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  • April

    IN THE PHOTO, a map showing the Obion Levee System protected area once all projects are executed.

    Final levee system project on horizon as MVM completes preliminary projects

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District, in partnership with the Fulton County Board of Levee Commissioners (FCBLC), is nearing completion of two maintenance projects, the Island 8 Parcel 1 Relief Well Ditch Restoration Project and the Lake No. 9 Collector Ditch Erosion Repair Project, both located along the Mississippi River Mainline Levee south of Hickman, Kentucky. Completing these projects is essential, but what's even more important is what comes after. Once finished, the district will be that much closer to executing the last and final project needed to complete the entire levee system.
  • The U.S. Army corps of Engineers, St. Paul District performs maintenance and repairs at Lock and Dam 4 in Alma, Wisconsin.

    A Winter to Remember: Corps of Engineers continues annual winter maintenance fight to preserve aging infrastructure

    The American Society of Civil Engineers 2021 infrastructure report card released in March was less than perfect for the nation’s inland navigation system. According to the report, they gave the Inland waterway infrastructure a D+. The ASCE report said the infrastructure "includes locks and dams as well as navigation channels” but added that shipping delays cost up to $739 per hour for an average tow within the United States.
  • Memphis District Commander Col. Zachary Miller presents Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic Leader Robert Woods (left) with a service award on his 40 year anniversary. Congratulations again to Mr. Robert Woods, and many thanks for your dedicated service to the Memphis District, the Mississippi Valley Division, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    A look back: Woods’ 40 years of service

    "He is very honest, punctual, and works to improve his skills," Supply Technician Matthew Davis said. "He has a real caring spirit. He took me under his wing when I was new, made sure I had lunch, and even drove me home a couple of times when my car had broken down. He is an all-around good guy, and I will miss him if he ever leaves." Davis is talking about Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic Leader Robert Woods. Woods is the working leaderman in the Tractor Shop, performing duties as a mechanic and overseeing all other mechanics in the Yards and Docks Unit. He's been doing so for a little more than 40 years now.
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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.
  • 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.
  • sandbag sitting on a conveyor belt

    Little Rock District conducts flood fighting technique training

    The Little Rock District recently conducted flood fighting technique training at the Greers Ferry Lake Project Office.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center's Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory uses a Heavy Vehicle-load Simulator-Aircraft system to test AM2 matting for the U.S. Navy's P-8 Poseidon aircraft in March 2021 at the Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

    ERDC team uses unique tool in Navy aircraft runway testing

    Since aircraft have been used as wartime weapons, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has led the charge of creating tools that allow those planes to land anywhere in the world. Today, that mission has not changed, and the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) is using a unique machine to better understand the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon and how it distresses temporary, rapidly constructed runways.  
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    Construction complete: East Branch Lake, campgrounds to reopen fully in upcoming ceremony

    After seven years of construction at the dam of East Branch Clarion River Lake, and more than a decade of lowered water levels, the reservoir and dam will reopen in late May with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an open house event.
  • Captured is the new Army storage warehouse staging and loading docks, which was turned over to Col. Garrett Cottrell, Deputy Commanding Officer - Transformation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East District, on behalf of the U.S. government by Col. Pyo In Tae, ROK Design and Construction Agent, on behalf of the ROK government during the Acceptance Release Letter signing at USAG Humphreys, Republic of Korea, Apr. 2, 2021.

    Another project under the belt for the Far East District

    USAG HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Far East District (FED) completed its latest project, SPT060 Site 2 Building E, a support building, with an Acceptance Release Letter (ARL) ceremony at USAG Humphreys, Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea, Apr. 2.
  • Lisa Metheney

    8 questions with our head civilian

    Lisa Metheney has been the deputy district engineer for programs and project management since 2014. As the "head civilian," Metheney serves as the constant face of the Charleston District, as the commander and deputy commander alternate each year with their two-year terms. She has worked for the Charleston District for over two decades and has been integral to the success of the District during this time. We ask her eight questions about how the District has been successful for 150 years and what the future looks like.
  • ship in water

    Project profile: the District's biggest projects

    The Charleston District has had many influential projects over the last 150 years that continue to have an impact today. At the same time, the District is currently working on hundreds of different projects throughout Charleston, the state of South Carolina and the entire southeast. While all these projects will have a great impact on those around them, here are a few projects currently in the works that will have massive impacts on the region.

