Following its capture, the anchorage at Enewetok became a major forward base for the U.S. Navy. The daily average of ships present during the first half of July 1944 was 488; during the second half of July, the daily average number of ships at Enewetak was 283. Seabees of the 110th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on February 21 and 27 to begin construction of Stickell Field. It had two taxiways and a 6,800 X 400 foot runway. In June 1945, the 67th CB arrived to build a 35,000 man recreation center to be turned over to CBMU 608.