# Tell me about the Seabees **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2017, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169 "2017-11-20T07:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/41 "2017-11-22T16:40:25Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Well, the context is enlisting in Civil Engineering military career fields as training for post-separation career in construction trades. OP was originally about Seabees, and I wanted to make sure the Air Force put in a good appearance. Which apparently is you. 😃 Well, in my younger days after a couple of beers at the end of a long workweek at the local watering hole, it was a _fine_ appearance, but with us rowdy bunch, I would hesitate to say “_good_”. 😃 So, I was a 1LT when I got to the HORSE, and can’t speak to direct enlistments this year–a lot has changed (mostly for the better). At the time, IIRC, there was a dearth of AF Civil Engineers, and the enlistment/re-enlistment bonuses for the 3EXXX-series AFSCs. 3E7X1 (Fire Department) and 3E8X1 (EOD) weren’t attached to RED HORSE units, but had some pretty high re-enlistment bonuses due to the low manning/high OPSTEMPO. That, and the Air Force is looking [to expand](https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/05/23/air-force-budget-calls-for-325100-airmen-in-fy18/) in 2018. There’s still a stressed need for AF Civil Engineers, and signing up for a particular career field is a different path than a Base of Preference (BOP) program, which _could_ line you up with a geographical area to get you into a HORSE. There are three active duty RED HORSE Squadrons: the 819th at Malmstrom AFB, MT, the 820th at Nellis AFB, NV, and the 823rd at Hurlburt Field, FL. There are a smattering of Reserve RED HORSE squadrons, and they are usually attached to active duty ones. Here’s a [quick list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Air_Force_civil_engineering_squadrons). Again, recollecting individual unit assignments, that’s on a “mission needs first” basis, meaning the first-need gets filled first. The only prerequisites I know of are to have a decent ASVAB score, and be willing to deploy. . . _a lot_. I know of _ **PLENTY** _ of Airmen who were able to parlay their Air Force-learned engineering skills to the outside world. In my opinion, the Civil Engineer career fields are one of the most successful military skillsets to be applicable in the outside world (as opposed to other ‘purely military’ skillsets like Security Forces, Intelligence, or Combat Shoe-Clerking). So to answer your question, I think it’s twofold: 1) Enlisting under a ‘guaranteed contract’ of an AFSC; and 2) Working the Base of Preference program. Tripler The only hard fact I can provide: “Speak with a recruiter, and don’t sign a thing until you get what you want.” ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/42 "2017-11-22T17:22:17Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > At the time, IIRC, there was a dearth of AF Civil Engineers, and the enlistment/re-enlistment bonuses for the 3EXXX-series AFSCs. **Should read:** “At the time, IIRC, there was a dearth of AF Civil Engineers, and the enlistment/re-enlistment bonuses for the 3EXXX-series AFSCs _were good._” ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/43 "2017-11-22T17:53:41Z")
Loach beat me to it. The Army has construction people too. Screw drivers, bulldozers… all kinds of construction stuff. Best part is they will guarantee the job in writing. Try to be a Seabee and you could end up a barnacle breeder or whatever they call the guy who has to pull dead dolphins out of the Navy’s tuna nets. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/44 "2017-11-22T19:13:35Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Nahhhh, it’s all good. I was with the 819 RED HORSE before I went EOD, then on my last deployment to Afghanistan (in an EOD capability), had NMCB support to our EOD Battalion. > > What do you want to know about RED HORSE? > > Tripler > “Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!” I have to say that the Air Force always had the best food. Seabee chow was only about one step above what the Marines had to eat. We used to sneak over to the AFB whenever there was one available, or over to a regular Navy chow hall. It got so bad in Guam that the Naval Station banned the battalion from eating over there unless there was an active project going on nearby, in which case they would issue special temporary ID cards to the crew. They had an ice cream sundae bar! I got stuck with a crew working at the Naval Magazine, which was staffed by Marines. Worst chow since Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/45 "2017-11-22T19:25:20Z")
Yeah, my uncle who was in the Army (Vietnam era, but in Germany) always loved getting sent over to the Air Force side of the base for some errand or another, because then he got to eat the Air Force food instead of the Army. He said that they got all of the same supplies, but that the Army put no effort whatsoever into preparing them. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/46 "2017-11-22T19:59:24Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Loach beat me to it. The Army has construction people too. Screw drivers, bulldozers… all kinds of construction stuff. Best part is they will guarantee the job in writing. Try to be a Seabee and you could end up a barnacle breeder or whatever they call the guy who has to pull dead dolphins out of the Navy’s tuna nets. For others because I know Bear knows this. My 3rd and final MOS was 12B combat engineer. That’s the type that blows shut up and doesn’t build anything. Fine by me I already had a civilian career. 