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  • April

    Attorney Leslie Reed, second from the left, and other teammates from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District pose at a contractor outreach event on November 6, 2019 in Bulgaria geared toward educating contractors about working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Reed said the increased engagement with the contracting community is one of the things she finds enjoyable about working as an attorney overseas with the Europe District. (Courtesy Photo)

    Europe District’s Office of Counsel tackles unique challenges in supporting overseas mission

    The Office of Counsel is critical to delivering projects in any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District office — and overseas in Europe District is no exception.
  • The Mayor of Malanville, accepts keys to a newly constructed health clinic from Humanitarian Assistance Program Coordinator Cosme Quenum, a local national with the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, Benin in the village of Money, Benin in Africa at the end of January 2021. The clinic and various associated facilities also built with it comprise one of two similar clinic projects recently completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in that region of Benin through funding from AFRICOM and coordinated closely with the U.S. State Department.

    Projects in Benin increase both healthcare capacity and ability to document births

    Villagers in two communities in northeast Benin will no longer need to cross the border to give birth or receive other basic medical care with the delivery of two new medical facilities in the remote villages of Money and Godjekoara, both of which sit in the larger border region of the Commune of Malanville. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District implemented and managed the construction of the facilities. Project requirements and funding were provided by AFRICOM with onsite coordination provided by the U.S. Embassy and Office of Security Cooperation.
  • The Mayor of Malanville, accepts keys to a newly constructed health clinic from Humanitarian Assistance Program Coordinator Cosme Quenum, a local national with the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, Benin in the village of Money, Benin in Africa at the end of January 2021. The clinic and various associated facilities also built with it comprise one of two similar clinic projects recently completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in that region of Benin through funding from AFRICOM and coordinated closely with the U.S. State Department.

    Projects in Benin increase both healthcare capacity and ability to document births

    Villagers in two communities in northeast Benin will no longer need to cross the border to give birth or receive other basic medical care with the delivery of two new medical facilities in the remote villages of Money and Godjekoara, both of which sit in the larger border region of the Commune of Malanville. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District implemented and managed the construction of the facilities. Project requirements and funding were provided by AFRICOM with onsite coordination provided by the U.S. Embassy and Office of Security Cooperation.

  • March

    Rendering showing a visual of the vision laid for parts of Grafenwoehr Training Area in the recently completed Area Development Execution Plan, including the Operational Readiness Training Center being designed and its associated facilities like, barracks, headquarters facilities, dining facilities, parking and more. The ADEP vision calls for campuses with Bavarian buildings, centralized support services, and perimeter mission facilities connected to a walkable and multi-modal transportation network.

    Graf to the Future: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers working with USAG Bavaria to modernize facilities for troops at Grafenwoehr

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District is working with U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the 7th Army Training Command, the garrison, the German government, and other partners to deliver new facilities for brigades training in Grafenwoehr, who are often en route to deployments.
  • Rendering showing a visual of the vision laid for parts of Grafenwoehr Training Area in the recently completed Area Development Execution Plan, including the Operational Readiness Training Center being designed and its associated facilities like, barracks, headquarters facilities, dining facilities, parking and more. The ADEP vision calls for campuses with Bavarian buildings, centralized support services, and perimeter mission facilities connected to a walkable and multi-modal transportation network.

    Graf to the Future: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers working with USAG Bavaria to modernize facilities for troops at Grafenwoehr

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District is working with U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the 7th Army Training Command, the garrison, the German government, and other partners to deliver new facilities for brigades training in Grafenwoehr, who are often en route to deployments.
  • After serving 20 years in the Army, Dean Blegen served nearly 20 more with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District working in Community Mail Room 410 at the Amelia Earhart Center in Weisbaden, Germany. During that time, he touched the lives of thousands of people who have been a part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District for the last two decades as well as the additional U.S. agencies that call the AEC home. These deep connections with people, co-workers and friends made it even more shocking when earlier this year when he suddenly fell critically ill in late February and subsequently passed away on March 3. (Courtesy Photo)

    Europe District team mourns the loss of the 'Mayor of the Amelia Earhart Center'

