Panel: Base infrastructure priority

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Rear Adm. Bret Muilenburg, commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), identified cyber and energy security as two main resiliency efforts needed across the service. He was joined in a panel discussion focused on ensuring installation (bases’) readiness in support of the war-fighting mission. Among the panelists included Phyllis Bayer, assistant secretary of the Navy’s Energy, Installations and Environment (EI&E). Bayer noted the time had come to make bases’ infrastructure a priority in order to support current and future mission needs. She called for NAVFAC and Chief of Naval Installations (CNIC) commanders to re-establish those bases’ infrastructure priorities to address requirements. She asked the two commands to “relook” at FY 2018-19 and FY-21 budgets to “make sure” the Navy is getting the right resources for infrastructure needs for installation upgrades. "We held an all-day session with industry, and we talked about 'how can we describe our requirements better’?" said Muilenburg. "How can we structure the contract better? What industry best practices can be introduced into the government system? We surveyed other federal agencies like NASA on how they do it," he continued. Likewise, CNIC Vice Adm. Mary Jackson promoted a shift in how installations are viewed, to better align the shore with the needs of the war-fighter. "Naval installations are complex platforms," said Jackson. "We certainly think of ships as platforms and airframes … but an installation is really a platform, too. It's a system of systems,” she said. “I do believe that it starts and ends with the shore (commands/bases). The panel was part of the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Global Maritime Exposition on April 10 in Maryland. (Sources: Naval Facilities Engineering Command 04/20/18) Gulf Coast Note: There are at least 12 major military bases across the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to Panama City, Fla., including Columbus AFB and NAS Meridian, Miss.