 As commander of the New York Navy Yard from October 1, 1937 to March 1, 1941, Admiral Woodward was not only charged with the construction of warships, but he also had oversight of the Brooklyn Naval Hospital, located on the eastern side of Wallabout Bay; the Material and Chemical Laboratories at the Navy Yard; and numerous supply depots around the borough of Brooklyn.As the last commandant to simultaneously command the U.S. Navy Yard and the Third Naval District, Woodward held a complex dual-position, having to answer to both the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).His performance in that dual command earned him his second Distinguished Service Medal (Navy), at that time the highest award bestowed by the United States Navy, until it was superseded by the Navy Cross in 1942.