U.S. NAVY STEELWORKER (SW) RATING BADGE

Established in 1948 from the service ratings of Shipfitter (CS) (Steelworkers) and Shipfitter (CB) (Riggers), the Steelworker (SW) rating is one of the seven source ratings for the Seabee Community. The title of the rating goes a long way in describing the work that Sailors serving as Steelworkers do: rigging and operating specialized equipment designed to erect metal structures, Steelworkers help construct buildings, piers, bridges, causeways, and other infrastructure components associated with both permanent bases and temporary installations.

Aside from a commitment to a five-year enlistment, there are no out-of-the-ordinary requirements Naval enlistees must meet should they decide to seek a career in the Steelworker rating. Like all newly enlisted personnel, potential SW Sailors first complete Recruit Training at Naval Station Great Lakes before heading to Gulfport, Mississippi for a three-month-long Class “A” Technical School. During their time at the Naval Construction Training Center, future Steelworkers learn theories and skills essential to their ratings, as well as the basic combat skills that all the ratings that make up the Seabee Community must learn.

Graduation from “A” School is usually followed by deployment to either a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) or an Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB). As their names indicate, ACBs build infrastructure that supports the movement of equipment and personnel from ship to shore, while NMCBs build the shore bases and associated infrastructure (electricity, water, communications, etc.).

Other possible assignments could be with a Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (there are two located in Virginia Beach) or to a Public Works Department. In the Public Works Department, which fall under the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Sailors in the Steelworker rating will perform the sort of maintenance and construction you see carried out in cities across the country—building and maintaining roads and managing utilities such as electricity, water, and sewer services.

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U.S. NAVY STEELWORKER (SW) RATING BADGE