US Army Corpsof Engineers ® Engineer Update

Vol. 26 * No. 11 * November 2002

Water from the Red River flowed through thestorm sewer outlet to flood River Heights Parkin East Grand Forks, Minn. (Photo by FrancisSchanilec, St. Paul District)

Heavy rainschallengeSt. Paul

ByVrginia RegorrahSt. Paul District

Heavy rains and thunderstorms inthe Red RiverValley this summer challenged St. Paul Districtand its contractors at the levee projects and En-glish Coulee Diversion in Grand Forks, N.D, andEast Grand Forks, Minn.

"Ironically, the contractor lost more time dueto inclement weather during the month of Junethan during the entire winter," said FrancisSchanilec, construction representative on the EastGrand Forks levee project.

Unexpectedly heavy rains on June 9 droppedmore than five inches ofrain on Grand Forks andEast Grand Forks and 3.5 inches in Crookston,Minn. While the district deployed emergencycrews to the northern Minnesota communities ofRoseau, Mahnomen, and Ada, the project engi-neers and construction representatives in GrandForks and East Grand Forks helped contractorsready their sites for the rising water from the RedRiver of the North.

In East Grand Forks, the rising river filled bothborrow pits and the junction manholes oftwo pumpstations. (A borrow pit provides earth for con-struction.) In Grand Forks, both borrow pits filledwith water and water inundated English Coulee,submerging most ofthe contractor's work sites.

Just as the contractors returned to work, thesummer thunderstorms struck July 9, dropping11 inches of rain south and east of Grand Forksand eight inches ofrain in Grand Forks. With theriver predicted to crest at 44 feet on July 14, thecontractors once again began building ring dikesaround critical sites, installing and closing sluicegates, deploying and activating pumps.

The National Weather Service web site forGrand Forks lists the flood stage at East GrandForks at 28 feet, when minor flooding occurs.Minor flooding means minimal or no property

Continued on page eight

-Although Hurricane Uli did not do as much damage as feared, It still caused trouble, like this floodingin a residential area near Dulac, La. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi Valley Division)

Good planning key toHurricane Lili response

By Jim PogueMemphis District

Foryears, the employees of New Orleans District haveknown that they are sitting on a hurricane bulls-eye. Itwasn't a matter of"if" but "when" a hurricane wouldput them out commission, so Mississippi Valley Divi-sion(MVD) made plans to deal with that eventuality.

"When" came in October, as Hurricane Lili seemed totake dead-aim at that bulls-eye. With two years of exer-cises and training under their belts, employees through-out MVD activated an operation plan on Oct.1 thattrans-ferred responsibility for executing Federal EmergencyManagementAgency(FEMA) mssions inouiiana fmNew Orleans District to Memphis District.

'Victim district.' With the possibility of New Or-leans becoming a "victim district" from the hurricane,initial preparation for the disaster response fell to Mem-phis District.

Steve Williamson is the National Emergency Pre-paredness Program Manager for Memphis District, andcoordinated the district's hurricane response. "I thinkMVD made the right call in transferring execution toMemphis District as the responding district for Louisi-ana," he said. "We were able to bring in the Planning &Response Teams (PRTs) to Memphis and begin stagingice, water, and emergency gnerators at Camp Beauregardto respond to the storm. We were ready as soon as thestorm passe."

Moving quickly, several Memphis District employees

deployed the next day to prepare for the hurricane's an-ticipated landfall. Although Memphis District coordi-nated the initial preparation and response efforts, otherdistricts in MVD also pitched in to help.

As part of the Federal Response Plan, VicksburgDistrict's Water PRT and Rock Island District's Ice PRTactivated to support the response operations. The teamspurchased water and ice for distribution after the hurri-cane passed, and deployed one member of each team tothe Corps' Disaster Field Office in Baton Rouge, La. St.Louis District provided one person to support responseto civil works activities atthe Louisiana State EmergencyOperations Center (EOC).

ENGLinik Mike Stewart, MVD's Emergency Op-erations Center coordinator, was pleased with the wayENGLink, the Corps' reporting system, was used duringthe event.

