Photo courtesy of Naval Facilities Engineering Command

Gregory, a 1982 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was promoted to rear admiral in 2010. Her career has included tours of duty in Japan, the Mediterranean, Iraq, Haiti and several U.S. assignments.

Rear Adm. Katherine L. Gregory has been named the new commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command and the Navy’s chief of civil engineers, the Dept. of Defense announced on June 18. Gregory will be the first woman to lead NAVFAC in its long history, which it traces to the formation of the Bureau of Navy Yards and Docks in 1842.

Gregory, who has been commander of NAVFAC Pacific and also Pacific Fleet civil engineer since July 2010, will succeed Rear Adm. Christopher J. Mossey in the top NAVFAC post. Mossey has been NAVFAC commander since May 2010.

A change of command is expected in the fall.

Gregory, a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was promoted to rear admiral in June 2010. Her naval career has taken her around the world, beginning with a tour in Yokosuka, Japan, as assistant resident officer in charge of construction.

As she has risen through the ranks, Gregory has served overseas in such areas as the Mediterranean, Iraq and Haiti; her U.S. assignments include postings to Adak, Alaska; San Francisco; Washington, D.C. and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where NAVFAC Pacific is based.

Gregory is a native of St. Louis and has graduate degrees from the University of Southern California and George Washington University.

NAVFAC is responsible for design, construction and maintenance of naval facilities worldwide.