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  • February

    An interior view of the Secure Administrative/Operations Facility (SAOF) on Fort Belvoir, Va. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, is putting the finishing touches on a state-of-the-art 381,000-square-foot SAOF that will provide the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command a consolidated administrative facility to well-equip them for future operations.

    Army Corps Delivers High-Tech Space for Intelligence Command

    The Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is putting the finishing touches on a state-of-the-art, 381,000-square-foot Secure Administrative/Operations Facility (SAOF) on Fort Belvoir that will provide the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) with a consolidated administrative facility to well-equip them for future operations.

  • Recycling a key factor in dismantling of STURGIS floating nuclear power plant

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed the safe removal of more than 1.5 million pounds of radioactive material from STURGIS — a WWII Liberty Ship turned into the first floating nuclear power plant in the 1960s.  The Corps’ Baltimore District was tasked with the unique mission to decommission and dismantle the STURGIS, and its nuclear reactor, known as MH-1A, which was used to generate electricity for military and civilian use in the Panama Canal for several years before being shut down in 1976. 

  • The Environment: A Unified Mission Focus

    The ORISE is an asset of the Department of Energy (DOE). Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a nonprofit corporation made up of more than 100 major academic institutions, manages the program. The DOE established the ORISE in 1992. Since that time, ORISE personnel have dedicated their efforts to enabling critical scientific, research, and health initiatives. They provide expertise in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce development; scientific and technical reviews; and radiation exposure and environmental contamination evaluations.

  • System Control Platform Enclave: A Cyber-Security Solution for Facility-Related Control Systems

    Army sites have a large number of facility-related control systems (FRCSs), often from different vendors. As a result, obtaining the risk-management framework (RMF) authorization for these systems can be challenging. Issues, such as integrating the control system with traditional information technology (IT) infrastructure, resolving the vulnerabilities in front-end software and code, and addressing a lack of support for encryption and other common-level services that a traditional IT system provides, all add significant cost to control system procurement. In the Army, many systems are undergoing RMF authorizations on a site-by-site basis. The Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff are typically responsible for ensuring the cybersecurity of the traditional IT components of the control system, as well as the operational technology (OT) components. By leveraging common IT services and infrastructure, it is possible to reduce RMF-related costs while increasing the chances of successfully obtaining an authority to operate (ATO) for these control systems.
  • Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, 54th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, speaks to Rock Island District employees during a Town Hall on Oct 9.

    Chief of Engineers visits Rock Island District

    Semonite’s primary reason for visiting the District was to take part in a milestone groundbreaking ceremony for the Cedar Rapids Flood Risk Management Project however during his time in the area he took additional time to learn about District-specific priorities, interact with employees, and see what maintenance projects look like on the Mississippi River.

  • Whole Building Design Guide

    Department of Defense (DOD) facilities professionals involved in military planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance can now access the knowledge pages, training, and tools within the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG). The guide is a comprehensive Web portal that houses corrosion prevention and control insights (or knowledge), codes, criteria, guidance, and best practices.
  • The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's headquarters building in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

    Researchers Named Senior Scientific Technical Managers

    Four U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) team members were named senior scientific technical managers (SSTMs) on 29 September 2019. As SSTMs, Nicholas Boone, Alexandra Landsberg, Dr. Robert Moser, and Terrance Westerfield

  • Installation Readiness Keeps Army Deployable

    WASHINGTON—As the Army modernizes its equipment and processes for future conflicts, so must the Service modernize its installations. The Army’s shift from counterinsurgency to multi-domain operations has pushed the importance of Army installations to the forefront. In the multi-domain concept, installations are part of the Strategic Support Area, where military might is generated, projected and sustained during the fight.
  • Dana A. McClellan

    From the Editor

    Over time, I began to look at tasks with a new eye as I entertained the question. Most people find it easy to list processes and the procedures they entail. I knew the point of the question was for each employee to examine whether our policies, procedures, and other facets of our positions made sense. However, the exercise led me to ask myself the bigger why question. Why the Army? Why the Corps? Why this team?
  • Ms. Sally G. Pfenning was selected for Senior Executive Service in September 2018, as the Chief of Installation Support Division for US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In this position she works to provide solutions in support of America’s Installations by expanding the technical expertise of members of the DoD engineering community and effectively applying USACE capabilities, contract capacities and other tools required to operate, maintain, sustain, restore and modernize America’s military infrastructure and real property assets. She is responsible for public works engineering technical expertise and guidance throughout USACE. She works collaboratively with the Office of the Assistant Secretary Army-Installations Energy and Environment and the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army for Installation Management; Army land holding commands and Installation Management Command (IMCOM) senior leadership to develop and implement USACE installation engineering support policy and doctrine.

    Welcome back to the Public Works Digest!

    Welcome back to the Public Works Digest! As a former public works director and the senior leader at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers charged with ensuring that the Corps provides the needed engineering support to installations, I am honored to represent your interests here at headquarters in Washington, DC.