12Bs are the ones driving the Husky and Buffalo to clear routes of IEDs. Setting up obstacles and destroying obstacles. The fun stuff. The Army Corps of Enginners has many more jobs that are directly applicable to civilian life. They use the term horizontal and vertical. The horizontal engineers are the heavy equipment operators. Back hoes, bulldozers, big forklifts… everything that’s used on the civilian side. The vertical guys are the carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers… everything you need to build buildings. There really are a ton of different jobs with experience that can be used on the civilian side and the Corps of Engineers are in the forefront of large public work projects. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/47 "2017-11-22T20:04:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, my uncle who was in the Army (Vietnam era, but in Germany) always loved getting sent over to the Air Force side of the base for some errand or another, because then he got to eat the Air Force food instead of the Army. He said that they got all of the same supplies, but that the Army put no effort whatsoever into preparing them. Tin Cans (destroyers & frigates) were known to have better enlisted food with lesser supplies than carriers. Cooking for a few hundred vs 4000 made a big difference. The Chief messes on the carriers were excellent though by all accounts. ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/48 "2017-11-22T20:38:30Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Time period was 1983 for my friend and 85 for myself. I wanted ET or one of the other Electronic Tech like fields, I was planning to be an Electrical Engineer at the time. No idea what doesn’t add up. They assigned me to EM and I decided 4 years was plenty long enough for me instead of 6. > > Also I unlucky enough to miss out on the GI Bill and only got a far inferior program called VEEP. > > Your ignorance needs to be addressed rather than dismissing my post. Be more careful in the future please. ET/FC was/is a six-year enlistment. As we spent, well this might have changed, but up until 2010 you spent more than two years in schools, hence that six-year enlistment. Nukes are also six-years as they spend the first two years at Nuke school before shipping out. Your story still doesn’t convince me you are legit though. Maybe it’s too much time on the Stolen Valor sites… Also, it’s VEAP. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/49 "2017-11-22T22:07:04Z")
> [@electronbee](#): > > ET/FC was/is a six-year enlistment. As we spent, well this might have changed, but up until 2010 you spent more than two years in schools, hence that six-year enlistment. Nukes are also six-years as they spend the first two years at Nuke school before shipping out. Your story still doesn’t convince me you are legit though. Maybe it’s too much time on the Stolen Valor sites… > > Also, it’s VEAP. Look asshole, I was in long before you. I spent 4 years Navy, only made it to E4 as an EM3. Nuke was 6 years, ET was only 4 back in 1984 when I was talking to and be tricked by the recruiter. As to VEAP, yes that was corrected above and I know it very well. I was indeed a fresh-air snipe on the USS Ranger, that is fine. I spent time in every shop except flight deck in E-Div. Stood watches from Steering to Switchboard with 400mhz and was training for Load Dispatcher. Back then I knew the steam cycle as well as any MM or BT, now I have probably forgotten most of it. Want to make bullshit accusations about more stuff, you’ll love this one, I made it through boot camp without firing a gun. Impossible you say, well if you think I full of shit, I’ll explain it in detail but it involved both being ASMO’d and then Training PO in the next company when I was suppose to go to the range. While mess cranking I transferred myself from Galley to Bake shop. Help that I was the only one that really knew how to repair the doughnut machine. What else will give you more fuel? Oh, I got Cap advanced from E3 to E4 and then almost got busted later on back to E3. Thankfully the Chiefs appreciated my work and protected me from an asshole Warrant Officer. I got off with a small fine and 20 days stuck on the boat. Oh my extra duty was pretty easy, I had so many friend on the ship that they would go to the MAA shack and request me for the night. Sometimes I did easy electrical work and sometimes I played games. I did get stuck with the damn needle guns twice though. As all of this was 30 years ago, I do forget some fine details. Good luck remembering every detail from 30 years ago yourself. Want to know about the time I got an Ensign in trouble for trying to force me to attend a religious service? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/50 "2017-11-22T22:23:43Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Look asshole, I was in long before you. I spent 4 years Navy, only made it to E4 as an EM3. Nuke was 6 years, ET was only 4 back in 1984 when I was talking to and be tricked by the recruiter. As to VEAP, yes that was corrected above and I know it very well. I was indeed a fresh-air snipe on the USS Ranger, that is fine. I spent time in every shop except flight deck in E-Div. Stood watches from Steering to Switchboard with 400mhz and was training for Load Dispatcher. Back then I knew the steam cycle as well as any MM or BT, now I have probably forgotten most of it. > > Want to make bullshit accusations about more stuff, you’ll love this one, I made it through boot camp without firing a gun. Impossible you say, well if you think I full of shit, I’ll explain it in detail but it involved both being ASMO’d and then Training PO in the next company when I was suppose to go to the range. While mess cranking I transferred myself from Galley to Bake shop. Help that I was the only one that really knew how to repair