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  • April

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    A Captain's role in an ACF build-out

    Editors Note: April 6, 2020 was the day the Memphis District awarded the contract to build an Alternate Care Facility (ACF) in Memphis, Tennessee. The article below was written by Cpt. Alex Burruss, who at that time deployed to the Memphis District to work as an Operations Officer and assist with ACF projects and operations. This is his account of what happened during his few months working here. At the onset of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers. USACE collaborated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for the rapid expansion of COVID-19 treatment spaces. USACE assigned each of its districts an area of responsibility, and the districts integrated into the local and state response agencies within their areas of responsibility. As local civil authorities conducted analysis and projected bed space requirements, USACE developed facility modification options for accommodating additional beds. Districts completed site assessments and provided project management support for converting existing buildings into alternate care facilities (ACFs).  In April 2020, three weeks after the President declared a national emergency, the U.S. Army Engineer School (USAES), Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, deployed more than 30 Soldiers in support of the USACE response effort; Cpt. Alex W. Burruss was deployed to the Memphis District, USACE Mississippi Valley Division, Tennessee, for more than 60 days.

  • March

    A multidisciplinary team from the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency in an assessment of a local site for conversion into a federally supported community vaccination center, March 23, 2021, in Norfolk, Virginia. FEMA officially opened that location today as a Type 2 center, capable of administering approximately 3,000 vaccinations a day and directly supporting President Joe Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccinations within the first 100 days of his administration.

    Norfolk District’s site assessment for FEMA assists Virginia vaccination center opening

    A multidisciplinary team from the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency in an assessment of a local site for conversion into a federally supported community vaccination center here last week.
  • Barney Schulte (Left), lead engineer for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project, confers with Jody Robinson, Contract Team lead at Western Kentucky Area Office, while standing on top of the completed cofferdam at the Kentucky Lock Addition Project March 22, 2021 on the Tennessee River in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is constructing a new 110-foot by 1,200-foot navigation lock at the Tennessee Valley Authority project. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

    Corps will dig dry conditions with finished Kentucky Lock cofferdam

    GRAND RIVERS, Ky. (March 24, 2021) – The cofferdam at the Kentucky Lock Addition Project is finished, a milestone that paves the way for downstream excavation work to prepare the site for construction of the remaining portion of the new lock chamber.
  • IN THE PHOTOS, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, Maj. Gen. William (Butch) Graham and the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Army (Civil Works), Vance Stewart, visited the Memphis District last week. While there, they had the opportunity to welcome home and congratulate the Revetment Team after completing one of the district's longest seasons in history. Here, the units gather for a ‘welcome home’ brief. Additionally, representatives of each unit are coined for a job well done. (USACE photos by Vance Harris)

    Revetment Team returns after historic season

    The Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Army (Civil Works) Vance Stewart and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations Maj. Gen. William (Butch) Graham visited the Memphis District last week. While visiting, they had the opportunity to welcome home and congratulate the Revetment Team after completing one of the district's longest seasons in history.
  • IN THE PHOTO, as discussed by the Channel Improvement Team, this graphic demonstrates the future of Memphis District bank grading. The goal is to have this new dragline machine in service in fiscal year 2022. Modernization of the Bank Grading Unit and “Armor One,” a new Mat Sinking Unit (MSU), now under development by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will help recapitalize the river revetment program. Among its many assets, the new MSU promises be more efficient and cost effective, and provide a safer working environment for its crew.

    2021 Channel Improvement Team Meeting a success

    In a virtual get-together held mid-February, members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Construction Department, operations leaders from the Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans Districts, project managers, regional team members, environmental partners, and other representatives from the St. Louis District, all came together for their annual Mississippi River Channel Improvement meeting to discuss environmental projects and other current channel improvement issues.

