Seabees’ dining hall renovations complete

It was a big day at the Navy Seabee Base in Gulfport because after two years of renovation, the sailors have their dining hall back.

The aromatic promise of lunch filled the Colmer Dining Facility for the first time in two years.

It was built in 1974 and needed a significant facelift. Shortly after the project started, COVID delayed the work — and the sailors on base had to get their plates at a repurposed gymnasium.

Food is more than just food here — nutritionally dense servings are badly needed for those who burn upwards of 1,000 calories doing their work. Food Service Officer Christopher Rhoads said, “For them, it’s a huge morale-increasing piece. Me, coming from a submarine background, food is typically the best thing that you can do to raise morale.”

Commanding Officer Jeff Powell addressed the crowd of service men and women who’d come to check out the state-of-the-art improvements during their first lunch there. “The back-office areas, the storage areas, the cooking equipment is top notch, it’s a phenomenal place to work. And really, for these young sailors, they’re never going to work in this nice of a galley again, probably.”

“They want a nice place to come sit down and recoup some of those calories and have some time off to deal with the stress of their job, and that’s primarily what this facility was set up for.”

New furnishings will continue to be brought in as the finishing touches are wrapped up.