VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Eight decades of service to the nation are coming to an end for the Navy's Amphibious Construction Battalion Two at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek.
The unit's decommissioning ceremony was kind of like a funeral, and kind of like a celebration all at the same time, with the formal casing of the command colors serving as an exclamation point to the final chapter of a story that began back in 1943.
"Since its inception, Amphibious Construction Battalion Two has participated in almost every major conflict the nation has faced. No matter the challenge, ACB-2 has gotten the job done," said Captain Atim Senthill, ACB-2 Commanding Officer.
From World War II, Vietnam, Lebanon, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom to numerous natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the Seabees of ACB-2 have been there, done that.
They fulfilled their motto: "We build, we fight."
And now, the finish line is at hand.
Asked if that part of the unit's tale is sad, Command Master Chief Martin Laurie said: "Yes, it is, because you're losing a lot of history over the 80 years of this command."
Retired Captain Joe Campbell -- a former Commanding Officer for ACB-2 -- said of the ceremony: "It's kind of a family reunion, also. So... sad, but it's always good to see folks, right?"
And this was just a ceremony. The actual official decommissioning date for ACB-2 is March 31, 2023.
The Navy said the work of ACB-2 will be taken over by the San Diego-based Amphibious Construction Battalion-1.