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  • March

    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.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Division Deputies were recently in Memphis, Tennessee, for a Deputies Summit and tour of the area. As part of their tour, the group traveled to the Memphis District’s Ensley Engineer Yard to learn about the Mississippi River and Tributaries Regional Channel Improvement Program. Following their briefing, the deputies toured the Motor Vessel Mississippi, spoke with Dredge Hurley Master Adrian Pirani about the previous dredging season, visited with emergency operations staff, and then ended the tour by observing day-to-day operations at the Metals Shop, which is where much of the maintenance and repairing of our Revetment fleet and machinery take place. (USACE photos by Jessica Haas)

    USACE Division Deputies visit Memphis for Summit, Engineer Yard tour

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Division Deputies recently met in Memphis, Tennessee, for a Deputies Summit and tour of the Memphis District area. "The USACE HQ Deputy Summit enables the MSC/Centers/Labs and 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) Deputies to share lessons learned, best practices and engage key HQs staff on Enterprise challenges, policies, and processes in order to Take Care of our People, Support National Readiness, Modernize, Strengthen Partnerships, and Revolutionize Delivery," Mississippi Valley Division Deputy Division Engineer Col. Jeremy Chapman said.
  • Alan Katzenmeyer, left, and Anna Miller Jordan, right, both got their start at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) participating in an ERDC-sponsored robotics team while students at Warren Central High School in 2004. Sixteen years later, the two hold supervisory branch chief positions in their respective laboratories, and they credit their successful careers to a solid foundation with the robotics program.

    Starting with STEM: ERDC researchers climb from after-school robotics to branch chief

    At Anna Miller Jordan’s very first robotics team practice as a high-school senior in 2005, she was deemed responsible for piloting a robot to shoot balls into a net, once her classmate Alan Katzenmeyer steered the bot down the court toward the goal. Now, 15 years later, Jordan and Katzenmeyer are both still leading teams at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). But today, instead of high-school peers, those teams are made up of scientists, engineers and researchers working to solve some of the nation’s toughest challenges.
  • John Allis Chief, Water Management Division New Employee Spotlight

    New Employee Spotlight: John Allis

    New Employee Spotlight: John Allis, Chief, Water Management Division
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    Army Corps improves historic cemetery for the living

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District its expanding and improving West Point Cemetery, located on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
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    Army Corps improves historic cemetery for the living

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District its expanding and improving West Point Cemetery, located on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
  • Star of Life Award

    Star of Life Award

    During a recent visit Fishtrap Lake Colonel Evers presented the Star of Life Award to Ranger Larry McGaughy for his actions to save the life of a man who was boating at the lake. He is the only recipient of the Star of Life Award within LRD this past year.
  • Eric Lam, an environmental engineer from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District, has been selected to participate in the 2021 session of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center University. This year’s participants were introduced to the organizations’ senior leaders during virtual presentations March 11, 2021.

    ERDC University 2021 selectees announced

    Engineers from four U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) districts have been selected for the 2021 session of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center University (ERDC-U). Now in its sixth year, ERDC-U pairs USACE division and district participants with relevant laboratory mentors for six-month research projects.

  • Energy savings contract revitalizes airfield

    In 2019 Huntsville Center awarded a fully funded $5.4 million modification to the contract’s task order to improve mission readiness and secure infrastructure by upgrading lighting and replacing decades- old wiring on Fort Knox’s Godman Army Airfield.
  • 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.
  • The control tower at Imam Ali Air Base Iraq. The tower is being renovated for the Iraqi Air Force by the U.S. Air Force's Aerospace Management Systems Division at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC/HBA), Hanscom Air Force Base. The Air Force elected to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East and Memphis Districts on the project due to their experience in the region and civil engineering expertise.

    Virtual Collaboration Allows Critical Project to Stay on Track

    A current project in Iraq, to bring Imam Ali Air Base up to operational capability, involves extensive refurbishment and renovation to the Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) building, includes new ATCT equipment, supporting airfield electrical power and communications infrastructure, backup power improvement, installation of new ILS/DME and TACAN systems; and a potential renovation of the existing airfield lighting system.  Accomplishing this involves extensive coordination among the Iraqi Air Force, the Aerospace Management Systems Division, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC/HBA) at Hanscom Air Force Base, TAM and Memphis Districts, all while respecting the COIVD restrictions in place.
  • IN THE PHOTOS, a team of mechanics, electricians, carpenters, pipefitters, HVAC technicians, and revetment workers all got together to completely renovate the Tractor Shop’s breakroom, literally from the ground up. These are the before photos of the breakroom.

    Project Makeover: Tractor Shop Breakroom

    The Memphis District's skilled tradesmen are at it again, demoing and remodeling one building at a time until they've covered every structure in need of a makeover at Ensley Engineer Yard. Recently, a team of mechanics, electricians, carpenters, pipefitters, HVAC technicians, and revetment workers all got together to completely renovate the Tractor Shop’s breakroom, literally from the ground up.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, Emergency Essential Civilian (EEC) personnel and Mission Essential Civilian (MEC) personnel, practice first-aid techniques during the district's EEC training held at the Vehicle Maintenance Facility Mar 9.

