NAVFAC Southeast announces 2023 Engineers of the Year

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast Commanding Officer Capt. Miguel Dieguez announced his selections for the 2023 NAVFAC Southeast Military and Civilian Engineer of the Year awards, Oct. 1.

NAVFAC Southeast’s Civilian Engineer of the Year was awarded to Renee Dudgeon, project management branch head and Lt. Cmdr. John Orr, crew director for Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) Trident was selected as the Military Engineer of the Year.

“I congratulate both Ms. Dudgeon and Lt. Cmdr. Orr on receiving this award,” said Dieguez. “The selection process was incredibly competitive thanks to our rock-star cadre of engineers here at NAVFAC Southeast.”

Dudgeon serves as the Project Management Branch Head for eight installations in the Gulf Coast region which is especially prone to hurricanes. She has remained instrumental in recovery of installations along the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Sally and Michael.

"There are many others in our command that work very hard to make their projects successful and deserving of this award," said Dudgeon. "It is an honor and privilege to be recognized, but it wouldn't have been possible without the commitment and hard work of my teammates."

Dudgeon and her dedicated team of only four, due to staffing shortages, have been the driving force behind the estimated $453 million in Hurricane Sally recovery efforts that spans 368 facilities onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola. She also managed a $100 million Global Contingency Contracting effort in support of Naval Support Activity Panama City's recovery from Hurricane Michael.

Orr oversaw around-the-clock construction and field engineering in the execution of the $613 million recapitalization of the Kings Bay Dry Dock; one of the largest repair projects in modern naval history. This facility is the Navy’s only East Coast dry dock capable of docking strategically-loaded ballistic missile submarines.

“I really look at this as a team award rather than an individual accomplishment,” said Orr. “Over the last year, ROICC Trident, in the execution of the Kings Bay Dry Dock Recapitalization project, has performed at a standard rarely seen at the field level. I have been impressed every day, and cannot thank the team enough for everything they have done.”

His 60-person team is responsible for construction surveillance and engineering on this highly complex project that refurbished 1.3 million square feet of structural steel, replaced submarine support utilities, and overhauled the multiple flooding and de-watering systems in the dry dock. Over the last 15 months, the project employed 1,000 construction workers daily and delivered $1 million of Work In Place each day.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Oct. 18 to officially announce the re-opening of the Kings Bay Dry Dock.

Dudgeon and Orr will now compete against award winners from each regional NAVFAC command for NAVFAC Headquarter’s Civilian and Military Engineer of the Year. If successful, they will be eligible for additional honors in the prestigious National Society of Professional Engineers Federal Engineer of the Year award program.