"One thing that was very helpful was the virtual use ofENGLink," said Stewart. "Shelly Shafer deployed toMVD from St. Paul to support the districts in deploy-ment tracking of employees. Shelly started the processin St. Paul, assigningherselfas a division employee, andwasted little time tracking deployed employees inENGLink. We were able to pinpoint their exact physi-cal locations."

Other districts and units, some from outside MVD,also sprang into action to prepare for the storm. As Liligained strength andmoved steadily toward New Orleans,

Continued on page eight

ENGINEER UPDATE November 2002

Capt. William Clark and Capt. Meriwether Lewis watch their soldiers drillingas they train for the expedition. (U.S. Army Illustration)

This is a photo of actual entries in Lewis and Clark's journal during theirexploration of the Northwest. (U.S. Army illustration)

Vision of Lewis & Clark fulfilled todayBy Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers

Chief of EngineersCommander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Many Americans realize that the expedition of Lewisand Clark was, for the most part, a journey over water.And indeed, this great story of opening the AmericanWest takes place on or near important rivers. After all,Lewis and Clark were searching for a Northwest Passage,believing a great myth ofa water route to the West Coast.

But what most Americans don't know is that nearly200 years ago, when Meriwether Lewis and WilliamClark set out on the first successful exploration of theAmerican West and Pacific Northwest, they did so asArmy officers. Few realize that Capt. Lewis and Capt.Clark headed into the great wilderness as an Army unit,with three sergeants, one corporal, and 31 privates. Somehistorians believe that Army discipline was a key factorin helping the expedition succeed where three previousexploration attempts had failed.

Doubtless even fewer people realize how much helpthe Army needed to make the journey a success. Theexpedition hired French boatmen and interpreters. Oth-ers who made the trip included Sacagawea, the youngNative American woman who also served as an inter-preter, her infant son, and Clark's slave, York.

But it was through positive relations with Native Ameri-cans, and the Indians' sheer generosity, that the expedi-tion truly benefited. The captains were under strict or-ders to develop positive relations with the tribes and, allalong the way, the soldiers relied on the Indians' help.

At Fort Mandan, near the Mandan villages ofpresent-day Bismarck, N.D., the expedition spent the winter of1804-05 and developed good relations with the Hidatsa,Arikara, and Mandan tribes.

Later, the expedition obtained horses from the Shoshoneafter Sacagawea recognized the chief as her long-lostbrother. The Nez Perce found the expedition near star-vation in the Bitterroot Mountains, and fed them.

Today's rivers

The Lewis and Clark Expedition covered 5,000 rivermiles. Today, the Army is still on the river. The U.S.Army Corps of Engineers manages, maintains or regu-lates about 4,700 river miles between the Ohio, Missis-sippi, Missouri, and Columbia rivers.

The rivers today are much different than they were in1804. River travelers today do not face extensive andperilous navigation hazards, or long seasonal delays asso-ciated with low water levels.

Because the water is regulated to ensure safe naviga-tion and to reduce flooding, the rivers are not the wildwaters of Lewis and Clark's day. Today's rivers aremore likely to be the economic vehicles PresidentJefferson envisioned when he approached Congress tofund the expedition in 1803. So those retracing the jour-ney to commemorate it's 2 001 anniversary will find theriver much tamed, free of the sandbars on which theexpedition often camped.

In Jefferson's day, there was no doubt and debate aboutwhat the river was for - and among other things, it wasthe fastest mode of transportation available. A river wasa means of trade, crucial to economic development andmilitary strength,

Opposing views

Now and for several decades, with a growing aware-ness of and commitment to the environmental benefits ofrivers, the nation has encountered widespread disagree-ment about their real purpose.

Currently, the nation has basically two increasinglypolarized views - one favoring economic benefits, andone for the environment. These views are apparentthrough competing interests in the Missouri River water-shed of Lewis and Clark, and also in other key areas to-day such as the Florida Everglades and Coastal Louisi-ana

Some say rivers should serve the needs of man. Manylivelihoods, as well as affordable goods and services, relyon waterborne transportation. Inland and intracoastalwaterways directly serve 38 states throughout the nation,plus the states on the Atlantic seaboard, the Gulf Coast,and the Pacific Northwest. Shippers and consumers de-pend on waterways to move about 630 million tons ofcargo valued at more than $73 billion annually.