  • February

    Martin Reed, contracting officer’s representative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rapid Response Technical Center of Expertise at the Omaha District, left, provides project updates to Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division commander, center, during Owen’s Feb. 9 visit to Beverly Community Hospital in Montebello, California. Accompanying Owen were Col. Julie Balten, Los Angeles District commander, second from right, and David Van Dorpe, LA District deputy engineer.

    South Pacific Division commander reviews medical upgrades at LA-area hospitals battling pandemic

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division commander visited two Southern California hospitals Feb. 9, 2021, to meet with on-site personnel and examine construction progress first-hand on hospital upgrades in support of COVID-19 relief efforts.

  • November

    Lt. Col. Sonny Avichal (Center), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District commander; Diane Parks, Operations Division chief; and Ben Rohrbach, Engineering and Construction Division chief; accept the 2019 Safety Award of Excellence, district category, at the Nashville District Headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, during the USACE National Awards Ceremony Nov. 12, 2020. Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, commanding general and 55th chief of engineers, presented the award virtually from USACE Headquarters in Washington D.C. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

    Chief of engineers presents ‘Safety Award of Excellence’ to Nashville District

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 12, 2020) – The 55th chief of engineers presented the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Safety Award of Excellence, district category, to Nashville District officials today during the USACE National Awards Ceremony.

  • September

    Practicing COVID Resilience: How the FED Stays Ahead

    Practicing COVID Resilience: How the FED Stays Ahead

    From improving warfighter capabilities and laying the foundation for a 216-bedroom housing unit on Camp Humphreys to ensuring the support staff has the capability to work remotely, the Far East District (FED) has not allowed the COVID-19 pandemic to slow them down.

  • August

    masked woman stands on stairs of airplane

    District employee earns Civil Responder of the Year

    When Jessica Fischer started her career at the Army Corps of Engineers 11 years ago, she didn’t plan on becoming an emergency manager. She was set on a quiet career as a Project Engineer at the New York District. Then 2011 happened.

  • July

    Ryan Field, senior program manager, Special Projects Branch, USACE Omaha-District, was recognized as USACE Hero of the Week for his efforts in successfully leading a team in the planning, development, and award of the Kalispell Regional Medical Center, and alternate care facility in Kalispell Montana, during the COVID-19 pandemic, July 24, 2020.

    Omaha USACE employee recognized for leading team during COVID-19.

    An employee with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Omaha District and native of Chicago, was recognized for his accomplishments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A Shimmick construction worker installs reinforcing steel July 21, 2020 in preparation to place more concrete for a monolith. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is constructing a new navigation lock as part of the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project at the Tennessee Valley Authority project on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

    Monolithic effort to construct lock chamber heats up

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (July 23, 2020) – A monolithic effort to construct a navigation chamber at the Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project is heating up where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District has already placed 19,000 cubic yards of concrete and more than 700 tons of reinforcing steel.

  • June

    Park Ranger Shane Brady at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District assigned to Safety Office is the Employee of the Month for May 2020.

    Brady named Nashville District Employee of the Month for May 2020

    Shane Brady, a Natural Resource Specialist and Park Ranger at the Lake Barkley Resource Manager's Office is the Nashville District Employee of the Month for May 2020.
  • Far East District on-boards new employees during COVID-19

    Far East District on-boards new employees during COVID-19

    CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Far East District (FED) has on-boarded a few new employees during COVID-19. As this pandemic has changed the way operations occur globally, most of their transition to the district is unique due to the virus.

  • May

    The completed alternate care facilty at Kalispell, Mont., has 98 patient care rooms, seven nurse’s stations, four restrooms, three pharmacies (which can be converted into patient care rooms) and a medical supply storage room.

    Corps completes 100-bed alternate care facility in Kalispell, Montana

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, completed construction on an alternate care facility in Kalispell, Montana, May 24, two days earlier than required. The ACF also came in more than 10% under budget.
  • U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Research Associate Army 1st Lt. Eoghan Matthews walks across the Brooklyn Bridge on his way to work at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District, March 26, 2020. Matthews was activated to assist the USACE New York District with completing site assessments, which are provided to local, state and federal partners, so that decisions can be made about where and when alternate care facilities are constructed as additional support to hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak.

