WEBVTT

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And I'm always grateful for the

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opportunity to return . This is where I

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cut my teeth . My primary trainers are

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here in the room , uh , today , and I

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want you to know that I appreciate you .

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I would not be here standing before you

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but for . Mike Darrell , Keith Lockwood ,

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I mean , I think about those that , uh ,

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I'm an idea guy and so I came into work

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some days with some doozies , right ,

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and , and , and , and to be able to

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have those that can harness the energy .

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And do good , good for the nation , do

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good for this city , do good for this

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region . Here soon

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we will cut a ribbon . In the harbor

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here in Norfolk , a lot of hard work

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that went into that , and I am really

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excited as I've been watching from afar .

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To get to this point , to get to this

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moment . I wanna

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Recognize the team that made this first

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class event possible . Many of them are

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working quietly behind the scenes ,

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uh . And while their names won't be

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called out this morning , their

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contributions are no less significant .

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This event would not have happened .

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Without their dedication . Their

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professionalism . And hard work , so to

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each of you , thank you . When I

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look around this room , I see the

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people responsible for keeping

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America's waterways open . I

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see dredge operators .

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Project managers . Engineers .

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Contracting professionals .

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Executives . Regulators

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And core professionals who make the

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system work every day . The

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navigation system that we maintain .

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That we maintain together . is one of

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the most important pieces of

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infrastructure in this country .

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Supports our economy . Our energy

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exports . Our supply chains .

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Our ports And national security .

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And yet Despite its importance ,

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I think it's fair to say . That we are

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at an inflection point . The nation is

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talking about shipbuilding . The nation

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is talking about maritime dominance .

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The nation He's talking about supply

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chains . The nation It's

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talking about economic competitiveness .

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None of these conversations matter if

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the vessels can't reach our ports .

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Dredging is not a supporting activity .

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It's foundational It sustains our

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national economic infrastructure . And

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that's exactly why we have to start

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thinking differently . About how we

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deliver it . For decades

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We have largely approached dredging as

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a collection of individual projects .

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One district develops a contract . One

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project gets awarded . One solicitation

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gets advertised , one dredge gets

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mobilized . Let me be clear .

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That model helped build the system that

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we have today . It deserves recognition .

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It had an impact . But I don't believe

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that that model is sufficient for the

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challenges we face this day . The

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challenges that we'll face tomorrow .

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The American taxpayer is not paying us

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to award contracts . American

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taxpayer is paying us to maintain

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navigation channels . That

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distinction matters .

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Because if our mission is to maintain

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navigation channels , Then our focus

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shouldn't . Our focus can't be on how

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many contracts we award . Focus .

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Should be on how much dredging we

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accomplish with every taxpayer dollar

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entrusted to us . That's the

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central idea behind building

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infrastructure , not paperwork . Yeah

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It's also the central idea . Behind how

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we're thinking about the future . The

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future of our national dredging program .

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The United States Army Corps of

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Engineers has to stop thinking like

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dozens of independent buyers . And

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start thinking like an enterprise . We

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need to ask ourselves some hard

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questions . Questions like , why are we

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repeatedly mobilizing and demobilizing

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equipment between projects . When there

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may be opportunities to package work

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differently . Why are we asking

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industry to plan around fragmented

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workloads ? When we could provide

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greater predictability . Why are

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we accepting inefficiencies that reduce

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the amount of dredging we can deliver ?

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Why are we measuring success ?

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By process . When we should be

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measuring success by outcomes .

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I'm insisting these questions be posed

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and answered . This is not an exercise

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in fault finding . It's an opportunity

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to understand . Improve and move

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forward together . We've all got work

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to do . Industry has work to do .

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The broader regulatory environment has

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work to do . If we're serious

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about delivering more dredging for the

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taxpayer , Everything has to be on the

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table . For the core

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Means taking a hard look at ourselves .

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We know that the timing of funding .

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Can create uncertainty . We

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know that contracting approaches vary

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across the enterprise . We know that

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requirements sometimes change late in

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the process . We know

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That delays create risk . And that risk

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ultimately shows up in bid prices .

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If we want industry to perform better ,

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we have to become a better customer .

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We owe industry predictability .