But others say that rivers must increasingly recognizethe needs of nature. Ecosystems have suffered and spe-cies have dwindled - both require protection to thrive.The Corps' environmental program (now about 20 per-cent of all the civil work we do) is increasingly in de-mand.

Water resources have played a significant role in the

economic development and security of this nation. Butin the future, water will be a commodity as precious asoil. Do the nation's priorities need to change concerningwater projects? Does the way the government manageswater need to change? I think it's time to move the debateto a higher level, to a level involving more Americans, toa true a public policy forum, because these are questionsthat concernall Americans.

Ironically, building relationships and forming agree-ments, which ensured the survival ofthe expedition nearly200 years ago, is exactly what is needed today.

Though it seems that we a Pr i n " ..l.ro~mt i~ _guages through our opposing values, we must find a wayto come to a common understanding. We must careenough to engage, to understand other points ofview, andto find mutually acceptable solutions. With the complexissues we face today, efforts to be inclusive across a broadbase of understanding are more likely to succeed.

If there is a legacy of Lewis and Clark, I think it isabout more than the strength and determination of thehuman spirit. It is about the power of cooperation.

The way ahead

The Corps of Engineers has carried out the dreams thatwere the promise of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Weprovide energy to agriculture and industry, reduce flooddamages, regulate river levels for navigation, and pro-vide water for recreation. And we do all this with anenvironmental sensitivity that did not exist in the early19th century.

But we are determined to do more. The Corps recentlypublished seven environmental operating principles,which well use to set a tone and direction for our workand our dialogue regarding environmental work. Theenvironmental operating principles are not new;, they area product of many years of environmental involvement,and they are an affirmation of our commitment to envi-ronmental stewardship.

In conclusion, when I think about the Lewis and ClarkExpedition, I think it provides abundant examples oftheArmy values we advocate today - Loyalty, Duty, Re-spect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Courage.May we live them now as vibrantly as our ancestors did.If we do, the nation will always be well served.

(Reprinted from "Impact" magazine, journal ofAmerica Water Resources.)

ENGINEER UPDATE is an unofficial publication under the provisions of AR 360-1. It is published

monthly by offset for the Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Editnrial views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Corgs of Engineers or the

Address mail to: EDITOR, ENGINEER UPDATE, CEPA-C, Washington, D.C. 20314-1000. Telephone(202) 761-1808. Photographs are U.S. Army photos unless otherwise credited. Available on the

Intemet at http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/pubs/update.htm.

Department of the Army. Letters to the editor are encouraged. Commander, USACE....................................Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers

Chief, Public Affairs.....................................................................Carol A. Sanders, APR

Deadline for submitting articles is the 15th of the month preceding publication. Subscriptions are Chief, Command Information............ .................................... ....................George E. Halford

available free of charge but must be requested in writing. Circulation: 35,000. Editor..... ............... .............................. .... Bernard W. Tate

November2002 ENGINEER UPDATE 3Insights

Thankful for more than turkeyBy Col. Lowell Moore

Chaplain, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers

America, the land ofplenty...the land where manyAmericans pray, "Give us this day our daily bread",and then ask God for the strength to not eat it. However,when Thanksgiving comes, it seems like most Ameri-cans ignore any effort to resist the temptation to over-eat. Instead they shamelessly indulge in gluttony, anddo it in the name of being thankful.

However, my recent trip to Afghanistan and neigh-boring countries has given me something to be thankfulfor that that goes far beyond being thankful for a turkeyand all the trimmings.

Every morning when we were in Camp Doha, Ku-wait, we were greeted with a breeze...that lasted all day.The trouble was, the breeze was about 120 degrees andvery, very dry. When we stepped out of a building, itwas like stepping in front of a giant hair dryer. We wereglad to hear that it was cooler in Bagram, Afghanistan,and when we got there we found this to be true. Thetemperature was only in the upper 90s, but everywherewe went we had to walk in dust about three inches thick.

