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  • October

    Member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contracting team show off their Tie Dye during Contracting's "Spirit Week," a morale boosting event held in the lead up to a new fiscal year. The weeks leading up to the end of a fiscal year can be extremely busy for Contracting, Resource Management and others who deal with an organization's finances.

    The Magic Behind the Mystery: Fiscal New Year for Dummies

    The importance of the end of the fiscal year is something almost anyone working for the federal government is somewhat familiar with, but for Contracting and Resource Management, the days leading up to it are among the busiest and most important of their entire year. And while for some employees the days leading up to a “fiscal new year,” are simply background noise, Contracting and RM are quite literally ensuring their agencies continue to function -- especially in an organization like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) which deals in multi-million dollar construction contracts as well as a host of smaller contracts for services throughout the Middle East supporting U.S. military and allied nations in the region.

  • August

    Middle East District Assistant District Counsel Traci Cunningham recently earned the E. Manning Seltzer award from Headquarters USACE for her efforts to make federal ethics rules more understandable to District employees through her advice column and humor.

    Award Winning Attorney Moonlights as Advice Columnist

    An attorney with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District recently earned an award for her efforts to make federal ethics rules more understandable to District employees.
  • Six U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) summer hires and one Department of the Army fellow stop for a photo during a tour of the Washington Aqueduct. Since TAM's mission is primarily overseas, the team toured the aqueduct to show them another aspect of the USACE mission.

    TAM Summer Hire Program Helps USACE “Prepare for Tomorrow”

    With a nationwide shortage of students going into Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) career fields, ensuring USACE has the talent needed to continue providing those solutions has become one of those challenges.  In order to meet this challenge, USACE’s Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) has recently made a concerted effort to build a STEM pipeline, doing its part to help the Corps “prepare for tomorrow.”

  • July

    U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kimberly M. Colloton, commanding general and division engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Division, and Kuwait Army Maj. Gen. Adel Al Hafez, commander with the Kuwait Air Defense Forces, cut the ribbon at the new Patriot Fire Site, Site #7, Kuwait, July 5, 2021. The new Air Defense site will expand the Kuwait Ministry of Defense’s defense capabilities and enable assured protection to Kuwaiti citizens and allies.

    Middle East District, Kuwaitis Deliver the Program during COVID

    Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District’s (TAM) Kuwait Program Management Office and Members of the Kuwaiti military held a ribbon cutting ceremony July 5th to celebrate completion of a Kuwaiti PATRIOT missile defense battery.

  • June

    Major Derek Sentinella, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District inspects new concrete over a road connection for four lines connecting to a 20 megawatt substation on Camp Arifjan in Kuwait

    Developing Valuable Skills in the Middle East with USACE

    Both operational and USACE sides of the Engineer Regiment are equally important, but two officers assigned to USACE’s Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) recently learned that a tour with the Corps can provide a whole lot of excitement and ultimately a whole new level of experience.
  • Transatlantic Middle East District Program Manager Kim Sanders with members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District Qatar Resident Office visiting the site of one of her projects in the State of Qatar.

    Program Manager goes the extra 7,000 miles

    Headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, with projects spread throughout the Middle East, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) is farther from its projects than any other district in the Corps. So TAM program manager Kim Sanders is used to overcoming the tyranny of distance. However, when she recently had the chance to close that distance she jumped on the opportunity.

  • March

    The control tower at Imam Ali Air Base Iraq. The tower is being renovated for the Iraqi Air Force by the U.S. Air Force's Aerospace Management Systems Division at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC/HBA), Hanscom Air Force Base. The Air Force elected to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East and Memphis Districts on the project due to their experience in the region and civil engineering expertise.

    Virtual Collaboration Allows Critical Project to Stay on Track

    A current project in Iraq, to bring Imam Ali Air Base up to operational capability, involves extensive refurbishment and renovation to the Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) building, includes new ATCT equipment, supporting airfield electrical power and communications infrastructure, backup power improvement, installation of new ILS/DME and TACAN systems; and a potential renovation of the existing airfield lighting system.  Accomplishing this involves extensive coordination among the Iraqi Air Force, the Aerospace Management Systems Division, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC/HBA) at Hanscom Air Force Base, TAM and Memphis Districts, all while respecting the COIVD restrictions in place.
  • Staff. Sgt. Buddy C. Reynold during his time in the Army, long before he was one of the guest speakers for this year's Black History Month Celebration.

    BHM speakers highlight value, importance of time

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) held a Black History Month celebration Feb. 26. The event was held virtually and featured two guest speakers: Staff Sgt. Buddy C. Reynolds, a 100-year-old World War II veteran and the Honorable Randall Johnson Jr., a District Judge in Richmond, Va.

  • February

    The headquarters building for the SHIELD 5 missile defense project in Qatar. The SHIELD 5 program built missile defense infrastructure project was managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of Qatar. Large scale projects such as this, which involve multiple sites and a long construction schedule require significant analysis from the District's cost engineering team to provide an accurate assessment of cost.

    It’s going to cost how much? The Inside Story of Cost Engineers

    Whether building a new deck on the back of one’s house or the entire infrastructure for a missile defense program, the most basic and complex question in construction is always, “How much is it going to cost?” That is the critical role of a cost engineer (CE) comes in. In construction organizations, project managers and design engineers get the glory but cost engineers play a critical role behind the scenes. This is especially true in an organization like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM).

  • June

    Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the 54th Chief of Engineers, holds a virtual town hall meeting for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees to encourage them to deploy in support of USACE operations around the U.S. and the world.

