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  • November

    A contractor trims pine trees before transport to the lumber mill. The timber and agriculture program generates money that is used to fund the natural resource needs of the installation, a good by-product of proper resource management.

    Protecting NASA from wildfires critical role for Mobile District’s forester at Stennis

    One man stands between a potential wildfire and NASA’s largest rocket engine test facility, the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. That man is Quinn Kelly, a forestry technician with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District Water Management Chief James Hathorn introduces students to the fun side of math and science using a problem-solving game during a visit to a local elementary school earlier this year. Hathorn volunteers in the community regularly as a way to give back for the positive mentorship he received as a child.

    Childhood mentors drive USACE Engineer to “pay it forward”

    As a result of the positive example his mentor’s set for him, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Water Management Chief James Hathorn Jr. has gone out of his way as an adult to return the favor. In his spare time he regularly volunteers with youth sports, the Cub Scouts, his church, various career fairs and local schools. One particular area that he stresses when he spends time with students is the importance of learning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

  • October

    Michael Fedoroff poses with the Historic Preservation staff and children from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the TNTCX, and the U.S. Forest Service. The photo was taken at the Desoto National Forest after a field visit to Choctaw Ancestral lands.

    Fedoroff selected for national tribal role

    Michael Fedoroff has recently been selected for a developmental assignment as the new deputy to the director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise, or TNTCX, in Albuquerque, N.M. The virtual position will allow him to work from Mobile while assisting to manage the TNTCX’s tribal consultation support program for both military and civil works.
  • The Proctor Creek Ecosystem Restoration study, which began in 2015, is looking into potential plans to restore the Proctor Creek Ecosystem that has been ravaged by years of unsustainable land use practices and encroachment. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency Urban Waters Team was awarded the 2017 Samuel J. Heyman People’s Choice Service to America medal, which included the Proctor Creek study in its nomination packet.

    Proctor Creek Ecosystem Restoration study helps EPA Urban Waters Team take home coveted service medal

    The Proctor Creek Ecosystem Restoration study, which began in 2015, is looking into potential plans to restore the Proctor Creek Ecosystem that has been ravaged by years of unsustainable land use practices and encroachment. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency Urban Waters Team was awarded the 2017 Samuel J. Heyman People’s Choice Service to America medal, which included the Proctor Creek study in its nomination packet.
  • Bulldozers spread sand on Cat Island, Miss., Sept. 29. The island has nearly been restored to its 1990’s shoreline, reducing hurricane risks to Mississippi and boosting the natural habitat for birds and turtles. The shoreline restoration is expected to conclude in mid-October with sand fencing and dune vegetation to be installed by May of 2018.

    Cat Island shoreline restoration reduces hurricane risks, boosts natural habitat

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, announced Friday that Cat Island, Miss., has nearly been restored to its 1990’s shoreline, reducing hurricane risks to Mississippi and boosting the natural habitat for birds and turtles. The shoreline restoration is expected to conclude in mid-October with sand fencing and dune vegetation to be installed by May of 2018.

  • September

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Water Expert Mark Crawford meets with members from partner agencies to discuss Florida area support efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Crawford was prepositioned in the area Sept. 7, prior to the storm.

    Mobile District water expert helps Florida residents recover after Hurricane Irma

    In the wake of Hurricane Irma’s devastation, few things are more important to affected Florida residents than drinking water and wastewater. With this in mind, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, prepositioned water expert Mark Crawford, in Tallahassee, Fla., even before the storm hit.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District Pathways intern Grant Cooper prepares a water-quality sensor at Lake Okatibbee, Miss. this past summer to collect data on the lake’s water quality.

    Pathways internship augments classroom with hands-on experience

    Choosing a career is never easy. Internships offer college students an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and learn about different career opportunities. Grant Cooper, a Pathways Program intern with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, was eager to work alongside the district’s engineers to see daily operations at various project sites.
  • DTOS National Team Leader Terrell Bosarge and Sacramento District’s Moe Adams troubleshoot during a three-day simulation exercise held at Black Butte Lake near Orland, California in mid-November. Adams has served as a team lead, truck driver, and support specialist for DTOS since 1999 and deployed to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. This all-volunteer team is composed of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees who deploy to significant man-made and natural disaster sites and provide a platform for critical operations and communications.

    Readiness Support Center supports Corps’ emergency management mission from Mobile District hub

    It’s a Saturday afternoon in September, a time when Joel Hendrix would usually be at his home settling in to watch Alabama college football. Instead, he, his wife Beth, two dogs and cat are driving 2,600 miles in five days from a 120 day assignment in SPD back to SAD and sending emails and making phone calls as he closely monitors Hurricane Irma as it made landfall across Florida.
  • The White family was relieved to call Carters Lake campground home over the weekend while she and her family rode out Hurricane Irma after being forced out of their southern Georgia homes. The Carters Lake campsite was one of 535 sites at 10 areas sites that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District made available to accommodate Hurricane Irma evacuees.

    Mobile District campsites host thousands displaced by Hurricane Irma

    Tina White’s family was relieved to call Carters Lake campground home over the weekend while she and her family rode out Hurricane Irma after being forced out of their southern Georgia homes.
  • Twenty Mobile District employees and one representative from the Fish and Wildlife Service pose with District Commander Col. James DeLapp after graduation from the 2017 Leadership Development Program, Sept. 7.

