Artist to Paint Seabee Series

By Mass Communication Specialist Chief Terrina Weatherspoon, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet Public Affairs

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (NNS) -- A visual information specialist from the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C., visited the Third Naval Construction Regiment in Kandahar, Afghanistan Sept. 12 to document Seabees in Afghanistan.

The artist, Morgan I. Wilbur, was given access to projects being done by Naval Mobile Construction Battalions 18, 40, 5 and 21.

"I wanted to come here to observe the Seabees in Afghanistan, so that I could do a series of paintings to tell their story for the Navy art collection," said Wilbur. "Together the head of the Navy art collection and I both said we need to capture the Seabees. We don't have too much art on that. So between the two of us we knew this was the next project we needed to do."

Wilbur was able to photograph and sketch scenes that he will take home and later turn into paintings for the Naval Heritage archives. The paintings may also be used in an exhibit at the Seabee Museum currently being built in Port Hueneme, Calif.

"I'm most excited about painting the people," said Wilbur. "Seabees are very upbeat and motivated people who love their jobs. I truly believe they are among the hardest working people in the Navy."

Wilbur has been on the staff of the Naval History and Heritage command, working as the art director for Naval Aviation News magazine.

His work is represented in several collections including the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, and his art has been reproduced in numerous books and magazines.

In 2002, Wilbur boarded the USS John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier engaged in offensive operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In April 2003, he traveled to Iraq to document Navy Medicine's support in Operation Iraqi Freedom, which included time with Fleet Hospital 3 in southern Iraq. Wilbur returned to Iraq in 2005 to document the work of Navy medical corpsmen serving with the Marines, and in 2006 to document coalition activities in Baghdad.

"My trips have mostly been to shore based units," said Wilbur. "When people think of the Navy they think of the water. I wanted to show people a different side, a side that not everyone knows about."

Wilbur spent three weeks in Afghanistan and visited more than three forward operating bases and two combat outposts.

"The environment out here is incredible," said Wilbur. "All I knew up [until] this point is what I've read about Afghanistan. I knew it sounded like a difficult place to do the work that Seabees do. From what I've heard of the Seabees, I thought it would be good way to learn a lot about what they do and to help document their history and contributions to the people of Afghanistan."

Wilbur plans on painting at least a dozen different scenes from his time in Afghanistan.

"The dusty environment, the sun and the heat," said Wilbur. "I'm just going to try and capture this incredible work and these harsh environmental conditions. But the main thing is the people and their attitudes. One of the main impressions is the physicality. It's pretty impressive. The Seabee culture is very interesting."