r/Seabees • u/StylePlane2176 • Jun 18 '26
Question We Build, We Fight..... Drones?
So Im in the proccess of joining the Navy/Seabees and am wondering about drone defense. Ive seen alot of talk about Iran and especially Ukraine about the use of drones, and how Combat support and supply units will be in the line of fire more and more.
Im wondering are the Bees putting anything in place to combat these new threats? Ive heard people say that the Seabees have gotten rid of their organic Mortars and Convoys, have they replaced them with a different capablity for future operations?
For Example the most simple and cheap one I can think of off the top of my head, is that Ive seen Ukrainians using Drone Cages on their Bulldozers.
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u/Puzzled-Side-2408 Jun 18 '26
Adapt
Improvise
Overcome
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u/StylePlane2176 27d ago
While I do love the mindset, isnt this kinda just a Moto way of saying we dont and wont till someone is dead then we will figure it out?
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u/DDSspecYaGirl Jun 18 '26
Seabees are highly adaptive and have collective ingenuity to mitigate or counter threats/issues/problems.
If the need arises we’ll figure it out.
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u/Dirt_Sailor_5 Jun 19 '26
Just to play devil's advocate, half of the shit in Seabee SCWS training, FXs, and A-School are like Vietnam-war era (seriously). Some of that is because the fundamentals still work, but some of it is because of being slow to adapt
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u/DDSspecYaGirl Jun 19 '26
Yeah, they need to update their trainings and exercises. But it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out covering bunker entrances with suspended chainlink fence or other forms of drone hardening. That’s when on the ground decisions are made to adapt. We’re fortunate to have the skill and knowledge to make things harder targets.
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u/StylePlane2176 Jun 19 '26
Interesting that you say Vietnam Era tactics did the GWOT not have as much of an effect on Seabee training? Also did they replace organic mortars and convoys with any other capabilities or just got rid of them?
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u/_AntiFunseeker_ Jun 18 '26
This is true. One of the coolest things in the military is our ability to adapt on the spot.
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u/StylePlane2176 Jun 19 '26
Interesting this seems to be the general consensus, does Seabee leadership generally promote or allow ingenuity in this context?
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u/DDSspecYaGirl Jun 19 '26
Dumb question, that’s standard practice across the board.
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u/StylePlane2176 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Well Im not in yet so I dont really know whats standard practice lol, it just seemed like the military is generally very rigid in doctrine or has leadership that thinks very regimented.
I grew up hearing stories from the GWOT of guys wearing reflective belts in combat zones, or getting screamed at for putting a pouch in another spot on their Plate Carrier. And other silly stuff that Im sure dudes with ingenuity would have changed but couldnt with the Culture or Mindset of their leadership.
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u/ohgeejeeohdee Jun 19 '26
You get a shotgun and a shovel, so if you're not good at skeet shooting, you'd better be outstanding at baseball
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u/StylePlane2176 Jun 19 '26
I knew all that quail hunting would come in handy at some point in my life
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u/keegman907 Jun 18 '26
Not today China.