    Far East District personnel learn basic life-saving skills

    CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Far East District (FED) personnel participated in life-saving skills and First-Aid instruction at the FED motor pool in Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea, Mar. 11.
  • A team that includes subject-matter experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the California Department of Public Health and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services conduct a final inspection of work at Beverly Community Hospital in Montebello, California, March 19, 2021, as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s support to California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Corps completes final inspection of Beverly Community Hospital COVID-19 additions

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led a final inspection of work March 19 at Beverly Community Hospital as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s support to California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Two US Army Corps of Engineers employees inspect a flowering rush infestation from a boat.

    Corps of Engineers partners with states in fight against invasive aquatic plants

    Butomus umbellatus may conjure up images of a hippopotamus belly, but in reality, it is flowering rush, an aquatic invasive plant species that poses a grave threat to the Columbia River Basin’s aquatic ecosystems.
  • Maj. Gen. William Graham, deputy commanding general of civil and emergency operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (sixth from left), stands on the control works of the Moose Creek Dam with representatives of the Chena River Lakes Flood Control project on Feb. 19 near North Pole.

    General visits northernmost USACE-run flood control project

    Maj. Gen. William H. Graham, deputy commanding general of civil and emergency operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visited the Moose Creek Dam on Feb. 19 while touring the organization’s northernmost flood control project. Col. Kirk Gibbs, USACE Pacific Ocean Division commander, and Col. Damon Delarosa, USACE Alaska District commander, accompanied the general.
  • KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. –The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, and the Air Force Research Laboratory held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for the Skywave Laboratory March 16, 2021 at Kirtland Air Force Base. The 3,500 square-foot building will house several lab areas, lab support space, an administrative area, a break area, and exterior equipment platforms. The facility will be used to improve and augment Air Force Research Laboratory transition technologies.

    AFRL and USACE hold groundbreaking ceremony at KAFB

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, and the Air Force Research Laboratory held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for the Skywave Laboratory, March 16, 2021, at Kirtland Air Force Base.
  • IN THE PHOTOS, this month, we are highlighting Carla Wells. She is a government purchase card business manager for the Contracting/Oversight Branch. Here are a few photos of her during her time as a government purchase card business manager.

    Employee Spotlight: Carla Wells

    In any business, it’s the people that make it work. Without them, organizations ultimately fail. That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District values each and every one of its employees so much. To show how much we do, we highlight one employee every month by asking a few questions about the position they’re in and how they got to where they are today. This month, we are highlighting Carla Wells. She is a government purchase card business manager for the Contracting/Oversight Branch.
  • A U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) prototype site characterization vehicle demonstrates its amphibious capabilities during testing at the ERDC Levee Breach Model in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Oct. 7, 2020. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)

    ERDC researchers combine robotics, imagery technology to solve problems

    The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory’s Robotics for Engineer Operations (REO) team is combining efforts with the Information Technology Laboratory’s Robotic Assessment of Dams (DamBot) team to tackle challenges posed by both combat engineer operations abroad and infrastructure at home.
  • Far East District headquarters.

    Far East District efforts toward development for Korean National financial professionals pays off

    CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – The Programs and Project Management Division (PPMD) for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Far East District (FED), took major steps in developing Community of Practice (CoP) financial professionals by enabling Korean Nationals to partake in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Financial Management (FM) certifications.
  • Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico – Tribal members and several principal partners of the Western Regional Partnership participate in a Principals Meeting October 2018, hosted by the Pueblo of Pojoaque.

    TNTCX Partners with Southwestern Governments and Organizations

    The Western Regional Partnership (WRP) was established in 2007. One of the founding federal agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been a participant since the first meeting.
  • 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.
  • ERDC researcher uses sound to sustainably deter invasive Asian carp in USGS project

    ERDC researcher uses sound to sustainably deter invasive Asian carp in USGS project

    When Dr. Christa Woodley, a research biologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), heard about the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study to control invasive Asian carp through acoustics, she was excited by the possibilities.
  • Women's History Month—WOMEN and STEM

    Women's History Month—WOMEN and STEM

    The US Army Corps of Engineers provides many STEM opportunities, and we would like to recognize the women in these positions.
  • Bradley Wilson, lock and dam equipment mechanic at Pickwick Lock, is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Employee of the Month for January 2021. He is seen here March 11, 2021 at Pickwick Lock on the Tennessee River in Counce, Tennessee. (USACE photo by Randy Boyd)

    Wilson named Nashville District Employee of the Month for January 2021

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 16, 2021) – Bradley Wilson, lock and dam equipment mechanic at Pickwick Lock on the Tennessee River in Counce, Tennessee, is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Employee of the Month for January 2021.