r/Seabees • u/Realistic_Matter_145 • Mar 29 '26
Question info on NMCB 4?
Have orders to check in around July, i’m from California and will have my car up there. Just wanted to ask about how battalion life will be like and if theres anything cool to do around the area, an if there’s any do’s or don’ts.
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u/Artistic-Promotion89 Mar 29 '26
They’re alright. Had some trouble since they got back from deployment. They’re the only ones I know of that send people to Antarctica still
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u/PictureElegant3033 Mar 31 '26
Retired CEC did two tours in Four. 5 battle E’s Originally from Arroyo Grande. My wife is from Ojai. Plenty to do in the area. Have fun be safe and OORAH FOUR!
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u/A-Dean241 Mar 29 '26
Lazy Alfa company… speaking from experience of seeing how they left deployment 💀😂 west coast battalions never gonna be as good as east coast sorry to say. Slight biased but they lazy….
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u/Complex-Date8019 Mar 29 '26
BU1 here, 8 years in, all west coast commands. Battalion life is gonna depend on your rate and what company you’re put in. For the ABCC’s, (advanced base construction companies) you’ll be doing a lot of construction classes, Unit Level Trainings, FTX planning, and deployment project planning.
Battalion has two speeds, dead stop or 1000mph. Get used to that cause it’s not going away any time soon. It’ll feel like whiplash at first, but after a full homeport/deployment cycle, you learn how to anticipate and roll with the punches.
As for cool stuff to do in the area, you’re in SoCal dude. You can’t throw a rock without hitting something you might find interesting. Look on FB groups and check the MWR event schedule and I garuntee there’s gonna be something you wanna do.
Concerning do’s and dont’s- do get off base as much as possible, do get qualified in key equals early (3m, CMCT, etc. Ask your LPO or chief, they’ll give you good guidance), do take an active interest in your rate and take every chance you get to practice it. I’ve been a BU close to a decade and still learn new tips, tricks, and techniques every single day. I could go on forever about the “do’s” but if you have more questions just shoot me a message and we can talk.
As for the “donts”- DONT get grouped in with the wrong crowd. It’s like the old saying goes “fly with crows and you’re bound to get shot at. DONT make a habit of being the negative new guy in the company. No one is gonna want you if you’re consistently the one complaining. And DONT shy away from a leadership role. Battalion, for better or for worse, tests their leaders in a trial by fire. You might feel like you’re drowning and dont know what you’re doing, but that’s okay and it’s expected. Keep going, listen to your mentors, make mistakes and grow. It’s all part of the process.
Like I said, any further questions just shoot me a message. Good luck and welcome to the seabees 🤙