Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Camp Shields,Okinawa. In 2003, NMCB 7 deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Battalion supported Marine units by constructing roads and maintaining camps throughout Kuwait and Iraq. NMCB Seven supported combat operations by maintaining main and alternate supply routes and jointly constructing the longest NCF constructed Mabey-Johnson bridge at Az Zubidayah. For its extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against enemy forces from March – April 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, NMCB Seven was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. In 2005 NMCB 7 provided the initial response to Hurricane Katrina and was the first unit to provide disaster recovery support. In the aftermath of Katrina, NMCB Seven was tasked with many key projects assisting the Mississippi Gulf Coast recovery from the massive devastation. The Battalion assisted the Coast Guard, Gulfport Sheriff's Department, and Fish and Wildlife Commission gaining access to water assets in order to conduct search and rescue operations. The scope soon expanded to include demolition of old buildings, clearing railroad tracks around the Port of Gulfport, and building temporary shelters for fuel tanks. In all, NMCB 7 removed 250 damaged trees, 3000 tons of steel and scrap metal, and 600 tons of other debris. NMCB 7 was selected as the Atlantic Fleet Naval Construction Force Battle Efficiency "E" winner. In February 2006 NMCB 7 deployed to Kuwait, CENTCOM AOR, and other locations in direct support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The battalion was on 4 continents, in 13 countries, at 25 work sites. In June 2007, NMCB 7 deployed to Okinawa, Japan operating the main body from Camp Shields. The majority of NMCB Seven's Seabees were located in the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) area of operations, from San Clemente Island on the California coast to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. An additional 50 Seabees from NMCB 7 were detached to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Afghanistan. On 1 October 2008, NMCB 7 deployed to Al Taqaddum, Iraq and various other locations, including some smaller detachments in Afghanistan. From there, they began the turnover process once again with NMCB 3. In December 2008, NMCB 7 received orders to redeploy to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan to construction the new base code named Tombstone 1 which eventually became Camp Leatherneck, the headquarters of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. NMCB