    Dean Blegen had been a fixture of Community Mail Room 410, or CMR, 410 in the Amelia Earhart Center in Wiesbaden since it was stood up nearly 20 years ago and made deep connections with many people in that time. These deep connections with people, co-workers and friends made it even more shocking when earlier this year when he suddenly fell critically ill in late February and subsequently passed in early March.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Daniel J. Fox is pinned by his family during his promotion ceremony in Wiesbaden, Germany Feb. 26, 2021. (U.S. Army photo by Alfredo Barraza)

    New deputy commander excited to support Europe District's array of missions

    Surrounded by his wife and five children in person, and family and friends joining virtually from around the world, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District’s Deputy Commander Maj. Daniel J. Fox was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during a promotion ceremony at Wiesbaden, Germany Feb. 26, 2021
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Daniel J. Fox is pinned by his family during his promotion ceremony in Wiesbaden, Germany Feb. 26, 2021. (U.S. Army photo by Alfredo Barraza)

    New deputy commander excited to support Europe District's array of missions

    Surrounded by his wife and five children in person, and family and friends joining virtually from around the world, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District’s Deputy Commander Maj. Daniel J. Fox was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during a promotion ceremony at Wiesbaden, Germany Feb. 26, 2021

  • June

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Geologist Brian Shedd looks at the top of the soil layer in the recently completed scaled model aquifer February 26, 2019, constructed at the Corps’ Fort McHenry Yard as part of a Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program research project he is leading. The research is using the scaled aquifer model to learn more about how an emerging contaminant known as PFAS behave in soil and groundwater in a setting where chemistry and aquifer conditions can be controlled. This type of information is important to designing future cleanup methodologies and measuring their effectiveness in addressing PFAS contamination.

    Baltimore District conducts research on emerging contaminants

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District is teaming up with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, U.S. Geological Survey and other federal partners to learn more about how complex chemical contaminants behave in the environment to help inform future cleanup efforts.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Geologist Brian Shedd looks at the top of the soil layer in the recently completed scaled model aquifer February 26, 2019, constructed at the Corps’ Fort McHenry Yard as part of a Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program research project he is leading. The research is using the scaled aquifer model to learn more about how an emerging contaminant known as PFAS behave in soil and groundwater in a setting where chemistry and aquifer conditions can be controlled. This type of information is important to designing future cleanup methodologies and measuring their effectiveness in addressing PFAS contamination.

    Baltimore District conducts research on emerging contaminants

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District is teaming up with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, U.S. Geological Survey and other federal partners to learn more about how complex chemical contaminants behave in the environment to help inform future cleanup efforts.
  • Sectioned pieces of steel from the STURGIS vessel are seen stacked and prepared for recycling February 26, 2019 during the vessel’s shipbreaking in Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District managed the final decommissioning and dismantling of the STURGIS, the Army’s former floating nuclear power plant, and in addition to safely removing more than 1.5 million pounds of radioactive material the project team was able to recycle approximately 600,000 pounds of lead and more than 5,000 tons of steel and other assorted recyclables.

    Recycling a key factor in dismantling of STURGIS floating nuclear power plant

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed the safe removal of more than 1.5 million pounds
  • Sectioned pieces of steel from the STURGIS vessel are seen stacked and prepared for recycling February 26, 2019 during the vessel’s shipbreaking in Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District managed the final decommissioning and dismantling of the STURGIS, the Army’s former floating nuclear power plant, and in addition to safely removing more than 1.5 million pounds of radioactive material the project team was able to recycle approximately 600,000 pounds of lead and more than 5,000 tons of steel and other assorted recyclables.

    Recycling a key factor in Baltimore District's dismantling of STURGIS floating nuclear power plant

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed the safe removal of more than 1.5 million pounds
  • Sectioned pieces of steel from the STURGIS vessel are seen stacked and prepared for recycling February 26, 2019 during the vessel’s shipbreaking in Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District managed the final decommissioning and dismantling of the STURGIS, the Army’s former floating nuclear power plant, and in addition to safely removing more than 1.5 million pounds of radioactive material the project team was able to recycle approximately 600,000 pounds of lead and more than 5,000 tons of steel and other assorted recyclables.