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We owe industry transparency . We

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owe industry consistency . And we're

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going to improve in all of those areas .

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But partnership requires accountability

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on both sides . It's a two-way street

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Over the years we've seen examples .

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Where equipment didn't arrive when

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promised . We've

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seen schedules disrupted .

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We've seen projects pause while

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opportunities elsewhere . Became more

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attractive . We've

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seen situations where taxpayers paid

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for multiple mobilizations and

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demobilizations . And received little

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additional value . Everyone in this

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room understands and appreciates those

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truths . And I'm confident you can

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recall a particular instance . Or

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experience I need not call

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out companies because the point is not

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to criticize . The point is to

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recognize that those practices reduce

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efficiency . That those practices

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reduce the amount of dredging we can

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deliver for the nation . I think the

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taxpayer deserves better . And

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under my watch we're going to pursue

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better . That's why we're moving toward

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a more national approach . To dredging

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delivery Not because bigger is better .

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But because smarter is better .

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Larger and more predictable work

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packages , I think , will improve

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sequencing of projects . will have

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greater visibility across districts .

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Better use of contracting tools .

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Reduce duplication . Reduce

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inefficiencies . More dredging

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accomplished . That's the goal .

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Another area that deserves attention .

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Is the growing complexity of

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environmental compliance and permitting .

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Again , let me be clear . The Corps

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remains fully committed to

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environmental stewardship . We have a

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responsibility . To protect natural

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resources and comply with environmental

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laws . That commitment is not changing .

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But stewardship Must also be grounded

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in measurable outcomes and practical

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realities . Across parts of the country .

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We continue to see increasing .

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Restrictive environmental windows .

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Permit conditions , placement

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requirements , testing protocols , and

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operational limitations . Many of these

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requirements were implemented with good

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intentions . But I think we have an

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obligation . To ask whether they're

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producing benefits that justify the

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cost they impose . Every

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restriction has a cost . Every

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limitation affects capacity .

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Every delay . Affects

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delivery . And every additional $1

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spent navigating what I'll call

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unnecessary constraints is a $1 that

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can be used to maintain another channel

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somewhere in America .

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Those are conversations . We need to

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have . We need to have them openly . We

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need to have them honestly . Because

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our obligation is not only to

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stewardship . Our obligation is also to

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the taxpayer . While we continue to

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modernize how we purchase dredging .

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We must also maintain the capabilities

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that Congress has directed us to

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preserve . Industry

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performs the overwhelming majority of

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our dredging mission . And

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I , we all depend on that partnership .

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But Congress has also directed .

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Directed the corps to maintain a

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minimum federal fleet . And that's to

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support emergency response . National

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security requirements . Navigation

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recovery . And mission assurance .

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We take that responsibility seriously .

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And that's precisely why we're

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recapitalizing our aging fleet . The

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future Dredge Donnelly remains on track

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to replace the McFarlane and enter

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service in early fiscal year 2028 .

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We're also planning for the eventual

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recapitalization of the esseons in the

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next decade . A capable

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private industry and a capable federal

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fleet . In my humble opinion , are not

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competing concepts . The complementary

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elements of a resilient national

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dredging capability . The nation needs

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both . As we look ahead

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Our vision is clear . Our purpose is

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steadfast . We know where we're going .

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And we know why it matters . We are

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going to establish a national dredging

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program . One that leverages

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enterprise buying power . One that

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provides predictability to industry .

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One that challenges outdated .

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Business practices . One that

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delivers more dredging for every

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taxpayer dollar . The measure

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of success is not how many contracts we

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award . The measure of success

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is how many cubic yards we move .

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The measure of success is whether

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America's navigation system is ready .

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When the nation needs it . That's the

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standard . That's what we're pursuing .

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I will be unwavering in my expectation .

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That we achieve it . We're going to

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challenge ourselves . We're going to

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challenge our processes . We're going

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to challenge assumptions that no longer

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serve the mission . And we're gonna ask

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our partners . We're gonna ask all of

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you to join us . Because I don't think

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the status quo is a strategy . I think

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it's a decision to accept tomorrow

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exactly as it is today . The future

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demands more . The taxpayer deserves

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more . And together We're going to

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deliver more .