A woman is commanding a naval construction group for the first time.
Capt. Constance Solina relieved Capt. Jeff Deviney as commodore of Naval Construction Group 2 during a July 7 ceremony in Gulfport, Mississippi, and will also lead all Atlantic-based Seabees.
“You know exactly what needs to be done to get the Seabees ready for the next fight,” Deviney said at the change of command ceremony at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, according to a Navy news release. “With you in the lead, I know we have the right team in place going forward.”
Solina previously served as the chief of engineering and the logistics services division with U.S. European Command, as well as the chief staff officer for Naval Construction Group 2, according to her LinkedIn profile.
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“I am humbled, privileged and honored to assume command of [Naval Construction Group 2] and continue the tradition of Seabees providing a capability like no other to our combatant commanders,” Solina said in the release. “I look forward to continuing the Seabee legacy, drawing on our rich history and traditions while adapting to the changing strategic environment to answer the call when our nation needs Seabees and the ‘can-do’ spirit.”
Originally from McLean, Virginia, Solina graduated from Purdue University with a degree in civil engineering. A member of Purdue’s Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, she commissioned in 2000 and subsequently earned her master’s degree in environmental and water resources engineering from the University of Texas.
Other pioneering women in the Seabees and civil engineer corps include retired Rear Adm. Katherine Gregory, who was the first woman to lead a Seabee battalion as the commanding officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 in 1999.