The dust we stirred up with our boots was so fine Iwondered if it could be used as a talcum power substi-tute. But, I decided not to experiment with it becausethe unsightly brown stuff didn't look like anything Iwould want on my feet, let alone on a baby's bottom.

In spite of the fact that the living conditions were farbelow American standards, I never heard one complaint!Every service member I talked to willingly endured thehardships because they knew their service in this far-

away land played an important part in keepingAmerica

Commentary

safe from the terrorist who used to hide where they nowsleep.

And, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is there! OurCorps members were not just there, they wereeverywhere...and they were doing the Corps proud!

The 2 4 9 th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) is doinga great job of providing the electric power that is soimportant to today's military. The electricity they pro-vide is far more important than just the convenience oflight and heat; it is essential to keep the sophisticatedelectronic equipment running that is vital to our mod-ern Army. They are true professionals with a great atti-tude, and everyone loves them.

The Corps had its civilian force in place too. TheForward Engineer Support Teams (FEST) were in thearea along with Corps members from the ContingencyReal Estate Support Teams (CREST), the Transatlantic

Programs Center, etc. Our Corps members were rightthere, willingly working shoulder-to-shoulder with theirmilitary comrades, assisting in acquiring land, design-ing new bases, and much, much more.

In fact, Bruce Hardie of Southwestern Division founda little excitement at Chapman Airfield. He was walk-ing the airfield to get a little exercise, and while he wasat the far end of the airfield, a firefight broke out nearbythat sent him scurrying back to his tent and motivatedhim to don his helmet and body armor.

It turned out to be a couple Afghan warlords settling adisagreement, but when the air is full of bullets youdon't care why or how they got there. You just do whatBruce did!

While I was in the Middle East, I was thrilled to seethe encouragement provided by Americans back home.Everywhere I went in the Middle East there was a bountyof encouraging cards, letters, posters, and care pack-ages. Our people are really thankful for them, and Ibelieve these tangible signs of support do more to liftthe spirits of our service members and our DoD civil-ians than the senders realize.

This Thanksgiving, the first thing rm going to do isthank God that I live in America, and that America isfree. Then I'm going to thank God for the wonderfulmen and women who are missing Thanksgiving withtheir families to keep it free. And last, I'm going tothank God for the turkey...and shamelessly indulge ingluttony!

(The views in this article are those of the author anddo not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Army,the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.)

Heroes walk quietly among usArticle by Sunday PearsonPhoto by Michael Nevins

Sacramento District

Imet a hero, cleaning out cigarette butt containers in thegarage where Ipark

A short, unassuming guy, maybe five-foot-three as hestood near the elevator, cleaning out butt cans and sweep-ing the garage floor. I had not seen him before, and prob-ably would not have paid much attention except, as I saidgood morning, I noticed the words "Bronze Star" writtenonhis baseball hat.I knew he mustbe a hero, because you don't get a Bronze

Star except for valor in combat. So I asked him to tell mehow he earned it, and invited him up to my office. Turnsout the Bronze Star wasn't his only medal for valor.

At 16-and-a-half, Steve Moreno asked his father to co-signsohe couldjointheNavy. Evenatthatyoungage, hefelt compelled to serve his country. His father complied,and Moreno served as a tail-gunner on a B-24 Liberatorbomber during the Korean War.

One night theywere droppingflares, and an enemyMiGjet fighterjumped Moreno's plane. Although bullets wereflying everywhere, Moreno successfullyfought off the MiGfighter with the twin .50-caliber machine guns in his tailturret, and the crew safely completed the mission. Thisheroic event earned him the Navy Air Medal.

Between 1960 and 1970, while serving in the Army,Moreno volunteered for three tours in Vietnam, earningthe Army Commendation Medal, the Army Air Medalwith "V" for valor, the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star.

During his first tour in Vietnam, Moreno received theArmy Air Medal for providing cover fire for a downedscout helicopter. In a UH-1B "Huey" helicopter, he andanother door gunner used their M-60 machine guns to fightoffViet Cong troops trying to reach the crashed OH-58.

