WASHINGTON -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) marked 178 years of enabling Navy and Marine Corps lethality Aug. 31.
Originally established as the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks in 1842 to build shore stations on the U.S. eastern seaboard, today NAVFAC enables the Navy and Marine Corps to operate from installations around the world, while also delivering engineering and expeditionary support that other Department of Defense and U.S. agencies rely on.
"From the beginning, NAVFAC has been focused on meeting the needs of our warfighters," said Rear Adm. John Korka, commander of NAVFAC and chief of Civil Engineers. "Whether building our nation's first naval shipyards in the 19th century, maintaining and modernizing bases where our people work and train, fixing and upgrading dry docks where our nuclear-powered ships and submarines are made ready to rejoin the fleet, or providing rapid engineering and contracting responses in the fight against COVID-19, our military and civilian team has proudly supported our men and women in uniform with quality, speed and agility."
Through 13 component commands based in the United States, Europe, Guam and Japan, NAVFAC has built or acquired and maintained nearly every pier, runway, road, utility plant, gymnasium, barracks, child development center and other shore facility used by the Navy and Marine Corps. NAVFAC's 23,000 employees keep the lights on, the water safe to drink, and facilities running around the world so that service members, civilians and the systems they operate can help protect America and our partners wherever and whenever they're needed.
"Through the years, NAVFAC’s scope and responsibilities have profoundly expanded to keep pace with the growth of our Navy and its mission," said Korka. "We continue to develop our people's unique and valuable skill sets to meet the Department of the Navy’s needs in everything from facilities maintenance to vehicle transportation; from environmental stewardship to anti-terrorism and force protection systems; from utilities to expeditionary systems acquisition. Whether it requires technical expertise or business skill, the members of our systems command have always done their utmost to enable our warfighters to execute their missions the way they need to."
"It's an honor to lead this dedicated team of systems command professionals," added Korka. "Happy birthday, NAVFAC!"