Captain Ana Franco is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is a 1997 graduate of the University of Miami, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and a 2008 graduate of the University of Florida, where she earned a master’s of business administration. She was commissioned an ensign in November 1997 after completing Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla.
Franco was first assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., as assistant public works officer. In 2000, she reported to U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FORTY in Port Hueneme, Calif., where she was assigned as assistant operations officer, material liaison officer, Air Detachment officer in charge and Deployment for Training Cobra Gold officer in charge during three deployments to Guam, Thailand and Spain. Her next assignment was in Norfolk, Va., at Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, where she served as the East Coast Civil Engineer Corps accessions officer.
Franco became the resident officer in charge of construction at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, in 2003. She transferred in 2006 to the University of Florida to pursue her master’s degree. In 2008, she transferred to Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., where she served as public works officer. She then reported to the Presidential Retreat, Camp David (Naval Support Facility Thurmont, Md.), where she served as executive officer from 2010 to 2012 under President Obama’s first administration.
Franco completed a yearlong individual augmentee deployment in 2013, serving as the force engineer and future engineer operations officer for Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa in Djibouti, Africa. She then served as the chief staff officer for the SEVENTH Naval Construction Regiment in Gulfport, Miss., from 2014 to 2016. Franco assumed duty as the commanding officer of Naval Construction Training Center Gulfport in Mississippi from 2016 to 2018. Following command, she served for two years as operations officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington at the Washington Navy Yard in the District of Columbia. She then completed a one-year assignment in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Shore Readiness Division (OPNAV N46), where she served as the Strategic Laydown and Dispersal Branch head. She most recently served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Warfare Integration Division (OPNAV N9I) as the Infrastructure and Facilities Program manager in the Readiness branch.
Franco took command of Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport in July 2023.
Franco’s decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (five awards), Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), the Navy Achievement Medal, the Presidential Service Badge and various service and unit awards. She is a Seabee Combat Warfare qualified officer, a registered professional engineer in the state of North Carolina, a certified Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act contracting professional and a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps.
Last Updated: 2 August 2023