MCB 3 arrived on 2 October 1951 to get the project going and was joined by MCB 5 in November. Over the next five years, MCBs 2, 7, 9, 11 and CBD 1803 all contributed to the effort. They leveled a mountain to make way for a nearly runway. NAS Cubi Point turned out to be one of the largest earth-moving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the Panama Canal. Seabees there moved of dry fill plus another 15 million that was hydraulic fill. The $100 million facility ($ in dollars) was commissioned on 25 July 1956, and comprised an air station and an adjacent pier that was capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers. Seabee Teams The World War II precursor to Seabee teams was the PT Advance base Detachment of the 113th CB. Each man was cross-trained in at least three trades with some qualified as corpsmen and divers. During Vietnam the requirement of being skilled in three trades was continued. The first Seabees referred to as "Seabee Teams" were CBDs 1802 and 1803. They were followed by Detachments Able and Baker. The U.S. State Department learned of the teams and concluded they could have a Cold War purpose. They could be U.S. "Good Will Ambassadors" to third world countries to counter the spread of Communism, a military version of the Peace Corps. These 13-man teams would construct schools, drill wells or build clinics creating a positive image for the U.S. They were utilized by the United States Agency for International Development and were in S.E. Asia by the mid-1950s. Then in the early sixties, the U.S. Army Special Forces were being sent into rural areas of South Vietnam to develop a self-defense force to counter the Communist threat and making use of the Seabee teams at these same places made sense to the CIA. To start, twelve "Seabee teams, with Secret Clearances, were sent with the Army's Special Forces in the CIA funded Civilian Irregular Defense Group program (CIDG)" in the years 1963–1965. By 1965 the U.S. Army had enough engineers in theater to end Seabee involvement with Special Forces. At first teams were called Seabee Technical Assistance Teams (STAT) and were restricted to two in theater at a time. Teams after STAT 1104 were renamed Seabee Teams and by 1969 there were 17 in theater. As a military force Seabee Teams received many