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  • April

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    Power of the pump, no telework

    While many people are at home working in front of a computer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have people out in the field operating equipment and facilities that, at this point in time, cannot be controlled from a workstation at home. The Graham Burke Pumping Plant is one of those “pieces” of equipment that requires people to be on-site for safe operation. Pumping Plant Operator Leaderman William “Billy” Ray and Pumping Plant Operator John “Brady” Foran are two of those valuable employees who are called upon to run one of the Corps’ most valuable facilities.

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Turns Over 7 Alternate Care Sites Over the Weekend

    Between Friday, April 17 and Monday, April 20, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished seven alternate care sites in response to COVID-19. Together with the previous three completed locations, this brings the total to 10. This weekend the Corps of Engineers finished the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, AK; Wisconsin State Fair Expo Center in West Allis, WI; Gibson Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM; Miyamura High School in Gallup, NM; and the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, FL. The Corps of Engineers is turning over two sites today. They are the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI and Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. 
  • CRREL technician Kate Liddle-Broberg and contractor Ken Robbins finish marking the mining face for excavation control of the Engineer Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory's Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska, as part of the phase four expansion of the permafrost tunnel, which excavated a 300 foot tunnel and improved 200 feet of pre-existing tunnel.

    Discovering the Mural in Permafrost

    In the forests of Fox, Alaska, carved into a frozen hillside is a unique manmade 350-meter long research tunnel. Situated on a 16-acre parcel near the confluence of Goldstream and Glenn Creeks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility was excavated deep into a large block of discontinuous permafrost that has been going through several recent periods of expansion. The expansion project began back in 2011, taking advantage of the digging seasons when the ground is at its coldest, with an overall project goal of expanding the tunnel facility to better support ongoing and growing research and engineering needs. The most recent expansion effort, this year, has added 300-feet of new tunnel, improved 200 feet of the existing tunnel and added links between the old and new tunnel sections at several locations, to include at an interface between subsurface bedrock and overlying gravels.
  • National Healthcare Decisions Day

    Take time to think about your future needs for National Healthcare Decisions Day

    While April 16 was National Healthcare Decisions Day – a day set aside to take time to think about current and future healthcare needs – these needs take on new meaning when we are confronted with an unexpected healthcare challenge like the COVID-19 coronavirus.
  • Rowles' 1985 Monte Carlo Super Sport. (Photo by Doug Rowles)

    Home Offices, Antique Cars and Cork Boards

    From the comfort of their own homes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District staff are finding innovative ways to adapt and embrace the challenges of coronavirus. 
  • AAFES return policy

    Army & Air Force Exchange Service extends refund policy amid COVID-19 pandemic

    For military shoppers who need to make a return but are hesitant to visit a store during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service is extending its return policy. All purchases made since March 16, 2020, are eligible for returns through July 1, 2020.
  • DOD seal in the Pentagon Briefing Room.

    Army Ramps Up COVID-19 Testing

    Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy joined other Army leaders to discuss the service's latest coronavirus response efforts during a briefing at the Pentagon.
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    Big Island, Below Senath seepage remediation projects awarded

    The Memphis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded Task Orders to construct two seepage remediation projects in Arkansas and in Missouri.
  • Sydney Sherwood squirts Colby, 3, with a water gun in San Angelo, Texas, April 16, 2020. Water guns have been popular since the late 1800s and remain a popular pastime on hot days. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood)

    Parenting during COVID-19

    In the United States Military, 44.1% of active duty members have children. Suddenly many of us were told to stay home unless we leave for essential reasons. This means a lot of us are now trying to complete the mission with kids at home as their schools and daycares have been canceled.
  • 70th Birthday Banner

    Fort Worth District Reflects on 70 Years of Service

    April 16, 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District! Thanks for visiting our website. Enjoy reading a little about our history and take a look back into the origin and some of the defining moments of the district. #ThisIsFortWorth

  • Sandy Lake Dam Rehabilitation Project, Aitkin County, Minnesota

    Over its history, Sandy Lake Dam has undergone a series of modifications, repairs and periodic inspections. From 2011 to 2016, a series of above and below water inspections identified several features that had deteriorated to a point that repair or replacement were necessary to maintain the long-term stability of the structure. Sandy Lake Dam is located on the Sandy River in Aitkin County, Minnesota, 1.25 miles upstream of the junction between the Sandy River and Mississippi River.
  • Re-purposing Water Safety Materials in a Time of Crisis

    Re-Purposing Water Safety Materials in a Time of Crisis

    John W. Flannagan and North Fork of Pound donate water safety bandanas for re-purposing into much needed protective face masks for Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office and Dickenson County Emergency Services.

  • Lac qui Parle Dam Emergency Spillway; Watson, Minnesota

    The Lac qui Parle dike and emergency spillway is designed to retain the Lac qui Parle Reservoir during times of flood but is designed for over topping during extreme events. The overtop elevation of the spillway is 940.75 feet. The Lac qui Parle Dam is located on the upper Minnesota River 30 miles east of the South Dakota border. The dam is about 7 river miles upstream of Montevideo, Minnesota. The dike and emergency spillway is adjacent to and west of the dam between the dam and County Hwy 75. The damaged area of the spillway extends approximately 2,500 feet from the dam.
  • Sally Sydnor, a graduating senior at Handley High School in Winchester, Va., works on her U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Internship project from her home in Winchester. Sydnor has been collaborating remotely with mentors from USACE's Transatlantic Middle East District to complete the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Despite pandemic, high school intern works with USACE to complete project

    Although COVID-19 virus has led to the cancellation of many of the traditional high school rites of passage around the country, a passion for engineering and an assist from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) helped high school senior Sally Sydnor maintain some sense of normalcy during a final year of high school that has been anything but. Sydnor was in the middle of an engineering internship with the district when schools closed for the year. With her senior year unexpectedly coming to an end, Sydnor decided to see if there was a way she could continue her engineering project.

