBCB ONE was the first Naval Construction Force NCF unit to deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield The Battalion assisted in the successful offload of the ships from Maritime Prepositioning Squadron TWO and Maritime Prepositioning Squadron THREE in support of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and provided some limited technical support to other joint units operating in the area 2 On 10 December 1992 ACB 1 arrived at Mogadishu as part of the Naval Support Element in Somalia Within a short time ACB 1 unloaded five of the Marines Maritime Pre positioning Force ships refurbished the port and provided fuel and water for military forces in Somalia 9 In August 1994 and again in August 1995 the command deployed the Offload Preparation Party OPP for Maritime Prepositioning Squadron TWO in support of Operation Vigilant Warrior and Operation Vigilant Sentinel in the Persian Gulf due to the threat of resurgence of Iraqi aggression In each case the personnel returned home after a couple months but were in a 48hr standby until March 1996 2 Iraq War nbsp US Navy 070127 N 3589B 003 Seabees assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion One offload the Improved Navy Lighter age System INLS from the Military Sealift Command MSC heavy lift ship SS Cape Mohican T AKR 5065 The T AKR class vessels are known as Seabee barge s nbsp US Navy 100811 N 4044H 378 The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy T AH 19 ACB 1 was with the ship to Papua New Guinea for the Pacific Partnership 2010 10 The Battalion was the first Naval Construction Force unit to deploy during Operation Desert Shield Most recently in January 2003 ACB 1 2 was deployed to Kuwait Naval Base Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Moving over 1 200 short tons 1 100 t of cargo on nine C 5 Galaxy aircraft the PHIBs constructed the largest Logistics Support Area LSA in ACB history housing over 4 500 personnel Additionally ACBs were instrumental with the complete download of 13 MPF ships encompassing three MPSRONs ELCAS M was also deployed to move thousands of ammo containers from ship to shore A small detachment from ACB 1 also moved forward in Iraq to assist the NMCBs with the anchoring of a floating bridge 2 In 2005 ACB 1 took part in the U S military s Operation Unified Assistance response to the Indian Ocean tsunami Unit Awards editIn recognition of outstanding services rendered in the Korean War personnel of the Battalion received three Bronze Stars eight Navy Commendations with Combat V s the Presidential Unit Citation the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and numerous letters of recognition for meritorious services During the Vietnam War the Battalion was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal the Vietnam Service Medal and the Meritorious Unit Commendation Additionally the command was awarded a Secretary of the Navy John Howard Dalton Letter of Commendation for meritorious service from 1994 to 1996 2 Unit awards in order of precedence nbsp Presidential Unit Citation KOREA nbsp Defense Superior Service Medal nbsp Navy Unit Commendation with V 8 KOREA nbsp Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Desert Storm nbsp Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation nbsp Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation 11 1955 Operation Passage to FreedomCampaign and Service Awards nbsp Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal 104 NCB nbsp Philippine Liberation Medal 104 NCB nbsp World War II Victory Medal 104 NCB nbsp Korean Service Medal 3 nbsp Navy Expeditionary Medal KOREA nbsp Vietnam Service Medal nbsp Vietnam Campaign Medal nbsp Humanitarian Service Medal Det A1 81 1981 Boat people nbsp Southwest Asia Service Medal nbsp Kuwait Liberation Medal Saudi Arabia nbsp Kuwait Liberation Medal Kuwait nbsp Humanitarian Service Medal Operation Unified Assistance2004 12 13 See also editAdmiral Ben Moreell Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 ACB 2 Civil Engineer Corps United States Navy Naval Construction Battalion Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport Mississippi Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base Coronado Seabee Seabees in World War II Underwater Construction TeamsReferences edit U S Marine Corps WWII Order of Battle Gordon L Rottman Greenwood Press 88 Post Road Weat Westport CT 2002 p 31 ISBN 0 313 31906 5 a b c d e f g US Navy Navy Elevated Causeway System to Lend Big Hand to Big Operation Story Number NNS030424 10Release Date 24 April 2003 story By Journalist 1st Class Joseph Krypel Camp Patriot Public Affairs U S Navy website 1 104 NCB The Korean War The Inchon landing Naval History and Heritage Command U S Navy Seabee Museum 2 Seabee Train Kidnapers Adapted from a Seabee Coverall article 1967 Seabee Log No 5 Winter 1999 Dept of the Navy 3 Operation Crippled Chick ACB 1 Builds Emergency Airstrip Behind Enemy Lines By Steve Karoly The seabeecook webpage 4 Operation Passage to Freedom First Seabees in Vietnam Evacuate Citizens to South An operational report by Cmdr L N Saunders Jr Seabee Log Index web page 5 Seabee History Southeast Asia NHHC online reading room published 16 April 2015 6 This week in Seabee History December 9 15 Seabee Magazine NHHC Seabee Museum Port Hueneme CA 7 U S Navy News Service Website Story Number NNS100827 09Release Date 27 August 2010 9 01 00 AM 1200 Navy Pentagon Washington DC 8 Naval History and Heritage Command webpage Seabee History Southeast Asia 9 US Navy Awards Chief of Naval Operations 2000 Navy Pentagon Washington D C 20350 10 Archived 28 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine List of Award Abbreviations Chief of Naval Operations 2000 Navy Pentagon Washington D C 20350 11 Archived 31 January 2017 at the Wayback MachineFurther reading editOnline resources About ACB 1 US Navy Retrieved 27 January 2017 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain William Bradford Huie 2013 From Omaha to Okinawa The Story of the Seabees Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 61251 281 5External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 ACB 1 website NAVDOCKS 100 January 1944 U S Naval Construction Battalion Administration Manual104 NCB amp ACB 1 Unit Histories and Cruisebooks search deployment completion reports Portal nbsp World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 amp oldid 1171671099, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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