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Former NAVSEA Commander to Lead Canadian Shipbuilder

Vice Adm. Kevin M. McCoy, former commander of Naval Sea Systems Command. US Navy Photo

Vice Adm. Kevin M. McCoy, former commander of Naval Sea Systems Command. US Navy Photo

Former Naval Sea Systems Commander, retired Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, has been tapped to be the president of Canadian shipbuilder, Irving Shipbuilding, Inc., the company announced on Monday.

The U.S. Navy’s former chief shipbuilder will now help oversee the Halifax shipbuilder’s effort to modernize the Canadian Navy under the country’s new 30-year shipbuilding program, awarded in 2011. 

McCoy spent a total of eight years at NAVSEA, first as the organization’s chief engineer for three years and five as NAVSEA commander.

McCoy’s tenure was largely defined by changes to the surface Navy. When he took over NAVSEA in 2008 the emphasis on war fighting was firmly rooted in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He was tasked with repairing the long-neglected surface navy that had languished under years of neglect as Pentagon budget priorities were focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the company, McCoy starts work in early August.