    Recycling a key factor in dismantling of STURGIS floating nuclear power plant

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed the safe removal of more than 1.5 million pounds of radioactive material from STURGIS — a WWII Liberty Ship turned into the first floating nuclear power plant in the 1960s.  The Corps’ Baltimore District was tasked with the unique mission to decommission and dismantle the STURGIS, and its nuclear reactor, known as MH-1A, which was used to generate electricity for military and civilian use in the Panama Canal for several years before being shut down in 1976. 
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Alex Zahl looks on as contractors use Advanced Geophysical Classification technology to identify potentially buried munitions items on a municipally owned parcel of property along the Dalecarlia Parkway within the boundaries of the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site in Washington, D.C., Sept. 6, 2018. The Corps is using the latest in geophysical mapping technology to reduce the amount of unnecessary digs during its munitions investigation where cultural debris like scrap metal, nails and other construction debris make up the majority of the digs on site.

    Corps of Engineers uses latest technology to tackle WWI cleanup in DC

    Crews searching for buried explosives at a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) in northwest Washington D.C.’s Spring Valley neighborhood are using the latest in advanced technology to reduce unnecessary impacts to private property and to improve efficiency.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Alex Zahl looks on as contractors use Advanced Geophysical Classification technology to identify potentially buried munitions items on a municipally owned parcel of property along the Dalecarlia Parkway within the boundaries of the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site in Washington, D.C., Sept. 6, 2018. The Corps is using the latest in geophysical mapping technology to reduce the amount of unnecessary digs during its munitions investigation where cultural debris like scrap metal, nails and other construction debris make up the majority of the digs on site.

    Baltimore District uses latest technology to tackle WWI cleanup in DC

    Crews searching for buried explosives at a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) in northwest Washington D.C.’s Spring Valley neighborhood are using the latest in advanced technology to reduce unnecessary impacts to private property and to improve efficiency.

  • May

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Geoffrey Kuhlman looks on aboard an Army Corps contracted dredge operated by Norfolk Dredging as a load of material is pulled from the bottom of Curtis Bay Channel in Baltimore Harbor Tuesday March 19, 2019 as part of maintenance dredging of channels associated with the Baltimore Harbor and Channels Project. Curtis Bay Channel was one of six dredged during the Fiscal Year 2019 maintenance cycle, during which crews removed nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material from channels to ensure continued safe navigation for vessels traveling to and from Port of Baltimore facilities.

    Baltimore District dredged nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material from six Baltimore Harbor channels

    Crews finished the dredging of nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material this April from shipping channels leading to the Port of Baltimore as part of a contract managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Geoffrey Kuhlman looks on aboard an Army Corps contracted dredge operated by Norfolk Dredging as a load of material is pulled from the bottom of Curtis Bay Channel in Baltimore Harbor Tuesday March 19, 2019 as part of maintenance dredging of channels associated with the Baltimore Harbor and Channels Project. Curtis Bay Channel was one of six dredged during the Fiscal Year 2019 maintenance cycle, during which crews removed nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material from channels to ensure continued safe navigation for vessels traveling to and from Port of Baltimore facilities.

    Army Corps crews dredge nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material from six Baltimore Harbor channels

    Crews finished the dredging of nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material this April from shipping channels leading to the Port of Baltimore as part of a contract managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District.

  • September

    Undated image of STURGIS operating in the Panama Canal Zone. The STURGIS, a former World War II Liberty Ship, was converted into the first floating nuclear power plant in the 1960s. Before being shutdown in 1976, the STURGIS’ nuclear reactor, MH-1A, was used to generate electricity for military and civilian use in the Panama Canal.

    STURGIS Nuclear Decommissioning Completed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Team

    No challenge is too complex for this team of experts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team has recently completed a very complex and unique project phase by finishing the decommissioning of the Army’s first and only floating nuclear reactor prototype – the MH-1A aboard the STURGIS.
  • Undated image of STURGIS operating in the Panama Canal Zone. The STURGIS, a former World War II Liberty Ship, was converted into the first floating nuclear power plant in the 1960s. Before being shutdown in 1976, the STURGIS’ nuclear reactor, MH-1A, was used to generate electricity for military and civilian use in the Panama Canal.

    STURGIS Nuclear Decommissioning Completed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Team

    No challenge is too complex for this team of experts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team has recently completed a very complex and unique project phase by finishing the decommissioning of the Army’s first and only floating nuclear reactor prototype – the MH-1A aboard the STURGIS.

