Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast celebrated its 10th birthday June 2 with a ceremonial cake cutting and photo which included several current members of the command and members who were there the Friday in June when the command was established.

"Bringing the entire facilities team under the NAVFAC umbrella made smart business sense for the Navy then and it still does," said NAVFAC Southeast Business Director Jeff Killian, who spoke to the staff before the cake cutting. "The integration provided installation commanders the best-value facility support by leveraging the diverse public works capabilities."

NAVFAC Southeast Deputy Operations Officer John Knox also offered remarks, commenting on just how much business the command has executed during the decade -- $20.4 billion.

"We executed $275 million in Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and another $216 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs," said Knox. "The 3rd Army Headquarters move to Shaw [Air Force Base, South Carolina] was another high-visibility $120 million project we brought in on time and on budget."

"The future looks bright for us," continued Knox. "The Barksdale AFB weapons storage facility, a $420 million project, and the [Naval Station] Guantanamo Bay Hospital, a $300 million project, are just a couple of examples of the high-dollar projects entrusted to us to execute. We have a lot of good things coming our way."

"The distance we have traveled, for those who have been here the whole time, certainly know you can just say 'wow,'" said Killian. "The things we have accomplished in 10 years is just absolutely amazing and I couldn't be prouder to be here in the southeast."

Other key accomplishments of NAVFAC's historic transformation include strengthening strategic alliances with its Navy Systems Command partners to eliminate duplicate core competencies such as supply functions; aligning processes, employing best businesses practices; and synergizing its mix of military, civil servants and contractors into a "total force" team to provide optimal effective and efficient facilities engineering products and services worldwide.

The commissioning of NAVFAC Southeast was part of a major transformation of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's global engineering, acquisition, and public works organizations that began in 2004. NAVFAC commands, then comprised of Engineering Field Divisions, Engineering Field Activities, Officers in Charge of Construction, and Public Works Centers/Departments, were consolidated into Facilities Engineering Commands. The global transformation was designed to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, and improve product and service delivery; making access to the Navy's engineering, acquisition, facilities maintenance, construction, transportation and utilities services easier for Navy Region Southeast.

Public Works Departments and regional engineer staffs were previously aligned under Commander, Naval Installations. NAVFAC's integration of the PWDs and Regional Engineer staffs corresponded with then Chief of Naval Operations' mandate to align organization and processes, and drive "business improvement from a cross-enterprise perspective to minimize redundancy and eliminate waste." The merger established a single public works delivery model for Navy installation commanders -- providing them with a full range of facilities products and services.

FEC commanding officers are double-hatted as regional engineers and provide the Marine Corps, regional commanders, and other clients a single touch point for all NAVFAC products and services. They also enable NAVFAC to better align and focus on regional and client requirements, surge support across regional boundaries, globally implement common business processes, eliminate redundancy and duplication, and return substantial savings to the Navy, Marine Corps, and its other clients.

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