the doughnut machine. > > What else will give you more fuel? Oh, I got Cap advanced from E3 to E4 and then almost got busted later on back to E3. Thankfully the Chiefs appreciated my work and protected me from an asshole Warrant Officer. I got off with a small fine and 20 days stuck on the boat. Oh my extra duty was pretty easy, I had so many friend on the ship that they would go to the MAA shack and request me for the night. Sometimes I did easy electrical work and sometimes I played games. I did get stuck with the damn needle guns twice though. > > As all of this was 30 years ago, I do forget some fine details. Good luck remembering every detail from 30 years ago yourself. > > Want to know about the time I got an Ensign in trouble for trying to force me to attend a religious service? Let it slide, man. It don’t mean nuthin’. I try to be cautious about saying what’s what in the Navy these days, as I retired 27 years ago and I’m sure that much has changed. Haven’t been accused of being a poser, and I’m not sure what I would do if that happened face-to-face. But on the internet? Shit, like I said, it don’t mean nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/51 "2017-11-22T22:37:01Z")
**Moderator Note** This is getting far too heated for GQ. This isn’t the Pit. Let’s all dial it back a notch, and if you want to make accusations of stolen valor or call someone an a-hole, please use a more appropriate forum for such comments. This is GQ, so just focus on the facts, please. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/52 "2017-11-22T22:37:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Let it slide, man. It don’t mean nuthin’. I try to be cautious about saying what’s what in the Navy these days, as I retired 27 years ago and I’m sure that much has changed. Haven’t been accused of being a poser, and I’m not sure what I would do if that happened face-to-face. But on the internet? Shit, like I said, it don’t mean nuthin’. Well, you’re right. But it is a pisser. If it was a Nov 2017 poster I would have ignored the posts, the first post was fine, shit happens. But that second post successfully pissed me off. So I am the fool. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/53 "2017-11-22T22:44:02Z")
> [@electronbee](#): > > Your story still doesn’t convince me you are legit though. Maybe it’s too much time on the Stolen Valor sites… > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Look asshole, I was in long before you. **Moderator Warnings** I’m sure you both aware that insults are not permitted in General Questions. This is an official warning for both of you. Do not do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/54 "2017-11-23T03:31:38Z")
Wow, that’s intense! I’m pretty confident that **What Exit?**'s story is totally as it happened–pretty much the same thing happened to me at the exact same time (85), when I went in expecting to be a nuke ET and was told that the Navy wanted me to be a nuke MM. In my case I stayed in and opted for the “engineering laboratory technician” specialty (ELT). I suspect that we must have passed each other in the hallways at Snipes Castle since for whatever reason I was placed in a division that was primarily EMs even though I was an MM. I didn’t sign up for the VEAP thing–it was brand new when I was in boot camp, and they did a pretty crappy job of explaining it. All I remember was “you need to pay $100 per month” at a time when that amount was a sizable fraction of my base pay. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/55 "2017-11-23T15:13:46Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Great post **Chefguy**. > > Just to add one thing as this bit me. If the recruiter is promising a rate, get it in writing and have others review it. > > One friend had Journalist rating promised in writing, when he got done with boot camp he was told there was no room for him and offered other training, he opted to get out instead. Myself, I was going in for Electronics (ET), got talked into Nuke ET and missed the fact that meant they would assign me to either electrician(EM), machinist(MM) or ET. All I could do was drop from the 6 year Nuke commitment to the 4 year EM commitment. I never served in the military, but a number of my friends who did were bitter at being promised assignments by recruiters that never materialized. They felt pretty cheated. This was the late 80s / early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/56 "2017-11-23T15:21:58Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I never served in the military, but a number of my friends who did were bitter at being promised assignments by recruiters that never materialized. They felt pretty cheated. This was the late 80s / early 90s. That’s always a good selling point with the Army. There’s no promises or hoping what you get, it’s right there in your enlistment contract. Technically in case of the communist hordes pouring over the border from Canada or alien invasion they can void the contract and throw you into the infantry. I’ve never seen that happen. If they offer it to you it means there are openings and a need and that’s the school you are going to. ---
**Author:** ![AirFarce1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airfarce1/32/298_2.png) [@AirFarce1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AirFarce1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/57 "2017-11-25T00:25:49Z")
I was an Air Force recruiter a few years ago, and keep in touch with my friends still in that business. As far as getting a guaranteed job in the Air Force’s version of the building trades (whether simply Civil Engineering or specifically RED HORSE), it will be VERY difficult. The Air Force really doesn’t have any issue with recruiting, so if you want to get into Big Blue, you’ll essentially have to take what you qualify for and they need. Applicants are allowed to list their preferences, but a well qualified applicant getting something outside of the Mechanical or Electrical areas is low. Generally, right or wrong, the Air Force building trade AFSC’s are reserved for less academically qualified applicants that are otherwise qualified. ---
