Seebee equivalent?

[CM2Wick]

Is there a Royal Navy equivalent of what we have in the US as the Naval Construction Force- the Seabees?

Since WWII, US Navy Seabees have taken part in every combat and contingency construction operation, including Vietnam, Somalia, Operation Desert Storm, OEF and OIF.

Though we are technically "sailors," we are primarily a ground force. Our primary organizational unit is the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion, or NMCB, but Seabees also serve in a variety of capacities throughout the US Navy.

I am a member of NMCB 18, based in Fort Lewis, WA. We are scheduled to deploy to Iraq in July, and I was curious if I would come across any RN types out there.

Respectfully,

CM2 (Petty Officer Second Class) Wick

[harry hackedoff]

Ahoy there swaby, welcome aboard mate
The short answer to your question in no.
I know about your construction battalions and what they do for the misguided children, particularly during the Pacific Campaign and the Nam, often under fire as well. We have no organic Naval equivalent to your great outfit.


Stick around and have a chat, we don`t bite, allthough Doc gives a bad suck

[CM2Wick]

That's too bad. There's something to be said for playing in the dirt with dozers, MTVRs, and .50 CALs, while still being able to clean up and wear the dress uniform of a sailor.

Who handles your wartime construction needs, is it mostly civilian contractors?

[harry hackedoff]

Wartime, variose Army units.
Peacetime, me (check my job in my profile)

[Wholley]

Welcome aboard CM2WICK.
Don't pay too much heed to Harry,He has delusions of sanity.
I see your from the rainy state.
Florida would like to cut a deal


Wholley.

[harry hackedoff]

Yeah mate so would I
How much for a kilo of marijuana

[harry hackedoff]

Just joking, guys. There is no way I`d ever use wack tobaccy.

I`m hooked on meth-amphet

What do you call P.O.s in your Navy, Mr Wick?

[JoJo82]

Just joking, guys. There is no way I`d ever use wack tobaccy.

I`m hooked on meth-amphet

What do you call P.O.s in your Navy, Mr Wick?

Morphine is better!!

Sea bees, is that not the sea cadets??

(Awaits open fire!)

[CM2Wick]

So much to respond to!

Ok, first and foremost: Seabees, Sea Cadets... I'll spare you the firing squad. Here in Washington we are humane and use the noose instead. Deal?

As for the marijuana, my God you wouldn't believe the people out here. I'm sure you could complete your transaction, but you'd have to drop the metric measurements and buy in pounds and ounces. Is this as much of a problem in the UK as it is in the US? And the new laws in Mexico!

Now, P.O... Whenever I answer a question about an acronym or abbreviation I think I'm going to be the butt of a joke. Do you mean Petty Officer? We call it the same. Three ranks of Seaman (Seaman Recruit, Seaman Apprentice, Seaman), three ranks of PO (Third Class, Second Class, First, Class), and three ranks of Chief PO (Chief, Senior Chief, Master Chief) make up the enlisted structure. We include our rating in our title (I am CM2, or Construction Mechanic Second Class. BM1 would be Boatswain's Mate First Class, HMSR would be Hospital Corpsman (Seaman Recruit), and EQCM would be Master Chief Equipmentman). Seemed confusing to me when I first enlisted, but it makes sense after a while. On our rating badges there is an insignia for specific rate, along with markings for what is most easily described as rank (our officers vehemently insist enlisted men do not possess 'rank'). I have no idea what most of the insignias represent, but mine looks like this:


In the place of the anchors in this image:


Our officer structure is much more simple. In fact I believe it's a lot like yours. We originally dropped the admiralty because it felt too aristorcratic, but we eventually brought that back and dropped the official rank of commodore in favor of two rear admiral ranks.

What exactly is a 'Gentleman Builder?' I'm fairly certain I wouldn't fit that profile.

[OMSSMretd]

Welcome aboard Shippers,
Got a lot of time for you US navy types, Port Canavaral was a home from home in fact in 1996 I spent more time there than Blighty. Also got to visit Hawaii, I'll never forget the brass band welcome we got there.
I always enjoyed it on exercise's when your guys could never find us.

[harry hackedoff]

Who said that



Single ping, Number One

[OMSSMretd]

New passive contact bearing 040 classification ....Dishwasher on rinse cycle.

[harry hackedoff]

You do realise that Quiet is the New Sex, as far as submariners are concerned don`t you OMSSM? As soon as you have made the noisyest thing on the boat quiet then your attention turns to the next most noisyest thing, till in the end all that remains is the sound of inflateable dolls, squeaking in unison somewhere on the deep

And did you know, Elmer doesn`t pronounce it "submariners" as we do?
He says "sub mareeners" why would that be
Wicky, I was asking what the term for PO is in your Navy, as per Gunny for Gunnery Sgt etc.

[OMSSMretd]

Blow up dolls! All we had was a tub of OX 18? (grease.)

[harry hackedoff]

We `ad t lick t`street clean
When are you going to post your mugshot?
Boat people, tut