CHAPTER 9 ADVANCED BASE PLANNING AND FIELD STRUCTURES

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize the principles involved in the use of the Facilities Planning Guide, and identify procedures used to construct field structures and repair war damaged structures during contingency operations.

As a Seabee in the Naval Construction Force (NCF), your primary mission is to support the Navy and Marine Corps during contingency operations. You, as the Builder, are usually the prime contractor on any vertical construction project, as covered in chapter 3. This means you have to be knowledgeable of contingency operations. REMEMBER, the primary reason Seabee's exist is to provide construction support in any contingency operation and to TRAIN everyone accordingly.

"Contingency" means an amount included in the construction budget to cover the cost of UNFORESEEN factors related to construction. Contingency operations, such as the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, peace-keeping mission in Bosnia, Typhoon O'Mara in Guam, Hurricane Andrew in Florida, Mt. Pinatubo eruption in Philippines, and many more humanitarian assignments, are what Seabees are trained to do.

As crew leaders and project managers, the need to understand how the Advanced Base Functional Component (ABFC) system works and what types of field structures you will be dealing with is critical to contingency operations.

ADVANCED BASE FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM

The ADVANCED BASE FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT (ABFC) system provides support facilities to the constantly changing tactical and strategic situations. A modular or building block concept was developed. Components were needed to incorporate personnel, materials, equipment, and facilities. These components were designed and developed to fulfill specific functions, no matter where the components were placed. The Navy ABFC system is based on early experiences in advanced base planning and shipment used in World War II. Additional improvements were adopted from experiences learned in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf and many other small conflicts.

ABFCs are normally complete entities. The basic groupings of the ABFC system are (1) component, a complete unit; (2) facility, a portion of a complete component; and (3) assembly, a portion of a facility. ABFCs, though normally complete, may not be supplied with housing, messing, medical facilities, maintenance facilities, defensive ordnance, communication equipment, and utilities with each component. These service components or facilities are to be integrated into an overall base development or augmentation plan. The ABFC system consists of the following two general-purpose publications: Table of Advanced Base Functional Components with Abridged Initial Outfitting Lists, OPNAV 41P3A, and Facilities Planning Guide, volumes 1 and 2, NAVFAC P-437.

ABFCs are assigned descriptive names to indicate their functions and alphanumeric designators to facilitate reference. A detailed advanced base initial outfitting list (ABIOL) is an itemized line-item printout of the material in each ABFC. Each command or bureau of the system is responsible for maintaining a detailed listing of that part of the ABIOL assigned to it.

FACILITIES PLANNING GUIDE

When you are tasked to assist in planning the construction of an advanced base, consult the Facilities Planning Guide. This guide identifies the structures and supporting utilities of the Navy ABFC system. This system was developed to make pre-engineered facility