**Author:** ![Lickety\_Split\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lickety\_Split\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety_Split_1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/58 "2017-11-25T01:15:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s my understanding that you can’t just “join the Seabees”. You can join the Navy, and once you do that, the Navy will decide where to put you to make best use of your skills. You can certainly express a preference, and they might honor that preference, but then again they might not. These days, where there is no draft and military service it totally voluntary, the odds that the Navy will give you the MOS you want are very high. Providing of course you score well-enough on your ASVAB test to qualify for the job. Each job has its own minimum scores for the different parts of the test. So, say a kid scores well enough to meet or exceeded the criteria for CB–which, tbh, ain’t all that high as I recall. Then the kid says he wants to be a CB. And to be more specific, to be a heavy equipment operator. Unless ALL those billets are filled–which is highly unlikely–the odds are about 90% that the recruiter will guarantee in writing the school and the MOS to the kid. Especially since the kid always has the choice to refuse to enlist if he is not given the MOS he wants. Hope this helps. (BTW: yes I am aware the Navy does not use the term MOS (military occupational specialty). Instead they call the jobs “Rates” or use the NEC. I just used the MOS term since it is better known among veterans and also those familiar with military policy. I myself was a Navy Submariner for six years.) LS ---
**Author:** ![Lickety\_Split\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lickety\_Split\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety_Split_1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/59 "2017-11-25T01:23:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Look asshole, I was in long before you. I spent 4 years Navy, only made it to E4 as an EM3. Nuke was 6 years, ET was only 4 back in 1984 when I was talking to and be tricked by the recruiter. As to VEAP, yes that was corrected above and I know it very well. I was indeed a fresh-air snipe on the USS Ranger, that is fine. I spent time in every shop except flight deck in E-Div. Stood watches from Steering to Switchboard with 400mhz and was training for Load Dispatcher. Back then I knew the steam cycle as well as any MM or BT, now I have probably forgotten most of it. > > Want to make bullshit accusations about more stuff, you’ll love this one, I made it through boot camp without firing a gun. Impossible you say, well if you think I full of shit, I’ll explain it in detail but it involved both being ASMO’d and then Training PO in the next company when I was suppose to go to the range. While mess cranking I transferred myself from Galley to Bake shop. Help that I was the only one that really knew how to repair the doughnut machine. > > What else will give you more fuel? Oh, I got Cap advanced from E3 to E4 and then almost got busted later on back to E3. Thankfully the Chiefs appreciated my work and protected me from an asshole Warrant Officer. I got off with a small fine and 20 days stuck on the boat. Oh my extra duty was pretty easy, I had so many friend on the ship that they would go to the MAA shack and request me for the night. Sometimes I did easy electrical work and sometimes I played games. I did get stuck with the damn needle guns twice though. > > As all of this was 30 years ago, I do forget some fine details. Good luck remembering every detail from 30 years ago yourself. > > Want to know about the time I got an Ensign in trouble for trying to force me to attend a religious service? Whoa, amigo…cool off. It’s all good. I was a Navy Submariner for six lovely years, and I too almost went through basic training (NRTC) without firing a weapon. I remember being very disappointed in that too, especially since we were right across the street from the Marine recruits, who did everything with their rifles! It looked like more fun. Mostly I thought boot camp was boring and silly. Anyway, yeah, the only time we got to shoot was ONE half of ONE day–maybe three hours or so–with a .22 rifle. What a gyp! LOL ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/60 "2017-11-25T01:30:25Z")
> [@Lickety\_Split](#): > > Whoa, amigo…cool off. It’s all good. I was a Navy Submariner for six lovely years, and I too almost went through basic training (NRTC) without firing a weapon. I remember being very disappointed in that too, especially since we were right across the street from the Marine recruits, who did everything with their rifles! It looked like more fun. Mostly I thought boot camp was boring and silly. Anyway, yeah, the only time we got to shoot was ONE half on ONE day–maybe three hours or so–with a .22 rifle. What a gyp! LOL We didn’t even get that. I never touched a government-owned firearm while in the service, other than those deactivated Springfields they had us marching around with in boot. But it makes sense–we weren’t there to shoot at the enemy, we were there to run the power plant and put out fires. That’s why we had fire fighting training, which I imagine the Marine recruits didn’t attend. 6 years… a nuke? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169.md?page=4)