About 200 members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 have left Gulfport bound for Kuwait and the Horn of Africa.

They were the first wave of the 740 Seabees scheduled for deployment.

The command will be based in Kuwait, but smaller detachments will travel as far afield as Belize, officials said Monday.

While many of their missions are humanitarian in nature, NMCB 133 still prepared for the worst, said Lt. Cmdr. Cameron Geertsema.

“You’re always nervous when you send your Seabees abroad,” Geertsema said.

While most of a Seabee’s work is typically done on military installations, 133’s mission will include many humanitarian efforts as part of the Navy’s overall drive to put a good face on military action in potentially vulnerable parts of the world.