SILVERDALE — Capt. Chris S. LaPlatney became the fourth commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest July 2.  He succeeds Capt. J. Pat Rios, who moves to Washington, D.C. to work for Commander, Naval Installations Command as the director of Facilities and Environmental (N4).

During Rios’s three-year command, NAVFAC Northwest executed 275 projects valued at $1.7 billion dollars in design, construction, maintenance and repair, military construction, energy and environmental, and basic support services, including transportation and utilities for the fleet and families stationed in the Pacific Northwest.

Under his leadership, energy consumption reductions exceeded Executive Order goals by 1.4 percent, and each Navy installation in the region received the Secretary of the Navy Energy and Water Management Award and the Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management.  LaPlatney is formerly the operations officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic.

He is  native of Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in civil engineering. He began his career in the U.S. Navy as a submarine officer aboard the West Virginia (SSBN-736).