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Archive: 2012
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  • December

    Chuck Hollingsworth, Ryan Shoemaker, and Maria Martin open and record sealed contractor bids at a public bid opening on Nov. 19, for the construction of facilities at Kandahar Airfield.

    Middle East District uses sealed bidding to help expedite contract awards for USACE missions in Afghanistan

    On Nov. 19, the Middle East District employed a process it rarely uses to accelerate a contract award by holding a sealed bid opening for a construction project in Afghanistan.

  • November

    District employees celebrate St. Baldrick's Day with the flair of no hair

    Strength, character, and courage. "Living these values has always been the message to the Corps family," said the Middle East District's Erick Stillman. "I want to be able to proudly say to children living with cancer and to their parents watching them endure: 'I am here to help and lighten the load.'"

  • Jerry Henry: The Man Who Stares at Goats

    As a Supervisory Information Technology Specialist, Jerry Henry spends his workday surrounded by computers and other electronics. At the end of the day, however, he returns to his farm where he is surrounded by plants and animals.

  • District Recognizes Contractor Safety

    The Middle East District recently recognized a contractor in Kosovo for achieving a significant safety accomplishment.

  • September

    CAMP GEIGER, N.C. - Lieutenant Gen. James F. Amos, commanding general, II Marine Expeditionary Force, shakes hands with Col. Bradford Washabaugh, commanding officers, School of Infantry (East), during his retirement ceremony July 8. Washabaugh's awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia. He, his wife, Linda, and their two children, Brooke and Brandon, are currently in transit to Raleigh, N.C., where Washabaugh will begin his civilian career.

    District hosts local men's group, discusses overseas operations

    Ten members of Winchester’s First Presbyterian Men’s Group visited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District headquarters on Sept. 25 to learn about the District’s overseas operations.

  • August

    Col. Richard P. Flatau Jr., commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, admires the newly-dedicated Iraqi War memorial, a refurbished Soviet 122mm howitzer D-30, after the dedication ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9133, May 31. Dedicated to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom/Global War on Terror, the howitzer now sits in the VFW parking lot, a war relic taken in combat, dedicated to this generations’ war fighters.

    Middle East District is proud of a successful workforce recruitment summer hire

    The Middle East District’s first experience hiring a recent graduate with a disability proves that talent comes in many forms.
  • More than 65 contractor representatives listen as Robert Strom describes counternarcotics projects and contracting requirements. Interpreters assisted during the presentations. (USACE photo – Mike Weaver)

    USACE seeks contractors to build counternarcotics projects in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan

    Recently, representatives from the Middle East District went to two countries in the Central Asian States looking for a few good contractors.
  • Marines with second platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, run down Julian C. Smith Road aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in their modular tactical vests, June 15. Julian C. Smith Road, from Cross Street to O Street, is closed from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m., Mondays through Fridays, to give Marines and sailors a safe area to conduct unit or individual physical training.

    On top of the world: Middle East District employee climbs Kilimanjaro

    Jay Wallace, an assistant district counsel, reached that destination earlier this year, climbing 19,341 feet above sea level and fulfilling his dream of summiting the highest mountain in Africa.

  • July

    USACE engineers meet with Afghan technicians at the Kajaki Dam power house. (USACE photo – Mark Ray)

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will improve electrical distribution in Helmand Province

    Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts combined their resources to award a critically important project for providing reliable electric power from the Kajaki Dam power house on the Helmand River through the Helmand province in southwestern Afghanistan.

  • June

    USACE completed more than 5,000 projects in Iraq from 2004-2011, contributing to a new government for that nation. (Courtesy photo)

    US Army Corps of Engineers continues to build projects contributing to Iraq Sovereignty

    In seven years starting in 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed more than 5,000 projects with a value of $8.8 billion in Iraq. The construction program was crucial in the efforts to secure a new and reliable government for Iraq.
  • Ross Corbett served as a project engineer on a six-month tour in the Taji Resident Office in Iraq.(Photo courtesy of Ross Corbett)

    US Army Corps of Engineers remains an engaged partner in Iraq

    No area office in the Middle East District's charge has experienced more change in the past year than has the Iraq Area Office.
  • Chief Warrant Officer 3 Darron Todd, maintenance officer with Marine Special Operations School, Marine Special Operations Command, fires a .410 shotgun at an airborne clay pigeon at the McIntyre Skeet Range aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, June 25. Todd, part of the All-Marine Skeet Team, is one of eight Marines who are scheduled to represent the Marine Corps and the United States in the upcoming 2010 World Skeet Shooting Championships this October.

    Family Readiness: Caring for families and employees, deployed or not

    Family Readiness Groups help families meet the challenges of military life and serve an important role for any military organization, including the Middle East District.
  • Sgt. William Holls, (left) a combat instructor with Mobile Training Company, Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry – East, is presented the Navy and Marine Corps Medal by Lt. Col. John Armellino, commanding officer of AITB, SOI – E, during a ceremony held aboard Camp Geiger, July 15, for saving a Marine’s life while conducting training in the grenade pit in September 2009.

    Bill Ryals, Beekeeper extraordinaire

    Ryals, chief of Programs and Project Management Division's Support for Others Branch, has worked for USACE for 34 years and came to the Middle East District nine years ago. During his time with the district, Ryals discovered a class taught by the Beekeepers of the Northern Shenandoah Valley at Blandy Experimental Farm, State Arboretum of Virginia. However, with his constant travel to Iraq, he was unable to attend but never gave up his interest. Three years ago, he was able to attend the six-week course and learned the basics of apiculture, or beekeeping.

  • April

    Deputy Commander and Brewmaster General

    When Lt. Col. Rusty Sears came to the Middle East District as deputy commander in August 2010, he brought with him four years of experience in engineer positions and as chief of Construction for U.S. Army Central, with tours in Kuwait and Iraq and frequent trips to Afghanistan. He is a walking encyclopedia on the district's military projects throughout the U.S. Central Command area of operations, often providing project background or context that few others in the district have. He is passionate about each member of the district team contributing directly to our mission to support our nation.

  • USACE Takes Corrective Action to Get a Project Back on Track

    When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commits to delivering a project or service for a customer, it strives to complete the work on time, within budget, and at a quality standard that the customer expects.

  • Partnering Equals Teamwork

    Anytime the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commits to delivering a construction project, it relies on a bevy of partners. At the forefront of that group is the construction contractor.

  • District’s Traditional Foreign Military Sales Role Returning

    These programs are examples of the Middle East District's support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers international mission through the foreign military sales program. FMS had traditionally been the larger portion of the district's workload before the tragic events of 9/11 changed the world. The next decade brought a military construction focus to the district's work in the Middle East and Central Asia regions.

  • March

    USACE Participates in KazBuild Spring 2012 and Prime Contractor Meeting

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives participated in the KazBuild Spring 2012 Expo, a construction exhibition held March 14-16 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. USACE representatives included the Transatlantic Division's Senior Procurement Analyst Leigh Bandy and the Middle East District's Small Business Specialist Mike Weaver and Project Management Support for Others Branch Chief Bill Ryals.

  • District Breaks Glass Ceiling During Observance of National Women’s History Month

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District celebrated Women's History Month on Mar. 15 during a luncheon featuring a special guest speaker from the local academic community.

  • Projectwise: Bridging the Gap Quickly and Easily

    Technology is continually evolving and helping Middle East District employees do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. Having a workforce located on separate continents that plans and manages projects simultaneously presents some difficult, sometimes unique, challenges.