A group photo of people in yellow construction vests at a construction site.
Stakeholders, engineers, and construction crew members pose for a group photo in front of the new Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department facility at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., Jan. 29, 2026. The group gathered to celebrate a topping out ceremony, marking a major construction milestone for the project. (Yan Kennon/U.S. Navy)
The Navy shifted final authority over billions of dollars of shore projects to local installation commanders under a policy announced this week.
Final decisions on projects previously run by the Navy Facilities Command will now be the responsibility of installation commanding officers.
Destiny Sibert, spokeswoman for Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC), said the shift will allow for a more agile response to cutting bureaucracy at the local level.
“Making the ICO the single point of accountability for installation performance ensures that public works functions are laser-focused on the primary mission of supporting the warfighter, and problems are resolved more quickly because the authority to fix them resides where they occur,” Sibert said.
Some major projects currently underway include:
A $145 million electrical upgrade at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., that will enable the homeporting in 2029 of the Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy at the adjacent Naval Base Kitsap.
A new $136 million Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department Facility is being built at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.
Pump house renovation and construction at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will total $60 million.
NAVFAC projects are spread across the Southeast under a $1.99 Billion Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC).
Sibert said she didn’t immediately have information on the impacts of the new policy on ongoing projects.
Installation commanders at Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and Naval Station Everett, all in Washington, referred inquiries requesting comment to the Navy Northwest Office or back to the CNIC headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Liane Nakahara, a public affairs specialist for Navy Region Northwest, which covers several bases in the Puget Sound, Wash., area, said regional NAVFAC personnel have worked closely with Northwest Navy installations on projects.
The same personnel will continue to do the work, she said, with the main change being at the top of the process with installation commanders making decisions.
“This internal, administrative realignment doesn’t change the fact that these personnel remain vital members of our northwest Navy installation teams, and they will continue to work in support of our Navy installations,” Nakahara said.
Vice Adm. Scott Gray, commander of Navy Installations Command, said in a statement Thursday that the change of authority would streamline decision-making.
“This move creates a single line of support for the warfighter,” Gray said. “Whether it’s a ship captain needing reliable shore power or a squadron leader with an urgent hangar repair, they now have one installation commander who is fully accountable for delivering that support. It removes ambiguity and aligns the entire Shore Enterprise behind a single goal of enabling the fleet.”