The story of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) is one of civil servants working to create and maintain the physical spaces where VA fulfills its duty to care for those who have served in our Nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.
The approaches CFM and its predecessors took to completing this monumental task have evolved over time, changing with the size and needs of the country’s Veteran population. During some periods, authority over construction projects was centralized within the VA Central Office, while at other times the structure was reorganized to delegate oversight duties to the regional or local level. The role of the office also changed with time, taking on new responsibilities, losing others, and then sometimes regaining functions in periods of consolidation. This paper traces how, for more than a century, the construction offices of the Veterans Bureau, Veterans Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs have helped shape VA’s vast network of medical centers, national cemeteries, and administrative offices, which CFM continues to maintain today.
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