Regional military advocacy group outlines federal funding, shipyard investments and Coast Guard growth

The Portsmouth Port and Industrial Commission heard a briefing Tuesday from Rick Dwyer and Todd Nichols of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance on federal actions and regional impacts for Hampton Roads.

The presentation summarized recently proposed increases in defense spending and how those funds could affect shipbuilding, ship repair and Coast Guard infrastructure in the Hampton Roads region. "Of that $150,000,000,000, the largest portion of it, nearly $34,000,000,000 is going towards ship building and ship repair," said Rick Dwyer, executive director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance.

Dwyer told commissioners the reconciliation package under consideration would front-load defense investments through 2029 and include funding for additional destroyers, amphibious ships and investments in shipbuilding techniques and dry-dock capacity. He said the region, which hosts the largest concentration of the Navy’s ship-repair capacity, stands to benefit from those shipbuilding and repair investments.

The briefing also covered a separate transportation-related portion of the package that includes about $15 billion for Coast Guard cutters, of which roughly $9 billion is slated for polar security cutters and icebreakers. Dwyer said about $3.2 billion is included for shore infrastructure to homeport those cutters. "Given that Base Portsmouth is the largest cutter home port in the Coast Guard, we expect eventually these new cutters will be coming here," Dwyer said.

Speakers described longstanding advocacy to give the Coast Guard authority to use intergovernmental support agreements (IGSAs) like the Department of Defense, which allows a military installation to partner directly with local governments for services such as trash pickup or road maintenance. Dwyer said Homeland Security informed allied offices that it is finalizing steps to give that authority to Coast Guard commands and that Base Portsmouth has volunteered to be a pilot site.

Panelists also discussed changes at Fort Eustis tied to a Department of Defense effort to reduce the number of four‑star commands. Dwyer said training and doctrine functions will likely remain at Fort Eustis even if some headquarters leadership shifts to Texas, but that staff reductions and command mergers could follow across services.

Commissioners and attendees linked the federal updates to local implications for housing, schools and workforce. Councilman Hugo urged the city to plan housing and school capacity ahead of an expected increase in Coast Guard personnel. "We could get out in front of this as we get the information, and inform the right folks in the City," Hugo said, describing rezoning and school siting as issues to coordinate now.

The briefing also covered Navy shipyard investments under the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP). "We wrote and it had the language to create the SIOP," Dwyer said, referencing the organization’s role in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. Speakers said the program will channel tens of billions of dollars to modernize the four public shipyards, which will drive equipment and dry-dock work across the region.

Commissioners and military‑community leaders at the meeting discussed next steps including coordinating with the Portsmouth Mayor’s Military Affairs Committee, aligning local housing and school planning with base growth, and continuing engagement with the congressional delegation to track service decisions.

The presentation and follow-up discussion did not include any formal votes; commissioners asked staff to continue outreach and to forward information to city departments for planning and marketing to incoming personnel.