Round Lake native prepares to serve as Navy civil engineer

PORT HUENEME, Calif. – Ensign Peter Nguyen, a native of Round Lake and 2020 Marquette University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering, is serving with the U.S. Navy as a civil engineer corps officer, overseeing construction projects that support the Navy’s high-tech fleet of ships, aircraft, equipment and personnel around the world.

Nguyen completed the civil engineer corps basic qualification course at the Naval Civil Engineer Corps Officers School this month.

Graduation from the course is a requirement for new U.S. Navy CEC officers before they go on to their initial assignments for Navy and Marine Corps projects, including facilities management, administration, contract management, public works and specialized military roles such as construction battalions.

”CECOS has allowed me to understand how the Naval Construction Force operates in support of a larger mission. The Seabees offer a unique capability for the Navy to effectively project power through the establishment and maintenance of forward-shore facilities,” Nguyen said. “This context I gained from CECOS allows me to understand the ‘why’ behind different tasks that my battalion is charged with completing and to go about my work with the utmost attention to detail.”

The 15-week course covered a range of U.S. Navy CEC topics, including division officer leadership, professional development, construction technology, expeditionary construction and combat operations.

”I joined the CEC because of the time I spent with Seabees as a teenager. I was impressed,” Nguyen said. “Their can do work ethic was readily apparent, and I knew from then on that I wanted to be a part of this special community in the Navy that carries out such a diverse mission set.”

Nguyen is headed to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 in Gulfport, Mississippi, for assignment as an operations officer. He will be part of a team that provides an adaptive and scalable naval construction force that is ready and capable of executing quality construction in combat or in support of civic action, humanitarian assistance and disaster recovery around the world.

”At CECOS, we are committed to training, developing and inspiring our Navy’s civil engineers in the profession of arms,” said Capt. Chris Kurgan, the school’s commanding officer. “Our graduates leave our courses prepared to deliver professional facilities engineering and to continue to learn while concurrently growing in virtue and character, which are critical to becoming an effective leader.”

A small community of only 1,300 officers, CEC officers are found all over the world in highly visible positions supervising skilled personnel while working on construction projects, infrastructure repairs and maintenance, facility support contracts, real estate management, natural resource management, environmental planning and management and other facilities engineering areas. CEC officers obtain engineering management and leadership experience far exceeding that of a typical recent college graduate in engineering or architecture.

CECOS provides Seabees, civil engineer corps officers, facility engineers and environmental professionals with the necessary skills, knowledge and education to enhance lifelong learning and to provide quality support to the fleet.