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Archive: 2018
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  • December

    The Middle East District’s Robert “Bob” Fox has been awarded the 2018 Defense Acquisition Workforce Individual Achievement, Flexibility in Contracting and Development Innovation Award for Facilities Engineering. Fox is shown here while on temporary duty to a project site in Kuwait.

    Bob Fox awarded Defense Acquisition Workforce Achievement Award

    The Middle East District’s Robert “Bob” Fox has been awarded the 2018 Defense Acquisition Workforce Individual Achievement, Flexibility in Contracting and Development Innovation Award for Facilities Engineering.
  • "Personnel from the U.S. Army Transatlantic Division, Transatlantic Middle East District and U.S. Army Central Command attend the Project Management "Boot Camp" course held in December in Winchester, Virginia. The course is intended to prepare project management professionals to take the PMP certification exam. The PMP certification is the most recognized form of accreditation offered in the project management career field and is known for being very difficult to earn."

    PMP Boot Camp prepares project managers for certification

    Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the Transatlantic Division and Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) recently took part in an intensive four-day course to prepare them to take the Project Management Professionals certification exam. Bringing the course to the Division and District Headquarters in Winchester, Virginia, enabled them to maximize participation and resulted in a substantial cost savings to the government.
  • A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Middle East District (MED) was recently named the “USACE Project Delivery Team (PDT) Of The Year for Merit” for their work in planning the execution of almost 1 billion dollars in foreign military sales construction for the nation of Qatar. The project, known as Shield 5, is one of the largest ever undertaken by the District and will cover the construction of several missile defense sites along with numerous support facilities spread across a wide geographic area

    District contract professionals vital to successful mission accomplishment

    A vital step in the process of bringing construction projects to reality is awarding contracts to private industry companies for the actual construction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District will usually award and manage construction contracts through construction managers overseas at the project site and with project and contract managers at the headquarters in Winchester, Va. There have been exceptions when a foreign customer requests that the District award the contract and then turn it over to them to manage, but typically award and management go together.
  • Carrying on legacy of USACE Support in the Middle East

    Carrying on legacy of USACE Support in the Middle East

    For more than 60 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Middle East District has
  • The Middle East District delivers U.S. military construction projects that support U.S. forces across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility and carries out projects through the Defense Department’s security assistance program working with allied partner nations in the region. Here, contractors work at night to finish runway repairs at an undisclosed location in the Middle East. You can read more about the District’s airfield pavement work in support of USCENTCOM here: https://www.army.mil/article/212271/usace_district_paves_the_way_to_improved_process

    Transatlantic Division: Supporting the Warfighter Every Day

    Every project, every program, and every task supports the warfighter every day. That’s the role of the Transatlantic Division (TAD) as it directly supports U.S. Central Command and other federal and partner agencies in a volatile operational area that spans the 20 countries of the Middle East and Central Asia.

  • November

    USACE Contingency Deployment Center Provides Start to Finish Support

    USACE Contingency Deployment Center Provides Start to Finish Support

    With a district in Afghanistan as well as projects in Iraq and other contingency locations around

  • October

    Contractors work at night to finish runway repairs at an undisclosed location in the Middle East.

    Middle East District paves way to improved process

    In their marketing materials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District often refers to their ability to accomplish projects in “some of the toughest construction environments in the world.” This saying was recently put to the test at an undisclosed location in the Middle East as they made repairs to one of the installation’s runways.
  • Mike Wilson, Contract Specialist with the Middle East District, spent 26 years as a logistician before completing a degree and switching to a career in Contracting.

    Career Switchers seek and thrive in new positions

    ‘Change’ is often considered a negative, something to be avoided at all costs. But several Middle East District team members not only disagree, but have enthusiastically sought change and conquered any challenges they met. Their reasons for wanting a change in job position, title and responsibilities varied widely, but all successfully hurdled the negative and are now reaping the benefits of having faced change and won.
  • Middle East District Visual Information Specialist, Shannon Hodges, previews photos she shot during the normal routine of her day.

    Visually enhancing products at Middle East District

    Visual Information Services for the Middle East District have been provided by Shannon Hodges since
  • Representatives from Pakistan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. State Department during a visit to the United States to share water resources expertise at the USACE Institute for Water Resources Hydrologic Engineering Center in Davis, California.

    USACE Provides Water Resources Expertise to Pakistan

    As recent media articles have highlighted the potential for major cities around the world to run out of water, it’s become apparent the good stewardship of water resources is more than an environmental issue, it’s a humanitarian one and can have an impact on regional stability. It’s also an area where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has the ability to make an impact. For decades, USACE has managed many of the water resources with the United States through its operation of levees, dams, dredging operations and flood control management. More recently USACE has been given the opportunity to share USACE’s water resource expertise with the Government of Pakistan through an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

  • September

    Construction continues on the almost one billion dollar mega-project collectively known as Shield 5 in Qatar. The project has remained on track in part because of the District's use of cost schedule management to monitor progress.

