{"id":116706,"date":"2025-09-05T16:56:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T20:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/?p=116706"},"modified":"2025-09-08T14:40:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T18:40:40","slug":"the-history-of-cfm-part-4-reorganization-and-expansion-in-the-cold-war-era-1950s-1970s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/the-history-of-cfm-part-4-reorganization-and-expansion-in-the-cold-war-era-1950s-1970s\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of CFM, Part 4: Reorganization and Expansion in the Cold War Era, 1950s \u2013 1970s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is Part 4<\/strong> 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<\/a><\/strong>, Part 2<\/a><\/strong>, and Part 3<\/a><\/strong> as well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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<\/a>]<\/sup> 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<\/a>]<\/sup> One of the major goals of the reorganization effort was to shift more authority from VACO to VA\u2019s regional offices and individual facilities.[3<\/a>]<\/sup> The Office of Construction instituted policies that reflected this goal, such as increasing local control over construction projects.[4<\/a>]<\/sup> 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\u2019s decreasing number of staff during this period. This was caused in part by increasing competition from private firms in hiring these positions.[5<\/a>]<\/sup> By 1956, the number of office staff had decreased by half since a high of approximately 1,000 in the late 1940s.[6<\/a>]<\/sup> 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<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n