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==Creation== In the late 1930s the US was not yet actively involved in fighting World War II, but saw the need to prepare for such an eventuality. Congress therefore authorized the expansion of Naval Shore Activities, which included construction in the Caribbean and by 1939 in the Central Pacific. Following standard peacetime patterns the Navy awarded these contracts to civilian constructions firms. These privately-owned constructions firms employed native civilian populations as well as Americans. These firms were answerable to Navy officers in charge of construction. By 1941 large navy bases were being built in Guam, Midway and Wake Islands, Pearl Harbor, Iceland, Newfoundland, Bermuda, and Trinidad, in addition to many other places. Under international law, civilians were encouraged not to resist enemy military attacks. Resistance meant the workers could be summarily executed as guerrillas. The need for a militarized Naval Construction Force to build advance bases in the war zone was self-evident. Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, CEC, USN, became Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (BUDOCKS) in 1937. This office is in charge of the Civil Engineer Corps. There was a need for military personnel having specific qualifications as master journeymen in their trades to be permanently assigned as military construction battalions. On 28 December 1941, he requested specific authority to carry out this decision, and on 5 January 1942, he gained authority from the Bureau of Navigation to recruit men from the construction trades, skilled men, masters of their trades.In March 1942, Moreell began to actively seek permission for such battalions. The average age for the men being enlisted was 37. The Seabees were officially named on the 5th day of March, 1942. for assignment to a Naval Construction Regiment composed of three Naval Construction Battalions. An urgent problem confronting the Bureau of Yards and Docks was who should command the construction battalions. By Navy regulations, military command of naval personnel was limited to line officers. Yet it was deemed essential that the newly established construction battalions should be commanded by officers of the Civil Engineer Corps who were trained in the skills required for the performance of construction work. The Bureau of Yards and Docks proposed that the necessary command authority should be bestowed on its Civil Engineer Corps officers. However, the Bureau of Naval Personnel (successor to the Bureau of Navigation) strongly objected to this proposal. Despite this opposition, Admiral Moreell personally presented the question to the Secretary of the Navy. On 19 March 1942, after due deliberation, the Secretary gave authority for officers of the Civil Engineer Corps to exercise military authority over all officers and enlisted men assigned to construction units. The Secretary's decision, which was incorporated in Navy regulations, removed a major roadblock in the conduct of Seabee operations. Of equal importance, it constituted a very significant morale booster for Civil Engineer Corps officers because it provided a lawful command authority status that tied them intimately into combat operations, the primary reason for the existence of any military force. From all points of view, Admiral Moreell's success in achieving this end contributed ultimately to the great success and fame of the Seabees. With authorization to establish construction battalions at hand and the question of command settled, the Bureau of Yards and Docks was confronted with the problem of recruiting, enlisting, and training Seabees, and then organizing the battalions and logistically supporting them in their operations. Plans for accomplishing these tasks were not already available, but were quickly developed, and because of the exigencies of war, much improvising was done.〔.〕 The name of the Seabees itself was created by Frank J. Iafrate, who was working as a file clerk at the Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Navy and civilian engineers would come into his office and study the naval installation's drawings. Iafrate drew caricatures of these men and in time became known for drawing. As new recruits and the men in charge started to grow, one day a Navy lieutenant, the officer in charge, came in and asked Iafrate if he could draw a 'Disney type' insignia that would identify and represent this new battalion. He explained to Iafrate that this group would be unique, that they would never be on the offensive attacking, but would be trained to defend themselves, their unit and their project without hesitation. After spending some time deliberating on different ideas and animals, the bee became his choice. Bees are always busy working and won't bother people unless they are bothered first, at which point they retaliate with a sharp sting. He spent about three hours on a Sunday afternoon drawing it, adding the Navy's white sailor hat, made the bee a third class petty officer, added tools of the trade, machinist mate, carpenters mate, gunner's mate, and on each wrist added the C.E.C. insignia for Civil Engineer Corps. He gave the bee a tommy-gun to show its fierce nature. To finish off the new Seabee logo, he encircled it with a Q for Quonset. The next morning, he showed it to the officer in charge, who showed it to the captain, who sent it off to Washington, to Admiral Moreell. The only item the Admiral requested be changed was the Q. He asked File Clerk Iafrate to change it to the rope for national recognition of a Naval insignia. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seabees in World War II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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