Defending America, Restoring America
USACE's enduring commitment to national security, environmental stewardship
By Chaela M. Smith
Environmental Division Chief, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
This year, we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Throughout our nation’s history, our landscape has been used to build up our nation’s defenses and preserve America’ strategic advantage, promoting our ability to test and train as we fight to protect and defend our nation. Whether it be through the Nike missile sites tactically positioned around major metropolitan areas to cannon-lined forts along our waterways, or military depots and industrial facilities supporting our armed forces, America has been 
and will always remain postured to protect and preserve our livelihood.
Protecting our nation requires more than strong defense, it also requires environmental stewardship, which is foundational to ensuring mission readiness. This environmental stewardship is an enduring mission here at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as we are cleaning up the past to protect our nation’s future, making this commitment inseparable to national security.
Legacy environmental issues from past operations, such as historical defense sites to contaminated properties, have the potential to pose real risks to military readiness, community health, and mission effectiveness. However, throughout our enduring history the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has faced these challenges head on. This is being accomplished through the more than $2 billion worth of environmental cleanup and quality work we execute each to year to not only clean up historic defense sites but also provide the environmental technical expertise to support our Department of War and interagency partners in their endeavors.
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Safe environments support strong missions. As the demands of our military have evolved throughout history, so have the demands of the infrastructure and land needed to train and support our Soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines, as well as to test new weapons and warfare capabilities. As these transitions occurred, properties that were no longer needed were cleaned up according to the best practices available at that time. In many cases, however, historical cleanup standards and environmental knowledge differed from those used today. Under programs such as the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program and Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), we are addressing this legacy contamination to protect human health and the environment while supporting beneficial reuse. This work aids in our ability to remedy environmental consequences of our nation’s defense posture, so that we can maintain that posture effectively into the future. This work also gives us the ability to deepen interagency partnerships and uphold our obligations to the communities we serve.
In commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary — as well as the U.S. Army’s 251st birthday — we are highlighting some of the work we have accomplished under the FUDS program. Environmental stewardship is not supplementary to our mission; it is central to it. At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we do not compromise on safety — our environmental cleanup efforts reflect our duty not just to defend our nation, but the people who live in it.