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Archive: 2017
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  • December

    Cody Mercer, a government contractor mechanic, works on repairing a generator that powers a flood control pump near San Juan, Puerto Rico Dec. 27. The repairs are part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Non-Federal Generator Operation and Maintenance mission in support of FEMA's Hurricane Maria recovery efforts.

    Non-Federal Generator Operation and Maintenance Mission helps power critical water infrastructure in Puerto Rico

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Inside a small concrete pump station by the side of a freeway, a Quality Assurance team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a crew of government contractors labor over a large orange generator. The station is part of a complex flood control system that helps keep San Juan and neighboring towns dry. It is just one of hundreds of sites Corps teams are visiting as part of a unique mission to repair local generators and keep critical infrastructure functioning in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
  • Omar Esquilin-Mangual meets with a local resident while working the Blue Roof mission in Puerto Rico.

    USACE Blue Roof mission in Puerto Rico is a family affair

    Omar Esquilin-Mangual, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, was born, raised and educated on the island before working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2010 after receiving his master’s degree in civil engineering degree from the University of Puerto Rico. Yamiretsy Pagan-Albelo, from Ciales, Puerto Rico, was born, raised and educated on the island and working for the USACE in 2011 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Puerto Rico.
  • The Ellis Island, a hopper dredge.

    Mobile District starts first phase of $349 million coastal island restoration project

    The Mobile District has begun the first phase of an approximately $349 million project that will reduce erosion and build stronger hurricane barrier off the coast of Mississippi.
  • Lake Sidney Lanier park rangers pose for a photo earlier this year on National Life Jacket Day to raise awareness of the importance of wearing a life preserver. Promoting life jacket awareness was just one of many community outreach activities that helped Lake Lanier take home first place in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division’s annual Water Safety and Education Awards.

    Lake Lanier to receive award for promoting water safety

    The Lake Sidney Lanier Project Management Office will be recognized as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division’s annual Water Safety and Education Awards for having the most water safety contacts of the division’s 32 project lakes this past year. During the 2017 fiscal year, Lake Lanier had almost 340,000 direct contacts and more than 500 indirect contacts to educate the public on water safety.
  • Lake Sidney Lanier Park Ranger Rachel Rush teaches fourth graders the importance of water safety and the beauty of our national parks during a visit to a local school earlier this year. Rush was recently recognized for her efforts to promote the Every Kid in a Park initiative by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division.

    USACE recognizes Lake Lanier Park Ranger

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division has recognized Lake Sidney Lanier Park Ranger Rachel Rush for her outstanding efforts to promote the Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) initiative during the first quarter of 2018. To take home the top individual honors for the quarter, Rush visited several local schools and spent time with 675 fourth graders.

  • November

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, recently hosted the Murray County Chamber of Commerce Youth and Adult Leadership groups at Carters Lake in Murray County, Ga

    Carters Lake hosts local leadership groups

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, recently hosted the Murray County Chamber of Commerce Youth and Adult Leadership groups at Carters Lake in Murray County, Ga.
  • Mobile District Commander Col. James DeLapp presents archeologist Matt Grunewald with the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service Mar. 8 in Mobile, Ala. Grunewald received the award for his outstanding support to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency during a POW/MIA recovery operation in Vietnam last year.

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee recognized for work on POW/MIA recovery mission

    A Mobile District employee was recognized for his work as the Recovery Leader for a joint American and Vietnamese team that spent three months in Vietnam recovering the remains of prisoners of war or missing in action.
  • Kerry Murray arrived in Puerto Rico Oct. 5 and will depart Dec. 5. He will return to the island and continue supporting the mission after a brief stay at home.

    Personnel director ‘humble and thankful’ after Puerto Rico deployment

    “Humble and thankful” is how U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, human resources director Kerry Murray describes himself since his Puerto Rico deployment.
  • Cherryl Weeks poses with Division Commander Maj. Gen. Diana Holland while on deployment in Puerto Rico

    ‘All heart’ Mobile District employee headed back to Puerto Rico

    Cherryl Weeks is a 39-year veteran of the Corps of Engineers and a four-time veteran of being deployed to disaster areas. Weeks, a Mobile District program analyst, just returned home after a four-week deployment to Puerto Rico and will be headed back again soon.
  • Kenneth “Sam” Hill poses in front of a Deployable Tactical Operations System while on deployment in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. While driving one night on a remote country road, Hill and a St. Louis District employee rendered aid after happening upon a head-on collision accident.

    Mobile District employee aids at accident scene while deployed

    Kenneth “Sam” Hill is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, employee deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands to aid after Hurricanes Irma and Maria but one local islander will remember him for doing something even more heroic.
  • 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.