    2017 Leadership Development class graduates

    Twenty Mobile District employees and one representative from the Fish and Wildlife Service graduated from the district’s 2017 Leadership Development Program, or LDP, Sept. 7.
  • Mobile District Commander Col. James DeLapp speaks at the annual Alabama Water Resources Conference held in Orange Beach, Ala., Sept. 7. DeLapp gave a presentation on the Mobile District and key water resource projects within the state of Alabama.

    Mobile District commander speaks at Alabama Water Resources Conference

    Mobile District Commander Col. James DeLapp was the key speaker Sept. 7 at the annual Alabama Water Resources Conference, or AWRC, in Orange Beach, Ala. DeLapp gave a presentation on the Mobile District and key water resource projects within the state of Alabama.
  • South Atlantic Division Commander Brig. Gen. Diana Holland and district officials received a briefing on Mobile District Deployable Tactical Operation System, or DTOS, capabilities by Terrell Bosarge, DTOS national team leader, not pictured. From left are: Eric North, district training officer; Col. James DeLapp, district commander; and Brig. Gen. Diana Holland, division commander. (Photo by John Barker)

    New division commander visits Mobile District

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division Commander Brig. Gen. Diana Holland spoke at a conference and toured Mobile District, Aug. 31, while visiting the Mobile District headquarters. It was Holland’s first visit to Mobile since taking command, July 18.

  • August

    Mobile District Commander Col. James DeLapp speaks to ROTC cadets during a recent visit to the Auburn University campus. DeLapp visited three Alabama universities last week to reignite relationships with both faculty members and students.

    Mobile District commander reignites relationships with local universities

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Commander Col. James DeLapp visited three Alabama universities last week to reignite relationships with faculty members and students. DeLapp met with, among others, the department heads of the University of Alabama, Auburn University and Tuskegee University.
  • Coastal Engineer Richard Allen an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler into the Apalachicola River to the broadcast system which provides data communication to the Corps of Engineers into the Apalachicola River near Wewahitchka, Florida for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. The data provides feedback to basin managers to make informed decisions within the basin and provides a record of data for environmental compliance. (Photo by Frank Sanchez III)

    Data vital in monitoring ACF Basin's ecosystem

    Wewahitchka, FL. – The city of Wewahitchka, Fla., is named after the Seminole Indian name meaning "water eyes” and is the location where U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District’s coastal engineer Richard Allen is working with nature’s elements. Allen is monitoring how the bodies of water flowing through the Florida panhandle are impacting the Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint (ACF) Basin and the surrounding communities.
  • Col. James DeLapp, Mobile District commander, and Lt. Col. Frankie Flowers, deputy district engineer for Latin America, traveled to Brazil, to assist the government in waterway development and management. Pictured here, DeLapp and Flowers meet with Brazil’s National Water Agency, or ANA. The ANA is legally responsible for implementing the National Water Resources Management System, created in 2000 to ensure the sustainable use of rivers and lakes.

    Mobile District officials travel to Brazil to discuss waterway development

    Two representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, visited cities in Brazil to discuss waterway development and management as well as the possibility of future partnerships, Aug. 7-11.
  • John Williams, division chief, Integration & Operations Division at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Fl., presents Toni Ortiz, project manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, with a Munitions Directorate coin, Aug. 4. Ortiz received the coin for her outstanding support in overseeing more than $95 million in various construction projects for the Air Force Research Laboratory.

    Mobile District project manager recognized for outstanding support to Air Force Research Laboratory

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District Project Manager Toni Ortiz was recently recognized by Division Chief John Williams, Integration & Operations Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory for providing exceptional support and creative solutions during several large-scale construction projects at Eglin Air Force Base, Fl.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, will be hosting an eclipse-viewing program at Carters Lake in Murray County, Ga., Aug. 21. Northbank Park, located within Carters Lake recreation area, will offer an unobstructed view of the eclipse over the lake.

    Carters Lake offers eclipse viewing program

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, will be hosting an eclipse-viewing program at Carters Lake in Murray County, Ga., Aug. 21. Northbank Park, located within Carters Lake recreation area, will offer an unobstructed view of the eclipse over the lake.
  • A Mobile District contractor works to renovate a dorm room, part of $9.7 million project to upgrade two old Army barracks on the former Ft. McClellan grounds.

    Corps completes $19.1 million for training, dorm upgrades at Center for Domestic Preparedness

    The Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is in the midst of $19.1 million in upgrades at the FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness, or CDP, in Anniston, Ala. The projects include creating a state-of-the-art training facility and renovating old Army barracks into fresh dormitories.

  • July

    Ken Cooper, Mobile District site superintendent, left, gives an update on the Northport levee project to Mike Armstrong, a Mobile District construction representative. Mobile District is in the midst of relocating the Northport, Ala., levee, after a crack was discovered.

    Northport levee repair on track for August completion

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is in the midst of repairing the Northport, Ala., levee, to address a crack that was first discovered in 2010. The project is nearing completion and is expected to be finished on schedule in late August.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, will soon complete existing-condition modeling to determine the viability of widening and deepening Mobile Harbor to new dimensions.

    Mobile District to consider channel improvements in $7.8 million Mobile Harbor study

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, will soon complete existing condition modeling as part of a study to determine the viability of widening and/or deepening Mobile Harbor to new dimensions.