Rear Adm. Dean VanderLey, commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), recently announced the recipients of the 2022 NAVFAC Hard Hat Awards.
Andrew (Andy) Lemelin, a construction management specialist (CMS) for Officer in Charge of Construction Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (OICC PNSY), Kittery, Maine, was selected as the 2022 NAVFAC Hard Hat Construction Manager of the Year.
In a live broadcast ceremony, VanderLey presented the first-ever Hard Hat Awards, thanking each recipient for what they do every day for the NAVFAC community and the Navy mission.
"I am pleased to recognize Andy for this award," said VanderLey. "He successfully delivered construction projects worth more than $283 million while displaying tremendous decision-making, teamwork, and leadership in executing the NAVFAC mission and supporting the Navy."
The new NAVFAC Hard Hat Award Program, a systems command-wide award, recognizes construction field office technical staff, including construction engineers, construction managers, and construction engineering technicians, who provide technical support to the contracting officers, quality assurance, and safety oversight functions on construction projects. The recipient must meet specific merit requirements for readiness, decision-making, teamwork, and collaboration and exemplify project performance, leadership, community, and service to NAVFAC.
"Andy is the ultimate project-focused team player, who willingly takes on new challenges, coordinates with all stakeholders, and builds expertise within our team," said Capt. Chad Brooks, commanding officer, OICC PNSY. "Andy's continued success can be attributed to the strong relationships he builds," added Brooks. "His relationships with Navy stakeholders, contractors, and other partners enable him to achieve extraordinary results in a very complex construction environment."
A resident of Falmouth, Maine, Lemelin has been with the organization since 2021. He said he was honored by the recognition but quickly pointed to his team members and their commitment to the mission.
"I'm grateful and honored to be chosen for this award," said Lemelin. "I'm fortunate to work with an excellent group of hard-working, mission-focused CMs who also deserve this award. It's great to be a part of an organization that makes a difference."
Lemelin was the lead construction manager for the Dry Dock 1 Super Flood Basin, and Portal Crane Rail Extension at PNSY—a $250-million utility, rail, and basin contract. He was then selected to lead the team of construction managers and engineering technicians on the $1.8-billion Multi-Mission Dry Dock 1 contract. The contract is one of the largest military construction projects ever awarded by NAVFAC in the continental United States.
"Since joining the team, Andy has adopted NAVFAC policies and procedures flawlessly and has brought his 20+ years of construction experience to NAVFAC to great effect," said Steve Cook, OICC PNSY construction division director. "The culmination of this project was the shipyard docking a submarine in Dry Dock 1 for the first time without relying on supplemental buoyancy devices."
"Andy's leadership, technical expertise, and dedication had a direct and positive impact on the Navy's Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) mission," said Russ Gagner, PNSY SIOP program manager.
SIOP is a holistic plan that integrates all infrastructure and industrial plant equipment investments at the Navy's four public shipyards to meet nuclear fleet maintenance requirements and improve Navy maintenance capabilities by expanding shipyard capacity and optimizing shipyard configuration. SIOP projects are essential to the on-time completion of submarine availabilities and critical to maintaining the U.S. Navy's maritime superiority.
NAVFAC provides oversight for more than $2.8 billion of military construction and special projects, ensuring a dedicated focus on critical production projects in support of the fleet.
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