By Capt. Adam Perrins, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), U.S. Navy
Expeditionary Technical Department Head
In an era of dynamic global competition, the readiness of our Navy’s Expeditionary Forces is not just a priority, it is the bedrock of our maritime dominance. Here at the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (EXWC), the Expeditionary (EX) Department is the engine driving that readiness.
With a dedicated force of nearly 400 personnel across the country, our mission is singular and clear: to equip, sustain, and empower the warfighter. We ensure that when the call comes, our sailors and Marines are armed with the most capable and reliable equipment, ready to project power anywhere on the globe.
This past year has been one of tremendous focus and impact. In 2025, we delivered an incredible $141 million in mission-critical equipment directly into the hands of our expeditionary forces. Our maintenance teams performed over 14,000 essential tasks and validated more than 16,500 equipment configurations, guaranteeing that the gear in the field is ready for the fight. This monumental effort was sharpened by a strategic realignment, where our programmatic duties were transitioned to newly formed Project Management Offices (PMOs) under Program Executive Office (PEO) Infrastructure and Expeditionary. This change has been a force multiplier, unleashing our team to focus intensely on what we do best: innovating and accelerating technical solutions for the fleet.
This renewed focus on innovation is already yielding powerful results. When our warfighters in Sasebo had an urgent construction need, our team was on the ground in weeks, not months, demonstrating true expeditionary agility. We are also testing the future of forward logistics with the Advanced Manufacturing Intermodal Containerized System (AMICS), a “factory in a can” that promises to bring critical fabrication capabilities directly to the tactical edge.
Nowhere is this spirit of innovation more apparent than in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) theater, where we are forging the future of engineering with our Rapid Integrated Planning and Engineering (RIPE) prototype. RIPE is our answer to the challenge of complex site data, empowering our Naval Construction Force to transform vast datasets from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), sonar, and photogrammetry into unified, actionable 3D models. Based on the principle of “capture once and reuse,” this digital workflow drastically reduces the time our personnel need to be on-site and accelerates critical missions. By enhancing our collaboration with key partners like U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC), we are proving on projects from Peleliu to Yap that RIPE is the key to solidifying our posture in the region.
Our commitment to the warfighter extends across the globe and throughout the entire equipment lifecycle, a mission championed by our Expeditionary Maintenance Division, EX9. Their forward-thinking initiatives are a masterclass in ensuring long-term readiness. In Rota, Spain, they addressed a critical shortage of maintenance personnel by implementing an $8 million contract that ensures our forward-deployed equipment remains mission-ready. In a shining example of smart inter-service collaboration, they partnered with the U.S. Army on a $51 million Caterpillar Service Life Extension Program, an ingenious move that extends the life of the Navy’s heavy construction equipment while saving taxpayer dollars. And looking ahead, they have proactively secured a new $17 million “Equipment Support Services-Guam” contract, guaranteeing uninterrupted support for multiple Navy commands in a vital region well beyond 2026.
The men and women of the Expeditionary Department are profoundly proud to serve as a cornerstone of expeditionary power. From the design table to the deployed environment, we are committed to providing the naval forces with an undeniable advantage. We will continue to innovate, to accelerate, and to deliver the engineering, logistics, and maintenance support that ensures our warfighters are the best-equipped and most-ready force in the world. We are your partners in the mission, today and tomorrow.