    Chief of Engineers Highlights Deployment Opportunities

    The 54th Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, addressed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilians in a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday to encourage them to consider deployment opportunities available within the Corps. The meeting was hosted by the Transatlantic Middle East District’s USACE Contingency Deployment Center (UCDC) and discussed the critical need for volunteers to meet USACE’s ever-expanding missions throughout the United States and the world and benefits, both tangible and intangible, for employees who step up to answer the call.

  • May

    99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron maintainers prepare a U-2 Dragon Lady pilot for a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve from Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, Mar. 15, 2019. Commonly referred to as the most difficult aircraft to fly in the world, the U-2 Dragon Lady has been host to less than fifteen-hundred pilots since the first flight in 1955. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Gracie I. Lee)

    Middle East District Sets New Standards in Value Engineering

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District was recently recognized with a Value Engineering Achievement Award for their value engineering efforts as part of a 1.4 billion dollar program to build new facilities and infrastructure at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

  • April

    Captain Colin Sexton, a program manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District coordinates U.S. Army Corps of Engineers COVID response information with other officers deployed to New York to assist with USACE response efforts.

    Middle East District Officers Support COVID-19 Response

    Two captains from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) recently returned from New York City where they had deployed to assist with USACE efforts to build alternate care facilities both in the city and throughout the region.
  • Sally Sydnor, a graduating senior at Handley High School in Winchester, Va., works on her U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Internship project from her home in Winchester. Sydnor has been collaborating remotely with mentors from USACE's Transatlantic Middle East District to complete the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Despite pandemic, high school intern works with USACE to complete project

    Although COVID-19 virus has led to the cancellation of many of the traditional high school rites of passage around the country, a passion for engineering and an assist from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) helped high school senior Sally Sydnor maintain some sense of normalcy during a final year of high school that has been anything but. Sydnor was in the middle of an engineering internship with the district when schools closed for the year. With her senior year unexpectedly coming to an end, Sydnor decided to see if there was a way she could continue her engineering project.
  • A team for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk and Transatlantic Middle East Districts conduct an assessment of a facility in Northern Virginia to determine its suitability for COVID-19 response. A facility assessment does not mean that a facility will be used.

    Middle East District Assists with Coronavirus Assessments

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) mission is primarily outside the continental U.S but USACE’s Norfolk District asked for assistance in conducting assessments of Northern Virginia facilities that could potentially be adapted as alternate care facilities (ACF) and Team TAM members were happy to assist.

  • February

    Capt. Greg Smith, commanding officer of Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, cuts a ribbon with senior American and Bahraini leaders to celebrate the opening of the renovated Mina Salman Pier. NSA Bahrain enables the forward operations and responsiveness of U.S. and allied forces in support of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central’s mission to provide services to the fleet, warfighter and family

    District Completes Critical Project 6 Months Ahead of Original Schedule

    A ribbon cutting ceremony held on February 20th marked the completion of a new $49.6 million steel and concrete pier project at the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain. The pier, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District, will enhance the Navy’s operational readiness in the region. Previously, the Navy had been using barges for much of the work on ships that can now be done while docked at the pier.

  • January

    Members of the Kuwaiti Military Engineering Projects Office and program managers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District pose for a photo outside the historic courthouse in Winchester, VA where the District headquarters is located.

    Building relationships and infrastructure facilities with Kuwait

    USACE’s Middle East District recently began a design review with the Kuwaiti Air Force on $140 million worth of construction on a Kuwait FMS case to support Kuwait’s newly purchased F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The design program is the continuance of a survey of existing facilities at Al Jaber air base that identified new hangars, parking aprons, maintenance facilities and other needed infrastructure to operate and maintenance the arriving F-18 fighter jets.

  • September

    Photo of 8 construction workers in a group shot. One is being given the rabbit ears gesture used in photos.

    USACE Dive Safety Experts Support Overseas Construction Projects

    That ability to reach out and utilize expertise from another district is known as reach back and it’s a resource USACE’s Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) used when it was in need of dive safety support. While many USACE districts maintain dams, levees and other water related infrastructure with a need for dive safety expertise, TAM’s primary mission is supporting USCENTCOM and allied partners in the Middle East. Recently however, the district found itself working a pier refurbishment project for the U.S. Navy in Bahrain that included the need for safety dive plans and observation support for several dives by the contractor.

  • August

    Tambour Eller, currently serving as the project executive on the Mosul Dam Task Force during its final close out, was recently named the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civilian of the Year. Eller received the award for her combined work in three jobs over the course of the awards period.

    USACE Employee Awarded Top Honors for Three Separate Assignments

    Tambour Eller, currently serving as the project executive on the Mosul Dam Task Force during its final close out, was recently named the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civilian of the Year. Eller received the award for her combined work in three jobs over the course of the awards period.

  • July

    District Architect Receives Important Certification

    Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) architect and value engineering program manager, Amanda Bianchini, recently achieved a major career milestone when she was recognized as a certified value specialist. The professional credential, granted by the Society of American Value Engineers or SAVE International, is the highest level of certification available in value methodology. The process is extensive and includes classes, testing and demonstrating expert knowledge and career experience. The process can take months to years to complete.
  • Army personnel building an observation platform in the Middle East using a materials list provided by the Joint Construction Management System (JCMS) database. The JCMS provides lists of materials, construction cost, labor estimates and standards. Army Facilities Component Systems ensure the JCMS remains up to date and can support theater combatant commands and service component commands with construction planning.

    District Provides Utilities Expertise for Contingency Planning

    The Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) is known for providing engineering, construction and support services throughout the CENTCOM area of responsibility. For most of its nearly 70 year history, the district has focused on large scale foreign military sales and U.S. military construction projects in the Middle East. Over the past several years however, TAM has developed several specialized capabilities designed to provide more flexibility and better respond to contingency construction environments. One of the most recent developments was TAM’s standing up its own Army Facilities Component Systems (AFCS) branch.