  • 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.
  • Caven Point Drone Lab

    New York District’s Surveys Team Leads The Way For Innovative Remote Data Collection

    NEW JERSEY- Anyone who knows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) mission understands the organization does a lot of remote data collection surveying. The robust and demanding USACE survey and geospatial mission can take survey technicians to some treacherous terrain, not to mention desolate locations both on and offshore. The survey teams experience a variety of challenges ranging from location to accessibility to environmental conditions. The arsenal of traditional imaging and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) surveying tools such as those attached to vessels, vehicles, or totable on humans have their limitations. These limitations have energized the New York District’s survey team to advance beyond traditional methods by commencing deployment of piloted unmanned aerial survey drones.
  • Army Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, Commander, 4th Infantry Division, and several VIPs cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the new Ammunition Supply Point facilities on Fort Carson, CO, March 19

    Ammunition Supply Point expansion opens on Fort Carson

    The Fort Carson Army Field Support Battalion hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of new facilities at the Ammunition Supply Point on Fort Carson, Colorado, on March 19.
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    High water means high stakes for Pittsburgh locks, dams

    Rivers rise and rivers flow, but when a flood happens, somebody has to deal with the debris left behind. This is especially true at the U.S. Army corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District locks and dams, which are vital to the region.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature Program will hold a virtual Book Launch Event April 7, 2021, from 10-11 a.m. CDT, to celebrate the release of the Engineering With Nature Atlas, Volume 2.

    USACE Engineering With Nature Program announces Atlas Volume 2 Book Launch Event

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering With Nature (EWN) Program will hold a virtual international Book Launch Event April 7, 2021, from 10-11 a.m. CDT, for the release of the Engineering With Nature Atlas, Volume 2.
  • Construction to restore the southern shoreline of Deer Island, off the coast of Mississippi.

    Expanding Engineering With Nature – What’s New in Season 2

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – Dr. Todd Bridges, senior research scientist for environmental science for the U.S. Army and national lead for the Engineering With Nature (EWN) program, kicks off Season 2 of the EWN Podcast by announcing that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District is joining EWN as its fourth proving ground.
  • An artist rendering of the new 4,008-square-foot annex building to be built at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina. The $4.3-million annex will consist of laboratory and research administrative spaces to support the organization’s expanded military research mission. A groundbreaking ceremony for the facility will be held April 6, 2021, at 10 a.m. EDT.

    ERDC’s Field Research Facility to hold groundbreaking ceremony for new annex

    DUCK, N.C. – The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a new annex building at its Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, April 6 at 10 a.m. EDT.
  • People outside along river fishing

    USACE opens Cooper River Rediversion Project to veterans for day of fishing

    On March 25, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, in partnership with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, hosted the 7th Annual Warriors Fishing Day at the Cooper River Rediversion Dam in St. Stephen.
  • Charleston Peninsula graphic

    USACE, City request input on peninsula storm surge study at virtual public meeting March 30

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Charleston District and the City of Charleston will hold a virtual public scoping meeting on the Charleston Peninsula Coastal Flood Risk Management Study on March 30 from 5-7:30 p.m. to encourage public input as the study transitions from an Environmental Assessment (EA) to Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
  • People standing outside

    District kicks off 150th anniversary with time capsule

    Charleston District kicked-off its 150th anniversary of service to South Carolina and the nation with a time capsule ceremony March 26.
  • 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.
  • Col. Julie Balten, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, right, and Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, commander of the Corps’ South Pacific Division, left, pause for a quick discussion March 19 after viewing construction progress of the Corps and its contractors work on an alternate care facility at Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

    General visits LA-area hospitals, gets updates on construction progress in support of COVID-19 response

    Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division commander, visited two Los Angeles-area hospitals March 19 to view the progress on construction the Corps and its contractors are doing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The north view of the Painted Rock Dam can be seen in this March 24 picture near Gila Bend, Arizona. Painted Rock Dam is a major flood control project in the Gila River Drainage Basin, constructed and operated by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.

    LA District leaders tour Painted Rock Dam project

    Col. Julie Balten, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, and David Van Dorpe, deputy district engineer for the LA District, toured the Painted Rock Dam, a flood risk-reduction project, located on the Gila River in Maricopa County March 24 near Gila Bend.
  • In the photo to the left, Memphis District Commander Col. Zachary Miller signs the first SPOT Report using the new Smart Project Updates Dashboard. To the right are screenshots of the Smart Project Updates Dashboard, also known as SPUD.

    Revolutionizing project management

    Memphis District employees pride themselves on finding ways to revolutionize how they work. One of the more recent ways they've modernized processes comes in the form of the new Smart Project Updates Dashboard, also affectionately known as SPUD.
  • soldier in dress uniform speaking to a reporter

    MKARNS 50th Anniversary Kickoff Media Event

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Southwestern Division and its partners along the McClellan‐Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System hosted a media day event March 9, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the System that strategically connects the heartland of the United States with the rest of the world.
  • Personnel from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and U.S. Geological Survey watch as a 350-ton crane lowers the 105-foot-long weldment, or underwater Acoustic Deterrent System, into the lock approach of Lock 19 near Keokuk, Iowa, Feb. 3, 2021. Laboratory-tested sounds that proved to be irritating to invasive Asian carp will be broadcast underwater from the weldment as part of a study to evaluate fish behavior.

    USGS, ERDC install underwater Asian carp deterrent system successfully

    VICKSBURG, Miss. ⸺ The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and partners installed a temporary, experimental underwater Acoustic Deterrent System, or uADS, at Mississippi River Lock 19 between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, Feb. 3. The deployment is part of a study to understand how invasive Asian carp respond to acoustic, or sound, signals.