CAMP 93, Kuwait -- As Robby Moore stands watch over the guns of his fellow Port Hueneme Seabees who are busy building a bridge in the desert, he spits out long streams of Copenhagen from a broken-toothed grimace. His language still has the slur of his home town of Scroggins, Texas, pop. 20.

But Wednesday, Moore's was the voice of experience.



As members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 wrestled with steel bridge frames weighing 800 pounds and more, Moore could tell them exactly how the pieces fit together. Last year, he twice put together a similar bridge in the Philippines.

"We had to wear our flak. And at times, it was hostile, but we never took fire," the 27-year-old builder/construction worker said. "They pushed us to the limit, but we got things done. We worked together as a team."

This time, though, he's more worried. He knows the stakes are higher. Members of Battalion 4 are learning to build bridges in the Kuwaiti desert in preparation for a possible war against Iraq. Although the Seabees do a multitude of tasks within the military, their primary job is combat construction. And this was the real deal.

"We could be going to some other country to build bridges," Steelworker Chief Jerry Wheeler told the Seabees before their day started. "This could be mission critical."

About 20 members of the battalion traveled from their tents at Camp Castle, in Tactical Assembly Area Fox, to Camp 93 Wednesday for the specialized training by a private bridge-building company. Other groups have been going out for the past few weeks.

But there wasn't a river in sight at the building area. Instead, the Seabees constructed a bridge over sand, getting faster and surer with every beam they bolted. As their skill increased over the first day of training, it was as if the men and women were playing with giant-sized Legos. They inserted bolts the size of coffee thermoses and adjusted steel fittings the size of volleyball courts.

"If not for Seabees doing this bridge, the battle couldn't happen as quick as it will," Wheeler said. "If we can't get the armor and food up there (to the forward line), we have to rely on helicopters, and everything else, and we don't want to do that."

The Seabees chose to do the training in their flak vests to get a better understanding of what they may face. The sun beat down on them. The sand blew in their faces. They merely squinted and sucked from the water containers they wore on their backs.

Petty Officer 3rd Class J. Turnbull, 23, of Grants Pass, Ore., said building a bridge in a time of conflict will complete his military career.

"Not everyone gets an opportunity like this," Turnbull said. "This is the main reason I joined the Seabees. To build. I built a runway in Philippines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It's the work we are really meant to do."

With the help of other Seabees, Turnbull picked up side panels of the bridge and held them steady while they were being bolted. But, throughout the day, the jobs each Seabee took on switched. Wheeler said he wanted every Seabee to understand every role.

Despite the shadowless heat and the long day that continued into a sand-stormy night, the Seabees rolled up their sleeves and continued working, except the one Seabee at a time who kept watch over their M-16s. On the Seabees' arms were tattoos ranging from an Oriental design wrapped around the upper bicep, to a red rose emblazed with the name "Andee" on a bulging bicep, to a spider-web-covered elbow.

On Moore's right forearm was the name of his favorite band "AC/DC." On his left shoulder was the face of singer Rob Zombie.

Moore is called "Homer" by his friends and proudly admits to being recognized as the camp "Redneck." For him, creating this bridge in the desert was stressful, but reassuring. It graced him with the knowledge that if the time came, they could accomplish a critical mission effectively. Yet, looking out over the endless terrain of desert sand, he said it was surprising to be in the Middle East.

"I'm kind of shocked by all this, and, of course, I'm kind of scared," he said. "I'm scared for all the people at home who are worried sick about me."

He took a moment to spit his tobacco into the sand.



"But we'll get done what we gotta get done," he said. "We've got a good group of guys out there learning fast."