    Answering the Call

    In late March 2020, Army 1st Lt. Eoghan Matthews, a Soldier assigned to the U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), received a call. The instructions were cryptic but direct: “Pack a bag, and be ready to go somewhere in the Northeast.”
  • USACE photo

    Burress named Nashville District Employee of the Month for April 2020

    Burress is being recognized for his outstanding performance supporting the Nashville District during the COVID-19 pandemic. His efforts to keep staff informed and safe have been instrumental in ensuring operations continued in as safe a manner as possible.
  • The screenshot illustrates the May 22 debut of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered (ERDC-SEIR) model on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website. The ERDC-SEIR is one of 16 models featured on the CDC’s COVID-19 model ensemble website, and the ERDC COVID-19 Modeling and Analysis Team will continue to provide results to the CDC going forward.

    ERDC COVID-19 model debuts on CDC website

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) COVID-19 Modeling and Analysis Team (C-MAT) developed a COVID-19 model that debuted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, May 22. The ERDC model, also referred to as the ERDC-SEIR (Susceptible Exposed Infected Recovered) model, is one of 16 models featured on the CDC’s COVID-19 model ensemble website.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, completes construction of 3rd generation hardened aircraft shelters at Kunsan Air Base

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, completes construction of 3rd generation hardened aircraft shelters at Kunsan Air Base

    With the joint effort of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) of the Far East District (FED) and the Republic of Korea, 20 newly constructed third generation hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) will be ready for use by the summer of 2020 at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea.
  • Boats are docked in their slips May 19, 2020 at Cherokee Steakhouse, Marina and Campground on the shoreline of Old Hickory Lake in Lebanon, Tennessee. Marinas in the Cumberland River Basin, including at this location, were granted 90 days of rent abatement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District during these times of uncertainty, which allows the marinas to utilize their on-hand cash to keep their businesses operational while sustaining impacts caused by COVID-19. (USACE photo by Lee Roberts)

    Rent abatement gives marina operators collective sigh of relief

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 20, 2020) – Rent abatement at all leased recreation facilities in the Cumberland River Basin will potentially allow marinas to retain an estimated $750,000 to help stay afloat as revenues decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Ryan Field, left, project manager, and Jeremy Ayala, construction representative, both with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, District, compare the plans May 12, for what will be an alternate care facility in Kalispell, Mont., to the progress made on day two of construction. The state of Montana requested FEMA to task the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, to build the ACF on the vacant, undeveloped, third floor of Montana Children’s, the new pediatric facility of the Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The temporary facility would accommodate non-acute patients in case Montana faces an increase in COVID-19 patients in the fall. When completed, the ACF will have 98 patient care rooms, seven nurse’s station, four restrooms, three pharmacies and a medical supply storage room.

    USACE helps Montana, FEMA prepare for COVID-19 future

    In the three-and-a-half months since the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in the U.S., the state of Montana has the second lowest number of total cases, and the lowest number of cases per capita of any state in the country. Those low numbers did not stop the state’s leaders and FEMA from enlisting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, to prepare for the future fight against the virus.
  • .

    Metal Shop makings...

    Navigation is one of our oldest missions. We’re mandated by Congress to keep the Mississippi River open for commercial navigation by maintaining a 9-foot-deep and 300-foot-wide channel, and we do that by dredging on an annual basis. So, as one might imagine, dustpan dredge, the Hurley, gets used quite a bit keeping the Mississippi open, so our talented team at Ensley Engineer Yard have their work cut out for them keeping her running year after year. This brings us to the project Machinist Brandon Almeida is working on – it’s something the Dredge Hurley uses called “propeller rope guards.” He’s also making the mount needed to make the rope guards on – talk about complex work.
  • As part of a phased approach for reopening facilities as part of its COVID-19 reopening plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is opening its corps-managed campgrounds within the Cumberland River Basin in Tennessee June 1, 2020. Nashville District’s corps-managed campgrounds in Kentucky will reopen June 11 in alignment with Kentucky’s Phase 2 reopening plan. This is a campsite at Lock C Campground on the shoreline of Cheatham Lake in Ashland City, Tennessee, during a past recreation season. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

