Leonard Abbate of Bayville has returned from serving as a reservist with the Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 21, a Seabee unit out of Lakehurst, NJ. He is proud of the work his team did in Iraq, but he is also glad to be back.

"It's just great to be home," said Mr. Abbate, who grew up in Oyster Bay, and is the son of Frances and Eugene Abbate. He is a mason contractor like his father. He and his wife Elizabeth live in Bayville where he runs Abbate Contracting.

"We went over on Feb. 23 and flew on a commercial aircraft out of Gulfport, Mississippi. "We're called 'dirt sailors' because we don't go on ships, we fly. Seabees always fly in this day and age. We wear Navy dress blues like the regular Navy. In Iraq we wore desert camouflage or woodland camouflage. Our primary mission is construction and support for the Marine Corps and disaster recovery, which includes humanitarian assistance, which is what we did in Iraq. The average age in our group is 36. The oldest guy is 57. I'm 43, and will be 44 on Oct. 22. The Seabees are traditionally older because we are all tradesmen on the outside.

"I brought my trade to the Seabees. I joined the Navy reserves late in life, when I was 35. It was something I always wanted to do. I saw an advertisement and followed up on it. I decided I would give it a try. When taking the oath I knew there was a chance I would be deployed overseas and it happened. This was the first time I was deployed overseas: the first armed conflict," he said.

"Our full battalion is between 700 and 800 men. They only picked 125 to go because they wanted a light highly mobile unit to deploy and deploy fast. We proved to be effective. We had a good variety of skilled workers: truck mechanics, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, masons, steelworkers, equipment operators, and surveyors. We can build just about anything. The Navy had tasked us with bridge building but the battle damage was not as severe as they thought and we wound up constructing advance bases and doing humanitarian work for the Iraqi people," he said. "We had great leadership in our unit and that's one of the reasons I think we were so successful in what we did and that we all came back alive."

The Seabees landed in Kuwait City and stayed there until the end of March. Mr. Abbate said, "Then we went up to Ummqusr, the port on the Persian Gulf and spent a month working on schools, police stations, power stations. We unloaded ships and supported many different forces, the British and Americans. Then on May 1 we went up to Samawah on the Euphrates River. There we stayed and supported the Second Battalion Fifth Regiment Marines out of Camp Pendleton, California.

"We built a base for them, that operated out of a train yard. They secured the train yard and we repaired the battle damage, constructed and installed showers and provided water purification equipment; transported water and set up a laundry and barbershop and a chow hall for the Marines and for the Navy Seabees, (who were all reservists).

"Samawah is a city of half a million people 150 miles outside of Baghdad, between Najaf and Nasaria. We had great cooperation and great success doing what we had to do. The Iraqi people for the most part appreciate what we are doing for them. They are so happy to be rid of Saddam Hussein. We worked with the local Iraqis, they were anxious to work. Of course the environment is so brutal - it is 135 to 140 degrees during the day - so ambition can be a problem. But for the most part we got that city running and trains were running. Of course we did hear occasional gun power, but they fire weapons for many different reasons," he said. "You sort of got used to it."

While they might have gotten used to it, they never took it for granted, he said. "We traveled throughout Iraq by convoys and we would go out heavily armed in full battle gear in the heat. We were very lucky. We had some shots fired at us, but they had very bad aim," he added.

"Out of the 125 guys in my unit, there was (only) one fellow who was injured. He was burned very badly in an explosion and electrical fire that happened because of a short in an electrical panel - it was an accident.

"The Navy corpsmen were terrific working in those conditions, but there is only so much you can provide in the field. The poor fellow who was burned was Medivaced within 48 hours to one of the best burn units, located in Texas and is still recovering from his injuries. He lives in Pennsylvania. The detachment comes from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware: the northeast region."

Throughout the deployment, he said, "We stayed positive and we were tasked with a lot of different jobs from both the Marines and the Navy. We had definitely a positive experience. We were able to get buildings operating as well as hospitals and schools. We did a lot of humanitarian assistance and we're proud of what we did," he said.

"Iraq looked like the world in Lawrence of Arabia: all deserts, and arid. We did travel through some areas that were a little green around the Euphrates River, but now, the Euphrates is dirty and full of silt. They dump raw sewage in the river because of the lack of infrastructure. Before we left we convoyed six tractor-trailers of septic tanks to Samawah to assist the sewage problem. So in this short time, we showed help is there."

The weather was another of the challenges the troops faced. "We were in several dust storms that had winds of 50 to 60 mph. We'd just wrap ourselves in desert scarves and goggles. The dirt/dust is so fine it comes through the fabric of the uniform. It's like powder. It's a very brutal climate. It's very arid. Some of the roughest country ever. Everybody acclimated to it, sooner or later, but at least 30 guys got some kind of bug or suffered with dehydration or one aliment or another, requiring an I.V. and bed rest.

"It was a rough environment. It was definitely a challenge and something you really can't prepare for. You have to listen to your body and drink water. You don't want to expose your skin and get dehydrated. We drank all bottled water. Early on we had limited supplies. Once the supply routes opened up and we knew we were going to be supplied we eased up on conserving water," he said.

While they were moving north, they were conserving all their supplies. At that time mail was another problem for the troops. "It was great to receive articles and letters from family in Bayville and Oyster Bay. Through the whole thing my wife was the hero, Elizabeth kept everything together at home. She's the hero in all of this. The wives watch us walk out the door and they carry quite a burden. They don't know if we'll come back. Communication by telephone is rare. There were weeks when no one knew where I was. Parents worry a lot," he added.