  • November

    Erma Henry-Raver holds a copy of the York Gazette and Daily newspaper from the flood of 1933 that she brought with her to the 75th anniversary open house celebration of Indian Rock Dam in York, Pennsylvania Saturday October 28, 2017. The flood of 1933 was the primary reason Indian Rock Dam - completed in 1942 - was built.

    Community celebrates 75 years of Indian Rock Dam reducing flood risks

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, celebrated Indian Rock Dam’s 75th anniversary with a ceremony and an open house for the public attended by several hundred people.
  • Erma Henry-Raver holds a copy of the York Gazette and Daily newspaper from the flood of 1933 that she brought with her to the 75th anniversary open house celebration of Indian Rock Dam in York, Pennsylvania Saturday October 28, 2017. The flood of 1933 was the primary reason Indian Rock Dam - completed in 1942 - was built.

    Community celebrates 75 years of Indian Rock Dam reducing flood risks

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, celebrated Indian Rock Dam’s 75th anniversary with a ceremony and an open house for the public attended by several hundred people.

  • October

    President Franklin Delano Roosevelt toured Southern Tier communities in New York that were impacted by the powerful 1935 floods. That 1935 flood, and its impacts to Binghamton and other communities, was one of the major floods of the time that played a large role in the ultimate crafting and passing of the Flood Control Act of 1936 that authorized the construction of Whitney Point Dam along with hundreds of other flood risk management works across the country.

    Whitney Point Dam celebrates 75 years of reducing flood risks

    When it was completed in 1942, Whitney Point Dam was the answer to what had been recurring disastrous floods for Binghamton, New York and other communities downstream of it. Since its completion in 1942, the dam has prevented an estimated $726 million in flood damages. The dam itself cost less than $6 million to complete.
  • President Franklin Delano Roosevelt toured Southern Tier communities in New York that were impacted by the powerful 1935 floods. That 1935 flood, and its impacts to Binghamton and other communities, was one of the major floods of the time that played a large role in the ultimate crafting and passing of the Flood Control Act of 1936 that authorized the construction of Whitney Point Dam along with hundreds of other flood risk management works across the country.

    Whitney Point Dam celebrates 75 years of reducing flood risks

    When it was completed in 1942, Whitney Point Dam was the answer to what had been recurring disastrous floods for Binghamton, New York and other communities downstream of it. Since its completion in 1942, the dam has prevented an estimated $726 million in flood damages. The dam itself cost less than $6 million to complete.

  • September

    Retired Lt. Gen. Ernest Graves, a pioneer in the history of the military’s use of nuclear power for various purposes, discusses his past involvement with the construction and initial operation of the SM-1 nuclear reactor and plant at Fort Belvoir in the 1950s with Brian Hearty, the national program manager at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters, for the Army’s Deactivated Nuclear Power Plant Program, during a meeting at the US Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency headquarters on Fort Belvoir, Tuesday September 19, 2017. In addition to providing nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction expertise, USANCA is home to the Army Reactor Office, which issues the permits for the Army’s one operating and three deactivated nuclear reactors. Hearty is part of a team gathering as much information as possible about the SM-1 reactor as part of the planning process for its ultimate decommissioning and dismantling. Meeting with Graves is just one of many efforts towards planning SM-1’s decommissioning.

    Pioneer in military use of nuclear power provides insight on facility to be decommissioned

    Retired Lt. Gen. Ernest Graves was just a major when he was assigned to the SM-1, the first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was building on Fort Belvoir in the late 1950s. At the time, Major Graves was tasked with overseeing the final stages of construction, then operating and training the staff for the reactor. The SM-1 was the first nuclear reactor in the country to generate power connected to the commercial grid when it achieved its first criticality in April 1957. Sixty years later, a 93-year-old Graves and his wife, Nancy, visited the facility to discuss its history with professionals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other Department of Defense agencies charged with handling nuclear-related missions for the military.
  • Retired Lt. Gen. Ernest Graves, a pioneer in the history of the military’s use of nuclear power for various purposes, discusses his past involvement with the construction and initial operation of the SM-1 nuclear reactor and plant at Fort Belvoir in the 1950s with Brian Hearty, the national program manager at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters, for the Army’s Deactivated Nuclear Power Plant Program, during a meeting at the US Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency headquarters on Fort Belvoir, Tuesday September 19, 2017. In addition to providing nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction expertise, USANCA is home to the Army Reactor Office, which issues the permits for the Army’s one operating and three deactivated nuclear reactors. Hearty is part of a team gathering as much information as possible about the SM-1 reactor as part of the planning process for its ultimate decommissioning and dismantling. Meeting with Graves is just one of many efforts towards planning SM-1’s decommissioning.

