NAVFAC Pacific Continues Partnership with the United States Force Posture Initiative
15 February 2022
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Pacific Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) Australia continues partnership with the United States Force Posture Initiative (USFPI).
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Pacific Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) Australia continues partnership with the United States Force Posture Initiative (USFPI).
A 10-year anniversary of the announcement of USFPI took place last year at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Darwin, Australia commemorating with a ceremony and cake cutting between USFPI and NAVFAC Pacific ROICC Australia.
“It is a tremendous honor to be here in support of USFPI and continue strengthening the alliance between the U.S. and Australia,” said NAVFAC Pacific ROICC Australia Lt. Cmdr. Dan Eldred.
The USFPI is an extension of the strong relationship between US and Australian Defense alliances, which started 70 years ago with the signing of the ANZUS Treaty. USFPI objectives include increased interoperability between U.S. and Australian defense, exercise opportunities with other countries in the Indo-Pacific Theater, promote regional stability, and prepare both nations to response to crises such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.
NAVFAC Pacific Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) Australia was established in 2018 and oversees the execution of military construction projects at RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, Australia.
Military construction projects include maintenance facilities, aircraft parking aprons, squadron operation facilities, and bulk fuel storage facilities.
“It has been a challenge at times to combine the U.S. and Australian standards in order to create facilities which both countries can use,” said Eldred. “A great example are the in-ground refueling points installed on the recently finished aircraft parking aprons. It took a combined effort from the RAAF, U.S Air Force, and construction subject matter experts to find a way to have two distinctly different fuel carts work on the same refueling points. It wasn’t easy, but the team came together and found a way.”
ROICC Australia is among several locations supported by the NAVFAC Pacific Contingency Engineering Business Line (CEBL). NAVFAC Pacific CEBL operates forward providing acquisition, engineering and construction support throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific with headquarters at Pearl Harbor and offices in Bangkok, Thailand, Manila, Philippines, Darwin, Australia, and forward operating presence in Jakarta, Indonesia and Hanoi, Vietnam.