A recently retired career Army engineer was nominated to lead the city’s Department of Design and Construction by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell Tuesday.

Robert Kroning, 46, will serve as director-designate pending approval by the Honolulu City Council.

Most recently, Kroning retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel as chief of training exercises for NATO Headquaters in Valencia, Spain, a post he has held since 2012.

Kroning was in Hawaii as chief of facilities and construction for US Army Pacific from June 2007 to April 2011. During that time, he headed the environmental and real estate sections in the programming of facilities from Hawaii to Japan, during which time he developed the $1 billion-plus military construction program for the Department of Defense Future Years Defense Program.

In the wake of the 2006 Kauai dam breach that resulted in the deaths of seven people, Kroning also coordinated and oversaw the Corps of Engineers technical inspection of all other Hawaii dams to ensure their safety.

From April 2010 to April 2011, he was deputy director of the Corps of Engineers Joint Program office in Afghanistan.

Kroning received his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degress in engineering management from Southern Methodist University.

Kroning replaces Chris Takashige, who resigned several months ago to work for the state.