This is why Seabees hate Camp Shelby:
Remember, at Shelby, you can always use your E-tool as a paddle. (U.S. Navy photo 180820-N-ZI635-258 by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class George M. Bell/Released)
Offical caption: “CAMP SHELBY, Miss. (Aug. 20, 2018) Seabees stand inside their fighting position during Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133’s field training exercise (FTX) at Camp Shelby. FTX provides a robust training environment where Seabee forces plan and execute multiple mission essential tasks including convoy security, force protection, and camp buildup prior to deployment.”
Spread out across 130,000 acres of Mississippi pine forest, gumbo mud swamp and Afrika Korps POW camp carved out of even more rugged DeSoto National Forest, Shelby is the largest state-owned training center in the country and I have spent much time there. Established during the Great War, the famous 38th Infantry “Cyclone” Division formed there before deploying to the Western Front. During WWII the even more famous 442nd RCT and 100th “One Puka Puka” Bn trained there before heading to eternal glory in Europe at places like Hill 140, Castellina and Vosges Mountains.
Since then, Guard units from around the Southeast trained there for the Sandbox– as well as the Gulfport-based Seabees, who attend regular FTXs there among the WWII Q-huts and hummingbird-sized mosquitos.
However, the base does have a great museum on site, open to the public, and you don’t even have to get your feet dirty to check it out.