  • Mississippi River: Lock and Dam 4 Winter Maintenance, Alma, Wisconsin

    Purpose of this project is to assure proper periodic maintenance and subsequent operation of the Lock and Dam 4 system. Lock and Dam 4 is located in Alma, Wisconsin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the facility in 1935 as part of the overall 9-foot channel navigation project, and it began operation in the same year.
  • Hur, Myo Boon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District architectural section chief, conducts work at her home during the district telework schedule in response to preventing the spread of COVID 19, Apr. 15.

    Far East District employees find innovative solutions to support mission while teleworking

    CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea –Due to the global pandemic, COVID 19, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Far East District (FED) has reduced its manpower to mission essential only reporting to the office daily. In an effort to stop the spread of the virus, many district employees have adopted a telework schedule.
  • The U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Justin Wilkens, a research biologist with the Environmental Laboratory, checks the waypoints using the SubSeaSail’s G6 navigation software on his laptop. The unmanned surface vessel was taken to Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for a demonstration by Wilkens and a team of ERDC-EL research biologists, including Dr. Guilherme Lotufo and Dr. Mark Ballentine. The USV gathered data indicating the presence of munitions constituents from unexploded underwater ordnance, a problem at sites around the world. Chris Todter, far left, a SubSeaSail partner, and Tom Goddard, far right, SubSeaSail Fabrication and Testing, are also visible in the photo.

    Team successfully tests new unmanned autonomous surface vessel

    Anxious at first about the specter of possible software glitches that would derail the project, the U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Justin Wilkens, a research biologist with the Environmental Laboratory, soon confirmed that everything was functioning well. He and a team of other EL research biologists, including Dr. Guilherme Lotufo and Dr. Mark Ballentine, visited Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for five days in February to demonstrate a new unmanned autonomous surface vessel, or USV.
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    Social distancing, the MVM mission

    The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has several recommendations in place to try and stop the spread of this monstrous virus, to include such measures as wearing a face mask when out in public and practicing what has become mandated in many states: social distancing. While social distancing and other precautions are in place for the right reasons, they can unfortunately have a challenging impact on business operations. Especially difficult is when your employees cannot do their job behind a computer. So what do they do?

  • Fort Worth District’s employee USACE Dam Safety Professional of the Year award

    Sarwenaj Ashraf, or Sarvi Ashraf as she is known in the Fort Worth District, has won the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Dam Safety Professional of the year award. Although her home station is in the Fort Worth District, Ashraf is the USACE Dam Safety Program Manager. The Dam Safety Program ensures that the dams deliver their intended benefits while reducing risks to people, property and the environment through continuous assessment, communication and management. USACE dams and levees are a part of America’s landscape and provide critical benefits to the communities around them.
  • Zane Ecklund, a public affairs specialist with the Omaha District, recently graduated from the Defense Information School's public affairs qualification course. (embedded photo: U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Officer Kyle Niemi)

    USACE civilian graduates DINFOS: A peek into his experience there

    Q: Describe your public affairs experience? A: I started working for the US Army Corps of Engineers as a public affairs specialist in August 2018. Prior to working for the Corps, I was a photographer for the Army’s Multimedia Visual Information Directorate working at the Pentagon. Prior to federal service I spent five years as a mass communication specialist in the U.S. Navy. In addition, I have degrees in journalism and professional media. Q: What class did you attend? A: I attended the Department of Defense’s Public Affairs Qualification Course at the Defense Information School on Ft. Meade, Maryland.
  • Tina Byrd, Afghanistan District Supply Specialist, guides the Safety Officer as the Big Lift removes an empty container from the USACE Afghanistan District supply yard in an effort to downsize excess storage units.

    Focus on TAM’s Logistics: Large staff element with varied, vital missions

    Logistics mission at the Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM), with offices throughout the Middle East including contingency locations, takes on a whole new level of complexity moving needed people, supplies, and facilities, into position to meet mission requirements both at the TAM headquarters in Winchester and throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

  • Tribal Partnership Program: Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota River

    The study will assess the problems and opportunities being faced by the Upper Sioux Community on their tribal lands and make recommendations related to erosion along the Minnesota River adjacent to and impacting those lands.
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    Ready to Advertise despite COVID-19

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District recently met a ‘tasker’ milestone known as “Ready to Advertise” for the Clack and Norfolk Seepage Remediation Project, all while adapting to newly placed COVID-19 work procedures. About ten days before BCOE (Bidability, Constructability, Operability, and Environmental) certification, Project Delivery Team members Jeremy Ruffell, John Hudson, Kevin Keller, Conrad Stacks, Brian Johnson, Josh Koontz, and Andrew Smothers, along with many other USACE employees, were sent home for mass telework.
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    Army Corps, Partners Construct Alternate Care Facility at State University of New York at Stony Brook, Long Island N.Y.

    The Alternate Care Facility is taking shape on the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island to facilitate the care for COVID-19 patients. The Corps awarded the $101 million contract to build a 1,000-bed temporary hospital and part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency response.

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Completes 3 Alternate Care Sites-April 13, 2020 Update)

    In the daily ACF roll up brief from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Javits Center in New York, NY; the TCF Center in Chicago and the Missouri ACF in Florissant, MO are all listed at 100% complete. Construction is underway on 18 additional locations for a total of 21 alternate care sites. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working in support of the FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency - and in coordination with other federal, state, local and tribal partners – in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The latest facts and figures about our ongoing activities are contained in the following infographic (As of April 13).