In a service first, Navy taps Black civil engineer for admiral 

The Navy has selected Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Washington CO Capt. Omarr Tobias for rear admiral, making him the first Black civil engineer to be promoted to the rank.

The sea service last month announced the selection of Tobias, who has led the command since June 2023. He is expected to advance initiatives outlined in Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s Project 33, according to the service.

Priorities included in Project 33, released in September, include restoring and bolstering naval infrastructure.

“Our CNO laid it out for us in our Project 33 targets — to restore the shore, from which we project the fight. So, we have to get after it,” said Tobias, emphasizing the urgency of the mission. “The future needs involve us being able to truly assess our risk. We understand our infrastructure has risk associated with it. So, it’s our job to make sure that we understand and communicate those risks and mitigate them where possible.”

Additionally, NAVFAC Washington is focused on increasing retention rates and improving community engagement, the Navy said.

“These are big, audacious goals, and I love to achieve big, audacious goals,” Tobias said in a Navy release. “With the teammates we have — the officers, the enlisted, the civilians and all the families who support us — we have the best. And with that, we’re going to hit those targets and even more — exciting times.”

Tobias, originally from New York, graduated from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1998 before undergoing Officer Candidate School. He previously served as the executive assistant to the commander at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command.

As the leader of NAVFAC Washington, Tobias said he focuses on teamwork and positivity to get results.

“Human beings function best when we work together as a team,” he said. “There might be a day where I come in and I’m not at my greatest, but you are, and you help pick me up, and there might be a day when you come in and you’re not at your greatest, but I am. And we pick each other up, and that’s how we achieve great things, working together.”