Construction Management Training in the Navy Seabees

The armed forces are facing challenges to maintain operational readiness with fewer personnel and leaner operating capital due to shrinking defense budgets. One way to optimize personnel assets is to provide effective, high quality training. Quality training programs serve two purposes First, they maintain or improve their operational readiness by increasing the skill level of personnel and second, they provide an incentive for recruiting high quality personnel who seek training opportunities in our all-volunteer armed forces. This report will deal exclusively with the Navys Construction Forces called the Seabees. It will investigate the timeliness and thoroughness of project management training given to project supervisors and crew leaders in Naval Construction Battalions NMCBs and Construction Battalion Units CBUs. Project supervisors are responsible for overall construction of a project. Crew leaders are responsible for the construction of major work areas such as carpentry, excavation, plumbing, electrical, and heating. Questionnaires were sent to 430 Seabees currently serving as project supervisors, crew leaders, and crew members in NMCBs and CBUs to identify potential problem areas in project management. Conclusions were drawn from the data that identify significant strengths and weaknesses among respondents, and recommendations were made for possible improvements in training programs.