    Nashville District opening campgrounds, recreation areas in June

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 14, 2020) – As part of a phased approach for reopening facilities as part of its COVID-19 reopening plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is opening its corps-managed campgrounds within the Cumberland River Basin in Tennessee June 1, 2020.
  • Warm Springs DAm

    COVID 19: San Francisco District to open public boat ramp at Lake Sonoma May 16

    In accordance with a May 12, 2020 update to the Sonoma County Health Order, Lake Sonoma will start opening parts of the park for public use. The plan is to open the Public Boat Ramp and Marina for lake surface use on Saturday, May 16, 9 AM. The Visitor Center Parking lot will be open for vessel inspections only. At this time, all other recreation areas will remain closed.
  • Technicians use electromagnetic metal detectors to determine if an item below ground is a military munition. Huntsville Center’s Ordnance and Explosives Military Munitions Design Center manages and executes many of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Military Munitions Response Program projects for Formerly Used Defense Site and Base Realignment and Closure sites.

    Huntsville Center plays key role in South Carolina remediation project

    Work to clean up former Camp Croft, a Formerly Used Defense Site, began following the April 1 contract between U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District, and a joint venture of Weston Solutions, Inc., of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and Zapata Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Gaya Gamage (left), and Samantha Schwoerer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District mail clerks, working in mailroom at the district headquarters, Camp Humphreys, South Korea, May 12.

    Customer service, morale; driving forces for FED mailroom operations during COVID 19

    CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea— Receiving mail and packages can often be a morale booster for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District employees while serving overseas. The COVID 19 pandemic continues to change operations almost daily, however, the district consolidated mailroom has continued its mission throughout this challenging period.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is extending its closure of 25 Corps-managed campgrounds within the Cumberland River Basin in Kentucky and Tennessee through at least May 31 in the interest of public safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the sign for Cages Bend Campground at Old Hickory Lake. (USACE photo by Lee Roberts)

    Nashville District extends campgrounds closure through end of May

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 7, 2020) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is extending its closure of 25 Corps-managed campgrounds within the Cumberland River Basin in Kentucky and Tennessee through at least May 31 in the interest of public safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Brian Adkins, electrical engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Omaha District, documents the elevator controls during a site assessment of a building in Omaha, Neb., the state is considering turning into an alternate care facility in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. When requested by states and/or territories and funded by FEMA, USACE is conducting site assessments for potential alternate care facilities. A site assessment does not guarantee construction at that site.

    Assessments critical step in battling COVID-19 pandemic

    When the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread throughout the Midwest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, was tasked by FEMA to start assessing sites for possible use as alternate care facilities.
  • .

    Army Corps Completes Construction of Alternate Care Facility at State University of New York College at Old Westbury, Long Island, N.Y.

    Construction of the alternate care facility at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury on Long Island to facilitate care for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients was completed May 3.

  • April

    Captain Colin Sexton, a program manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District coordinates U.S. Army Corps of Engineers COVID response information with other officers deployed to New York to assist with USACE response efforts.

    Middle East District Officers Support COVID-19 Response

    Two captains from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) recently returned from New York City where they had deployed to assist with USACE efforts to build alternate care facilities both in the city and throughout the region.
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    Thank you: Building a facility of hope

    The team of people building a facility made to care for people who contract the COVID-19 virus are working around the clock to make sure that if our local hospitals can't handle the caseload at that time, no one gets turned away. We want to thank all of our workers out there making this alternate care center ha reality. No matter what part of the team a worker is on, each is important and contributes an invaluable knowledge and skill to this facility of hope and care.