"Eventually they set up a satellite TV in Samawah and we also had access to e-mail, but it was very limited for security reasons. The Navy and Marines provided us with satellite phones occasionally. They were pooled from unit to unit so it would take a couple of weeks before they would get back to your unit. When we had access to a phone there was an eight-hour difference in time. Iraq is eight hours ahead of New York time," he explained.

Letters from home are really important to the troops, he said. "When we traveled into Iraq the mail slowed down and there was a point in June when we didn't get mail for three weeks. Prior to that we were getting mail weekly. We really felt bad about that. We had to send a convoy back to Kuwait to get the mail. It was a mission that involved danger," he said.

They were surrounded with danger and it affected the way they did things. "Even when we traveled from base to school or to a project downtown, it would be with fully armed with full battle gear and turret mounted weapons. We traveled in attack formation, which is the only way to travel in Iraq right now. We tried not to take chances. We all promised our families we would come back and we fulfilled our promise."

But he added, "Security is always an issue. It just slows progress down," he said. Besides using their civilian skills, the Seabees shared the security work.

"Anywhere we went, the people actually working always had a security detail provided by the Seabees. There were people on rooftops, and people positioned outside of buildings with heavy machine guns. We never forgot where we were. You had to operate with security in mind and it paid off because we all came back.

"We went out heavily armed and in good numbers. We tried to avoid being in small numbers going out. That kind of security pays off," he added.

Today's service people rest easier because they know their families have help. Back at home, the Seabees had a family support group that is run out of Fort Schuyler in the Bronx. "They kept in touch with the families, which was pretty nice. They did a good job. The family support is out there and it's up to the families - if they need help - to reach out and get help," he said.

"The guys in our unit helped out if anyone was in a jam. There was always someone ready to step up and help. Many of us have known each other for years."

When asked if he was willing to go back to Iraq, Mr. Abbate said, "I did my part," and then he paused and added, "I'm subject to recall for the next year and a half." But he said he is still happy with his choice, and said, "I'm going to continue my career in the Navy as a reservist."

Mr. Abbate's title is Builder First Class. He is also a Seabee combat warfare specialist. That is similar to an infantry rating he explained. "It's more than carrying a gun. It has to do with logistics and knowing about handling combat weapons and all the things that go into surviving in the field including first aid. I received that designation in July 2000."

Mr. Abbate also performed special service with the Seabees last summer. "My battalion was assigned a very important project, the memorial for Flight 800 at Smith Point Park. We did all the granite work while on active duty."

He was aware of the erosion that has cut into the two-acre memorial, and said, "They are trying to get permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to replenish the beach. It is one of a few beaches not federally protected. It's a county park. Go out and visit the memorial. It is another one of the proud achievements of our battalion. I was proud to be a part of it."

Mr. Abbate graduated from Oyster Bay High School in 1977. His sports were gymnastics and fencing with Mr. Halaz.

He isn't active in them now, but said he relished the exercise in the Seabees. "When we were in Iraq, on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays we exercised and ran two miles at minimum in the morning and did 45 minutes of calisthenics. It was a great thing for us mentally. We were pretty exhausted at first but it was good conditioning and helped relieve stress.

"Besides that, we were happy about staying in shape because we never knew when we needed to be ready. We did take fire in one of our bases and everyone was in battle gear and ran outside, weapons at the ready, and took up positions."

He took the event in stride, saying, "It was just one time that we took fire in our camp, but they were just really potshots. Luckily, we didn't have to return fire."

He said they felt safe because of the fantastic job the Marines did in securing the area. "They took prisoners. There were people who tried to infiltrate the base and they were able to capture every one of them. There is no better feeling than to have a battalion of Marines around you! Those Marines did an outstanding job. They did lose a first sergeant when they were up near Baghdad. His name was Edward Smith, a first sergeant. He was just about to retire. It was a tragedy. He was hit with shrapnel and didn't make it back. He belonged to the Second Battalion Fifth Marines. We were in their area of command. We named Base Samawah after him: we called it Camp Smitty. We made a big sign. It was done by a guy who was a great artist and did great lettering and drawing. We had a lot of talent, a variety of talents. It was amazing how we were able to do things. As we traveled through the area we would salvage air conditioners and fix them up when we got to base. We had generators too, so we had an air-conditioned base. We had the advantage of having guys who could fix anything."

Food was another thing they had to cope with." We had the Meals Ready to Eat - MREs - which are the prepackaged military meals. The Marines cooked field rations - large TV dinners that were not very appetizing. But before we left the Iraqis had a contract to cater the food and the Marines would go and pick the food up, so the meals improved in the last two weeks we were there. It was as close to home cooking as you could get.

"When we left the base at Samawah, it was taken over by Dutch engineers, who replaced us. I think about 1,000 Marines will guard their unit of 500 engineers. The Dutch are preparing to transition the train depot back to the Iraqis when they get it up and running."

Mr. Abbate had warm words for the Iraqi people. "The kids are beautiful. They are terrific people. It was great to work with them. We had good experiences with them," but he added, "It is still a dangerous place. It is a war zone."

He said, "This is all a war on terrorism and to see that terrain - that part of the world and to have a madman like Saddam Hussein with that kind of wealth, he could be supporting terrorism anywhere. September 11 is a reminder of why we are there. The only good defense is an offense when you are dealing with terrorism.

"This is not another Vietnam because there is a good reason why we are there. The United States forces just overwhelmed the Iraqi forces. You can't even call theirs an army. People from other countries fought with them. The Marines battled with these guys fiercely and really annihilated them. The battles that were fought with these terrorists were all won by the Marines and Army," he said.