Super common in Gulfport and Port Hueneme, as well as anywhere the FMF is moving into new digs overseas, but less frequently encountered elsewhere, this insignia may stump some:
Give up?
It’s the Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist insignia, issued to qualified Naval Construction Force members since 1993.
It incorporates the old-school WWII Seabee “We build, we fight” motto of the sailor bee with a Tommy gun as well as an M1903 Springfield (one of the few times the Springer makes it to patches or insignia) and a cutlass. Interestingly, Seabees often carried all three weapons in WWII, using M1928 and M1 Thompsons, the 1903A3 and, on occasion, ship’s cutlasses (the latter as machetes). They were also the only ones to actually use a Sedgely glove gun in combat!
The more you know…
And yes, the ‘Bees do get a fair amount of field training at Camp Shelby, sucking in the mud.
(U.S. Navy photo 180820-N-ZI635-258 by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class George M. Bell/Released)