Under attack for four hours, they retreated only to re-

Steve Moreno earned several medals for valor,Including the Bronze Star, fighting in two wars.

fuel, returning quickly to their downed comrades.Moreno and the Huey crew did everything they could,

but a friend ofMoreno's was aboard the fallen helicopterand didn't make it out. Moreno told me he had almostbeen on that OH-58. His friend had asked to switch jobsthat day, but for some reason Moreno didn't want to. Hesaid it just didn't "feel right," and promised his friend hewould switch with him another day.

As I watched the emotions from so long ago flit acrossMoreno's face, I asked him if he had shared this story be-fore. He said he rarely did because it always made himchoke up.

On his second tour in Vietnam, Moreno was with the 5thArmored Division as a tank commander. He smiled wrylyas he said he wanted "to work closer to the ground" thistime. He earned the Bronze Star when he volunteered toenter enemy territory near the Demilitarized Zone.

Moreno brought back the lifeless body of a friend who

was slumped over the gun turret ofa crippled M-48 tank.He drove the damaged tank through hostile fire to safety."Weleftnothingfortheenemytouse,"Morenosaid. "Thistime I was scared," he said. "I prayed the whole time."

Three days later, while on patrol sitting atop his tank,Moreno was thrown offbackward when his vehicle hit alandmine. Shrapnel puncturedhislungandhewashospi-talized for a week. Today, he has only one lung.

Rather than return to the U.S. as doctors suggested,Moreno asked to remain in Vietnam to finish his tour ofduty. "Still work to be done,"he said. The wound earnedhim the Purple Heart

Moreno volunteered for a third tour in Vietnam. Hesaid he felt his war experience could help others stay alive.Thus, he spent his third tour teaching survival techniques,and supervising green recruits on how to properly loadammunition onto their tanks.

When he wantedto return for afourth (!!) tour, theArmyrequired that his wife concur in writing. When she re-ceived the form from the Department of Army, she tookout her lipstick and wrote HELLNO on it.

Moreno also told me that ifhe weren't so old, he'd be inAfghanistan right now. He said he'd much rather go him-self than see one of his sons or grandsons go.

As I walked him to the elevator that tookhim back to hisjanitorial duties, I wondered how many other SteveMorenos are outthere? Perhaps they too have compellingstories and are just waiting for someone to ask them.

November is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving, butit is also the month of Veterans Day. It is a month to bethankful for many things, especially the sacrifices of ourveterans. Please don't miss an opportunity to say thankyou to a veteran.

(The views in this article are those ofthe author and donot reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers, the Department of the Army, theDepartment of Defense, or the U.S. government.)

4 ENGINEER UPDATE November2002

Sergeant major with unusual job ret to retireNovember2002 ENGINEER UPDATE 5

Article by Bernard TateHeadquarters

(Editor's note: Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Dils,command sergeant major of the U.S. Army Corps ofEn-gineers, is retiring after 32 years in the Army.

In the average Army command, the sergeant major isresponsible for the welfare, morale, and mission readi-ness of the enlisted soldiers. Dils did the same with theCorps, but we have relatively few enlisted soldiers. Sothe Chief ofEngineers gave Dils the additional missionof being the spokesman for the Corps' wage-grade work-ers.

Working directly with civilians, and taking responsi-bility for their welfare, is a unique job for a sergeant ma-

jor. Recently, Dils looked back on his time with the Corps,and his career in the Army.)

UPDATE: The instant that you walked in the door,you found out that you had a mission that perhaps nosergeant major has ever done before. The ChiefofEngi-neers wanted you to take care of the Corps' wage-gradeworkers. What did you think when you first heard that?

DILS: Well, the firstthing I did was learn a lot about it.I knew a little about the federal civil service system, butI had to quickly learn a lot more. It was a steep learningcurve, and Im still learning every day.

I've found, though, that all our employees (it doesn'tmatter if they're military or civilian) have the same basicdesire - to serve this nation and this organization well,and they certainly do that. They're concerned about train-ing issues, they're concerned about safety, and they wantto make a significant contribution.

