Who We Are
The United States Navy Seabee Museum was established in 1947 and is the second oldest Navy Museum in the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) system. The Museum is supported by the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation, which also supports the Seabee Heritage Center in Gulfport, Mississippi.
The Museum is located outside the perimeter fence of the Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California. A new 38,338 square foot museum facility was built in 2010, moving the museum outside the naval base to allow the general public access.
The United States Navy Seabee Museum collects, preserves, and exhibits artifacts related to the history of the Civil Engineer Corps and the Naval Construction Force, better known as the Seabees. The Naval Construction Force builds and maintains the United States naval shore establishments around the globe and supports amphibious operations of the Navy’s expeditionary force. Seabees also perform global humanitarian missions such as well-drilling and disaster relief. Established in 1941, they served as the construction force for the Navy during World War II. The Seabees’ “Can Do” attitude made them legendary within the Armed Forces, and their character epitomized the resilience of that generation. Postwar, the Seabees and Civil Engineer Corps officers played critical roles in supporting the Navy’s implementation of American foreign policy. The “Can Do” attitude still drives today’s Seabees: “the difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.”
What We Do
The mission of the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum (USNSM), a Department of the Navy museum, is to ensure that the construction and engineering accomplishments of the Seabees and the Civil Engineer Corps to the Navy and the nation are not forgotten, remain relevant, and inspire as many people as possible.