    Pioneer in military use of nuclear power provides insight on facility to be decommissioned

    Retired Lt. Gen. Ernest Graves was just a major when he was assigned to the SM-1, the first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was building on Fort Belvoir in the late 1950s. At the time, Major Graves was tasked with overseeing the final stages of construction, then operating and training the staff for the reactor. The SM-1 was the first nuclear reactor in the country to generate power connected to the commercial grid when it achieved its first criticality in April 1957. Sixty years later, a 93-year-old Graves and his wife, Nancy, visited the facility to discuss its history with professionals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other Department of Defense agencies charged with handling nuclear-related missions for the military.

  • August

    Harold Catlett, pictured here, worked on the water in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, navigation mission from 1985 until his sudden passing in 2014. Catlett was a mentor to many hydrographic surveyors over the years and personnel he worked with overwhelmingly supported naming Baltimore District’s new survey vessel after him.

    Hydrographic surveyor’s legacy lives on in new survey vessel name

    Harold Catlett’s sudden death shocked his team members at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. When the time came for Baltimore District to replace its aging survey vessel with a newer model, it only seemed fitting that the vessel be named after a man who inspired so many.
  • Harold Catlett, pictured here, worked on the water in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, navigation mission from 1985 until his sudden passing in 2014. Catlett was a mentor to many hydrographic surveyors over the years and personnel he worked with overwhelmingly supported naming Baltimore District’s new survey vessel after him.

    Hydrographic surveyor’s legacy lives on in new survey vessel name

    Harold Catlett’s sudden death shocked his team members at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. When the time came for Baltimore District to replace its aging survey vessel with a newer model, it only seemed fitting that the vessel be named after a man who inspired so many.

  • June

    The Reactor Pressure Vessel from the STURGIS, the Army’s retired floating nuclear power plant in the process of being decommissioned, is carefully loaded onto a transport vehicle inside its specially designed shielded shipping container. The RPV and its specially-designed shielded shipping container combined to weigh a total of approximately 81 tons. The RPV’s safe delivery to the designated disposal facility was completed in early June 2017.

    STURGIS decommissioning hits major milestone with deactivated nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessel removal

    After years of planning and overcoming significant implementation challenges, the STURGIS project team has successfully removed the Reactor Pressure Vessel — a major component of the U.S. Army’s MH-1A reactor aboard the Nuclear Barge STURGIS.
  • The Reactor Pressure Vessel from the STURGIS, the Army’s retired floating nuclear power plant in the process of being decommissioned, is carefully loaded onto a transport vehicle inside its specially designed shielded shipping container. The RPV and its specially-designed shielded shipping container combined to weigh a total of approximately 81 tons. The RPV’s safe delivery to the designated disposal facility was completed in early June 2017.

    STURGIS decommissioning hits major milestone with deactivated nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessel removal

    After years of planning and overcoming significant implementation challenges, the STURGIS project team has successfully removed the Reactor Pressure Vessel — a major component of the U.S. Army’s MH-1A reactor aboard the Nuclear Barge STURGIS.
  • The Reactor Pressure Vessel from the STURGIS, the Army’s retired floating nuclear power plant in the process of being decommissioned, is carefully loaded onto a transport vehicle inside its specially designed shielded shipping container. The RPV and its specially-designed shielded shipping container combined to weigh a total of approximately 81 tons. The RPV’s safe delivery to the designated disposal facility was completed in early June 2017.

    STURGIS decommissioning hits major milestone with deactivated nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessel removal

    After years of planning and overcoming significant implementation challenges, the STURGIS project team has successfully removed the Reactor Pressure Vessel — a major component of the U.S. Army’s MH-1A reactor aboard the Nuclear Barge STURGIS.