They're especially concerned about the image this or-ganization has with the American public. By and large,everybody in the Corps works overtime to make surethat this organization, and their little piece ofit, presentsa positive image to the American public.

So while I had a learning curve to understand the fed-eral civil service system better, it's not much differentthan what I would do in a normal Army unit.

UPDATE: A lot of travel, though, right?DILS: Yes, it is. But I've had a unique opportunity to

see a broad spectrum of this organization. The Chief ofEngineer's focus on people, process, and communicationhits home to everybody in this organization. I think hewas extremely perceptive in doing that, and I've not foundanybody in my visits who has not totally embraced thatconcept.

UPDATE: How much travel have you done?DILS: I've been on the road 192 days out of the past

300. I've been in this organization longer than 300 days,of course. But out of the past 300 days, I've been on theroad for 192 of them.

UPDATE: Did you reach every place in the Corps ofEngineers that you wanted to?

DILS: No. This organization is 36,000 soldiers andcivilians in 1,200 places. According to the Ops guys, ifyou marked on a map every place where we have em-ployees, it's about 1,200. We do everything in this orga-nization from war-fight to manage fish.

I've made a dent in it, but I've got a long way to go.rve got a lot of traveling to do yet before I retire.

UPDATE: And now that you're close to the end ofyour unique mission, how do you feel about it?

DILS: There's a lot more to be done. The sergeantmajor coming after me is Command Sgt. Maj. MichaelM. Balch. He is coming to us from the Engineer Brigadeofthe First Infantry Division in Bamburg, Germany. He'sa superb sergeant major with a great Armny career. Verypeople-oriented, and m confident that the Chief of En-gineers will have him pick up where I left off.

UPDATE: What advice will you give to Sgt. Maj.

Balch?DILS: I'll tell him that this is a great organization that

does wonderful things, important things, for this coun-try. That he's got to be involved with the people as muchas possible. He's got to focus on people and communica-tion, not so much on process. And he's got to be anotherset of eyes and ears for the Chief.

I'll advise that he support all soldiers and civilians inthis organization, support the Army leadership, and helpwith the safety program in any way he can. And I'lladvise him to be a good spokesman to the Army for theCorps of Engineers.

UPDATE: So you believe that the sergeant major'smission of being the wage-grade spokesman will continueafter you and after this ChiefofEngineers?

DILS: Oh, absolutely. I think it's been a good thing forthis organization, and rm confident it will continue.

But I'd also like to point out that the Corps' sergeantmajor does many more things besides be the spokesmanfor wage-grade employees. The ChiefofEngineers gaveme a list of goals and objectives on Day One. It includedoperating an Audie Murphy Program for USACE; to visitall Corps divisions, districts, labs, and Reserve units; tovisit every Corps enlisted soldier, to get involved withthe Corps safety program and Safety Council; support theEngineer School and its command team; to be a seniormentor to all engineer NCOs; and to serve on the ArmyEngineer Association National Board of Directors, toname just a few.

I'm still working on it. This job is a lot more thanwage-grade employees.

UPDATE: You mentioned that there is still some morework that you want to do before you retire. What do youplan to do?

DILS: I want to continue, right up until the day beforeI retire, doing what ryve been doing. ll obviously haveto do a little administrative stuff that's necessary for meto transition from the Army to civilian life.

And by the way, I prefer the word "transition" to "re-tirement." "Retirement" sounds like "put on the shelf,"and that's not the case at all. In retirement I plan to stayvery close to the Army.

rye got a couple more overseas trips to do, and a couplemore districts to visit. m going to Korea and Germany,and to Wilmington and Detroit districts.

UPDATE: When is your actual transition day?DILS: I transition to civilian life on 1March 2003. Ill

do a little terminal leave just prior to my retirement date.

UPDATE: Now that you have had a chance to see awide cross-section of the Corps ofEngineers, how is thehealth and morale of the Corps'workers at this time?

