U.S. Navy Adm. Maria L. “Lore” Aguayo, a Tempe native, retired after 31 years of military service on Aug. 2, following a successful tour as commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

Aguayo was the first woman to lead the command and the 34th commander overall, according to a press release. She was “dual-hatted,” serving also as the U.S. Fleet Forces civil engineer and director of fleet installations and environment.

Taking over the reins at NAVFAC in 2021, Aguayo assumed additional duties during her tenure within USFF Command, better aligning the needs of the fleet with the services provided by NAVFAC.  

A proud immigrant, Aguayo’s mother and father — also an engineer — brought their children to the U.S. from Mexico for greater opportunities.

The Marco de Niza high school alum and Tempe native knew early she wanted to give back to the country that embraced her, the release explained.

“There aren’t many countries that a little girl who had to take ESL, English as a second language, in elementary school just to pass first and second grade, can one day retire from the Navy as a Rear Admiral," Aguayo said in the release.

She added while she is grateful for her parents' decision to move to the U.S., Aguayo does not take for granted the oath she took many times in her career to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, which has made her decades-long career possible. 

Aguayo made the most of those opportunities, graduating from Stanford University with a degree in industrial engineering before accepting her commission in the Navy — later going back to complete a master’s degree in civil engineering. She is also a graduate of the Wharton Executive Development Program, the release added.

Rear Adm. Dean VanderLey, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command and Chief of Civil Engineers, presided over the ceremony and presented Aguayo with a Legion of Merit in recognition of her accomplishments. 

“Lore is the kind of officer that has a compass, and it’s always spot on,” VanderLey said in the release. “I don’t just mean a moral compass, and that’s part of it, but whether it’s character and integrity, whether it is operational, Lore just consistently knows what to do.”

Vanderley also credits Aguayo’s ability to accomplish so much to her strong leadership skills, with her team always going in the right direction from the start.

According to the release, Aguayo credits much of her career to her time commanding Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Eleven. 

When she first joined the Navy in 1993, women could not serve in construction battalions with the famed Seabees, the 1994 National Defense Authorization Act, allowed women to be assigned to combatants, including the Navy’s surface ships and mobile construction battalions. 

Just a few short years later, Aguayo would become among the first women to lead such a battalion, an experience she found to be a career highlight, the release explained.