USACE News

May

3 May 2021
Corps general tours military, DOD, VA projects during weeklong visit to California
LOS ANGELES – One of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ top generals for military and international operations made his first visit to Southern California during a weeklong tour of some of the agency’s Los Angeles District projects. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Milhorn, the Corps’ deputy commanding general for Military and International Operations, toured several project sites across the desert and the coastline – from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin to Vandenburg Air Force Base – during his visit to California.
1 May 2021
Corps completes final inspection of LA-area hospital COVID-19 additions
LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District led a final inspection of work April 22 at Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, California, as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s support to California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
April

7 Apr 2021
My Hurricane Laura Deployment Experience
Working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given me a lot of opportunities to learn, grow, and challenge myself. Most recently, I was deployed down to Lafayette, Louisiana, along with several other USACE teammates, and we were assigned to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s temporary housing mission.
February

3 Feb 2021
Walla Walla District cost engineers provide expertise and support to FEMA and other federal agencies
Natural disasters like floods and hurricanes can severely damage homes, businesses and infrastructure. Those who suffer damages in natural disasters can apply to FEMA for financial assistance. When this happens, a cost estimate is needed to determine how much money it would take to either repair or replace the structure in question.
November

5 Nov 2020
ERDC researcher uses lessons learned from historic pandemics to address COVID
COVID-19 proved to be unexpected to many people in the world, but Dr. Igor Linkov, Risk and Decision Science (RaDS) Team lead at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory, found himself on familiar ground.
October

15 Oct 2020
USACE supports storm survivors with safe structures
Responding to disasters is one of several missions the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with. Part of answering this call is through specialized teams that go out and conduct infrastructure assessments in disaster areas. "On Aug. 29, the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed an Infrastructure Assessment Planning and Response Team (PRT) management cell to Louisiana," Infrastructure Assessment Action Officer Doug Weber said. "When I first started on the Infrastructure Assessment team, I thought it was all about placarding peoples’ homes for safety, " Mission Specialist Adrienne Murphy said. "But in our last two deployments, we’ve been asked to perform inspections of drinking water systems, wastewater systems, and public facilities like hospitals and fire stations."
September

30 Sep 2020
Blue Roof recipients witness USACE innovation
Innovating and improving processes are what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do, especially when it comes to hurricane recovery operations. So when it came time to respond to a Hurricane like Laura, the Corps came ready to deliver temporary roofing with an upgraded Blue Roof Program.
29 Sep 2020
Local Government Liaisons reach the hearts of communities
Often during disaster response, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Planning and Response Teams such as, temporary emergency power, debris removal and Operation Blue Roof are the Corps activities in the limelight; however, the little-known and little-seen Local Government Liaison, or LGL, national cadre is operating in the background, providing a critical lifeline of communication between Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state, local officials, and the Corps.
24 Sep 2020
Corps, Samaritan's Purse go above and beyond for Laura survivor
"The day I met Mr. Williams, I was looking for his house and drove past it because I didn't see it; all I saw were trees," Roofing Quality Assurance Specialist George Hayes recalled. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting anyone to be home. So many folks evacuated after the storm, I just figured no one was home. As I got closer to the door, I heard his little dog bark. I yelled, "Is anyone home?" and I saw a movement through the window. The door opened, and he drove his wheelchair out onto the front porch. My heart just sank." At that moment, Hayes knew he needed to go above and beyond to help this man.
16 Sep 2020
USACE provides power to hard-hit Louisiana
Living in the 21st century, most Americans have electricity on demand. When it isn’t working, it usually doesn’t take longer than a day to get it turned back on. But what happens when a storm like Hurricane Laura hits? Close to 200,000 residents living in southwestern Louisiana lost power on Aug. 27. Many of them are still without it, weeks after the storm has come and gone. Delivering power to southwest Louisiana is one of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' top priorities. USACE is installing generators in several critical facilities like water pump stations, sewage lift stations, hospitals, radio towers, and corrections facilities, to name a few. The 23-person team responsible for installing these generators ensured they were in Louisiana before Hurricane Laura even made landfall.