On 16 August 1967, CBMU-302's Advance Party of fifty men were deployed to Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam (RVN).

During this time, the Battalion was waiting for the arrival of a ship that contained the unit's building supplies, vehicles, and construction equipment.

This effort involved the construction of permanent structures to house Vietnamese Navy Sailors and their families at naval facilities in II, III, and IV Corps.

The remote units of the Dependent Shelter Program to which those Seabees and non-construction U.S. Navy personnel were assigned were soon referred to as Naval Construction Action Teams (NAVCATs).

[3] Given the huge expanded role of both battalions due to the Shelter program, general labor personnel were needed since there were not enough trained Seabees available.

Having limited, or no construction skills, these men quickly learned their jobs of mixing mortar, laying block, placing concrete, stringing electrical lines, carpentry, etc.

In the end the good intentions of the Shelter Program were lost on RVN sailors who did not want to move their family's into government housing that they saw as a potential target for the Viet Cong.

CBMU-302 was the last Seabee battalion to leave the Vietnam war zone, folding its colors at its base-camp in Bien Hoa, RVN on 22 January 1972 then redeploying back to Port Hueneme, CA.

During the unit's short stay in Port Hueneme, it was downsized and fitted out with new personnel for its new role of maintenance for a single navy base.

April 1972 CBMU-302 deployed with one officer and twenty-five enlisted men to Subic Bay Naval Base in the Republic of the Philippines.

CBMU-302 performed construction and maintenance on base and served the local communities with civic action projects and educational programs.