The History of CFM, Part 4: Reorganization and Expansion in the Cold War Era, 1950s – 1970s

This is Part 4 of a 6-part short history of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management. This short history is also the first in a series of histories covering VA Central Office directorates. Make sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 as well.

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In September 1953, Administrator Harvey V. Higley reorganized the VA Central Office (VACO) based on a proposal authored by previous Administrator Carl R. Gray, Jr.^[1] As part of these changes, the Office of Construction, Supply, and Real Estate was renamed the Office of Construction. Though the Office of Construction remained within VACO, the supply and hospital management tasks of the office were moved to the newly-created Department of Medicine and Surgery.^[2] One of the major goals of the reorganization effort was to shift more authority from VACO to VA’s regional offices and individual facilities.^[3] The Office of Construction instituted policies that reflected this goal, such as increasing local control over construction projects.^[4] The number of architects and engineers typically assigned to projects was also reduced as part of these policy changes, though that decision was possibly influenced by the office’s decreasing number of staff during this period. This was caused in part by increasing competition from private firms in hiring these positions.^[5] By 1956, the number of office staff had decreased by half since a high of approximately 1,000 in the late 1940s.^[6] With fewer architects and engineers on staff, the Office of Construction was forced to rely on private contractors to design facilities and aid in construction oversight through the 1950s.^[7]

Following the completion of the post-WWII hospital construction program, the Office of Construction turned its focus to VA’s pre-WWII facilities. In 1959, the office completed a study of the modernization needs of these hospitals, which constituted 53 percent of VA’s bed capacity. Using the study’s findings, they created a 12-year plan to address the aging facilities’ deficiencies through updates or replacements.^[8] Work for the modernization plan began in 1961.^[9] Other programs were established in the 1960s as well, including a training program for recently graduated architects and engineers, a nursing home program to construct long-term care facilities for the aging Veteran population, and a medical research facilities development program to create more space for innovation.^[10] Beyond general construction, the office continued to serve as the home of two other programs. The Real Estate program oversaw the acquisition and disposal of VA property, while the Safety and Fire Protection program continued its mission of advocating for caution against injury and fire in VA’s facilities. Through this period, the office continued to rely on both their staff and contracted, private architects and engineers for all stages of projects, including design, oversight, and final approval.^[11]

In the 1970s, the construction and facilities management responsibilities within VA continued to expand, with both the Office of Construction and the Department of Medicine and Surgery establishing new programs aimed at building and maintaining facilities. These programs focused on such issues as construction research to investigate efficient building methods and designs; environmental and cultural preservation; energy efficiency; facility security; handicap accessible designs; and earthquake engineering to develop structurally safe designs for buildings, equipment, and furniture.^[12] The latter of these efforts was developed in response to the 1971 earthquake in San Fernando, California, that destroyed the VA hospital there.

As the Office of Construction completed its pre-WWII hospital modernization efforts in 1973, Congress passed the National Cemeteries Act, placing most national cemeteries, previously managed by the U.S. Army, under the control of VA.^[13] With the transfer, the Office of Construction assumed the responsibility for designing and constructing cemetery facilities, though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized all projects that were already in progress at the time of the transition.^[14] One of the first major cemetery construction projects the office oversaw was at Riverside National Cemetery in California, which was built between 1976 and 1978.^[15]

The three-decade span between 1950 and 1980 was a time of both expansion and reduction for the Office of Construction as it gained several new responsibilities from facility safety to cemetery construction, but the office also saw a decrease in its staff. In one respect, this was an era of consistency as well, as its name, the Office of Construction, remained the same from 1953 to the mid-1980s.

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Part 5, Late Twentieth Century Changes: Finding a Home for VA’s Construction and Facilities Activities will be posted in September.

^[1] “VA Reorganization Plans Reach Hinds,” The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi), July 8, 1953.

^[2] Carl R. Gray, Jr., Reorganization of Veterans Administration: Background and Solution (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Veterans Administration, 1953), 46-47.

^[3] “Reorganization of the Veterans Administration is Reaching Final Stages,” The Geraldine Review (Geraldine, Montana), October 7, 1953.

^[4] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1954 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1955),153; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1955, 150; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1956 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1957),165.

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1956, 165.

^[7] Ibid.; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1957 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1957),119-120; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1958 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959),105.

^[8] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1959 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1960),107.

^[9] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1961 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962),126.

^[10] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1961, 134; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1964 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964),118; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1965 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965),120; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1968 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968),163.

^[11] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1959, 107-108; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1960 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961),109; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1967 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967),143.

^[12] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, 1970 Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971), 23; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, 1971 Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972), 34; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report 1972 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1973), 44-47; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Administrator of Veterans Affairs Annual Report ’73 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974), 57-58; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report 1974, Administrator of Veterans Affairs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975), 58-60; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report ’75, Administrator of Veterans Affairs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976), 57-58; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, 1976 Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977), 54-59; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report 1978, Administrator of Veterans Affairs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979), 94.

^[13] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Administrator of Veterans Affairs Annual Report ’73, 7.

^[14] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report ’75, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 98; “History of CFM,” Office of Construction and Facilities Management.

^[15] U.S. Veterans’ Administration, 1976 Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 58; U.S. Veterans’ Administration, Annual Report, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1977 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978), 90.