Prime BEEFs provide a full range of engineering support required to establish, operate, and maintain garrison and contingency airbases.
Prime BEEF capabilities include airbase site surveys, establishing bare base camps and operations and utility system installation.
Prime BEEF forces have the necessary command, control and communications to support beddown; fire emergency services; emergency management; explosive ordnance disposal; expedient construction; explosive incident response; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response and other specialized teams that provide unique engineering capabilities.
Although Prime BEEF units are rapidly deployable and capable of providing support anywhere in the world on short notice, they are typically assigned to an installation.
Military civil engineers were divided into specially trained and equipped mobility and recovery teams, each with their own unit type code identifier.
The first Prime BEEF deployment went to San Isidro Air Base, Dominican Republic to support the airlift moving U.S. Army forces into the area in May 1965.
Teams were deployed to Tan Son Nhut, Bien Hoa and Da Nang Air Bases (all in South Vietnam) to construct aircraft revetments and complete whatever work that was needed.
A Prime BEEF team was sent to Tan Son Nhut to ensure the rapidly growing base had an adequate water supply.