# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**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 27, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/81 "2017-11-27T17:06:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And maybe you _are_ working for the NSA right now. But of course that’s what you would tell us. Even with a decent bonus the job they were offering seemed deathly dull. If they told me I could be promoted to James Bond I would have picked different. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > So would it be easier to get into the Seebees than say an construction unit in the army or air force? Hard to say unless you are talking to a recruiter. The needs of the military charge constantly. This month they may be short then next month they may have too many. Like I mentioned at least in the Army before you sign you will know if you are getting assigned to the training. If you are going National Guard or reserve it really depends on what kind of units there are in the area since you get assigned to particular units. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/82 "2017-11-27T17:12:57Z")
nm. Comprehensively ninja’d by \*\*Loach \*\*whose info is fresher than mine. ---
**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 27, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/83 "2017-11-27T17:19:07Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > So would it be easier to get into the Seebees than say an construction unit in the army or air force? Right now it looks like there are eleven battalions between active and reserve. That’s a lot of people. At full manning, a battalion should have around 750 people, including officers and support personnel (Corpsmen, admin, cooks, storekeepers, etc.), but it’s typically less than fully manned. Then there are all the shore billets at public works, etc. When I was in, the number batted around was 10,000 in all, but I have no idea how accurate that was or what today’s manning level is. ---
**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 27, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/84 "2017-11-27T18:50:12Z")
The current strength of the Army Corps of Engineers is around 37,000. That includes civilians do I’m not sure what the breakdown is. The Corps is split between civil engineering which is in charge of building much of the infrastructure in the country and the military side. The civil side is a mix of military and civilian. The rest is mostly uniformed personnel. The Air Force handles things like building wet bars and hot tubs when they “deploy.” ---
**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 27, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/85 "2017-11-27T19:00:06Z")
Got to love the fact the one thing the Navy, Marines & Army can agree on, the Air Force is the country club. It was the force I meant to join, got snookered into the Navy like the idiot 18 year old I was. My Dad was USAF during Korea, got stationed in Iceland. 88 men and their own mess, 24 hours service and largely cook to order as he tells it. So he was Air Force and I think even he would agree with the accessment about the Air Force. ---
**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 27, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169/86 "2017-11-27T19:42:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The current strength of the Army Corps of Engineers is around 37,000. That includes civilians do I’m not sure what the breakdown is. The Corps is split between civil engineering which is in charge of building much of the infrastructure in the country and the military side. The civil side is a mix of military and civilian. The rest is mostly uniformed personnel. > > The Air Force handles things like building wet bars and hot tubs when they “deploy.” ha Ha! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-seabees/802169.md?page=4)