    District Cost Scheduling Practices Contribute to Success

    When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District (MED) was awarded the USACE Project Delivery Team of the Year award recently, many on the team attributed some of that success to the District’s increased focus on using cost schedule management, a practice widely used in commercial construction projects but one that the District had not fully utilized until recently.

  • August

    A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Middle East District (MED) was recently named the “USACE Project Delivery Team (PDT) Of The Year for Merit” for their work in planning the execution of almost 1 billion dollars in foreign military sales construction for the nation of Qatar. The project, known as Shield 5, is one of the largest ever undertaken by the District and will cover the construction of several missile defense sites along with numerous support facilities spread across a wide geographic area.

    Middle East District earns Project Delivery Team of the Year Award

    A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Middle East District (MED) was recently named the “USACE Project Delivery Team (PDT) Of The Year for Merit” for their work in planning the execution of almost 1 billion dollars in foreign military sales construction for the nation of Qatar.
  • Peter DeMattei, Elaine Lawson, Margaret Jones, Daryl Puffinburger, and Daniel Rivera spent time on Capitol Hill to learn about Congressional operations. DeMattei and Puffinburger, program managers with the Middle East District, are enrolled in the leadership development program, and Jones and Lawson manage the Tier III program for the Transatlantic Division. Rivera is a TAD program manager.

    LDP provides opportunity on Capitol Hill

    Leaders in the Transatlantic Division’s leadership development program recently broadened their exposure to Congressional affairs and the operations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters. Middle East District program managers Daryl Puffinburger and Peter DeMattei spent three days on Capitol Hill and another day with senior military and civilian leaders at USACE headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Government Affairs Institute sponsored the USACE Congressional briefing.

  • June

    Capt. Scott Pancotto with members of the Bahrain Resident Office during a visit from the Middle East District Commander, Colonel Stephen Bales.

    Captain experiences new perspective on Middle East through USACE

    Capt. Scott Pancotto spent the last year stationed in Bahrain as a project engineer and program manager forward with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East DIstrict.
  • Intern Josh Dalton with High School Intern Program and Structural Engineer Nathan Fox following Dalton's end of semester bridge break test. Fox assists interns in exploring engineering disciplines and building their self-confidence.

    District intern program promotes STEM, builds confidence

    The Middle East District is committed to assisting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through educational and outreach efforts. One of the Middle East District’s latest tools developed in accomplishing the STEM goals was appointing forward-thinking team member Structural Engineer Nathan Fox as the District’s High School Intern Program Coordinator.
  • Mentor MAJ Chelsea O’Nan, a MED program manager forward based and mentee Cadet Samantha Lowdermilk in Kuwait during Lowdermilk's assigned summer cadet leadership training opportunity with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Middle East District (MED) through the Army ROTC program at the University of Virginia.

    Cadet Trains with Middle East District

    Cadet Samantha Lowdermilk was assigned a summer cadet District Engineer opportunity with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Middle East District (MED) through the Army ROTC program at the University of Virginia.

  • May

    Melanie Barajas, Middle East District's Chief of Safety and Occupational Health, Kevin Raposa, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist TAM Construction Division, and Viv Turner, Site 1 Safety and Security Manager on site in Qatar assessing the construction program and safety program.

    Old slogan, new mindset: Safety IS everyone’s responsibility

    USACE’s new safety management system, the Corps of Engineers Safety & Occupational Health Management System (CE-SOHMS), will enable USACE to meet the Army’s goal of modernizing safety and occupational health programs.
  • Local high school junior concludes his spring semester Gifted Independent Study Class at the Middle East District's Engineering Division, with a presentation on his project. He built a popsicle stick bridge and using available engineering analysis software, calculated the weight-bearing capacity before testing the bridge.

    District engineers mentor local high school student sparking interest in engineering

    The Middle East District (MED) Engineering Division staff mentored local high school student Josh Dalton throughout the spring semester of this school year. The Millbrook High School junior, spent every other afternoon at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Winchester. Through the Gifted Independent Study program, Dalton was afforded the opportunity to volunteer intern/shadow Army Corps of Engineers professionals here.
  • Col. Stephen Bales, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Middle East District commander, spent May 1 with 28 fourth and fifth grade students at STARBASE Academy, Winchester, discussing engineering and problem solving.

    District Commander energizes STARBASE students through bridge build

    Col. Stephen Bales, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District commander, recently spent a morning with fourth and fifth grade students at STARBASE Academy in Winchester, Va.
  • Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Balad Air Base in the Aircraft Maintenance Hanger that is a 75,000 square feet facility that can accommodate seven F16 aircraft.

    Iraq F-16 program construction hits major milestone

    A 24 April ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated a major milestone in the construction of facilities supporting Iraq’s F-16 purchase from the United States and marked the Iraqi Air Force's 87th birthday.