DILS: Morale is absolutely superb. People are thecornerstone of this organization. They make this the greatorganization that it is. I sometimes wonder how we getsuch marvelous people in this organization. rm glad wedo; they are some very dedicated Americans.

And our civilian employees are just as much a part ofthe U.S. Army as a soldier wearing BDUs with a rifle inhis hand in Afghanistan. No difference. They are doingwhat the nation asks them to do, they are doing what theCorps of Engineers asks themto do, and they are doing itto a high standard every day.

And I see that everywhere I go. Park rangers, matsinking unit, civilians doing military and civilian con-struction, lockworkers, the Baltimore District peopleworking in the DC schools, and I could go on and on.Every place rye been, it's the same.

UPDATE: Based on your experience, what does theCorps ofEngineers need to do, or continue to do, to takecare of those people?

DILS: We've got to keep the focus on communicatingwith them. The leadership of the Corps of Engineersmust continue to champion their cause. We must keep

A lot of TDY in the field made a day in the office a rare treat for Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Dils. He issurrounded by a few mementos of his 32-year career. (Photo by Marti Hendrix, HECSA)

Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Dils, the Corps' commaergeant major, had the unusual mission of being thespokesman for the Corps' wage-grade workers. (PIly F.T. Eyre, HECSA)

our superiors informed about the needs of our employ-ees. We've got to continue to resource them in the properway. We've got insure that they work every day in a safeenvironment. And we need to reward them for the jobthey do.

UPDATE: What have you gained or learned whileyou've been with the Corps ?

DILS: The first thing that comes to mind is that Irvehad the opportunity, one-on-one and in small groups, tovisit our soldiers and civilians all over the world at theirmission site, facility, installation, wherever they're work-ing for the Corps of Engineers and the nation.

I've had the opportunity to spend a little time withthem, to hear their concerns, and to bring those concernsback to the Chief, back to Headquarters, and back to theArmy. I get a snapshot of hundreds and hundreds offacilities and installations inthis organization, and Ithinksomeone with that depth of knowledge from differentparts and places in this organization is very valuable.

I've got to be a good communicator to my boss to share

with him my experiences. It helps him make better deci-sions as the Chief of Engineers.

UPDATE: How long will you have in the Army whenyou retire? And what do you plan to do during retire-ment?

DILS: When I transition from the Army to civilianlife, I'll have 32 years, one month, four days.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do in retirement. Theonly thing I'm sure I'm going to do is spend more timewith my family, travel less, work on my "honey-do" list,and find a second career.. .in about that order.

I want to stay close to the Army as a civilian. I want tomake a contribution to the Army in some way. You don'thang up your love for doing things for an organization.I'llbe as big a cheerleader for the Corps of Engineers as Ican.

I've had a wonderful experience in the Army. It's nowonder that it's the best Army in the world, with thesoldiers and civilians that we have.

UPDATE: We know why you joined the Army-youwere drafted. But what led you to stay for 32 years?

DILS: I have only regret about the Army. In 20/20hindsight, I should have come straight out ofhigh schoolinto the Army, because I would have had an opportunityto serve a little longer.

I like people very much. I like a sense of mission, andof mission accomplishment. (And that's one reason wekeep such good people in this organization.) Ilike theprofession of being a soldier. I won't tell you I was thebest soldier in the world, starting out. But Iembraced theArmy ethic early-on.

I love being a soldier every day. And there's a point weoften miss, both in this organization and in the wholeArmy. When I say, "I'd like to come visit your soldiers,"some people answer, "Well, we only have four enlistedsoldiers." And I say, "Yeah? And?" And they don't getit.

A soldier is a four-star general, a soldier is the Chief ofStaffofthe Army, and a soldier is a sergeant laying cablein Afghanistan, and a soldier is a clerk filing papers in anoffice. Soldiers are privates to generals. We all need toremember that.

UPDATE: How has the Army changed since you weredrfted?

DILS: It's a lot better. This is the best Army in theworld, again, because of the people. The technology isimportant, but it's the soldiers and civilians who makethis the best Army in the world.

We have evolved for more than 200 years, but the val-ues and ethics of being a soldier are at the very heart ofsoldiering. And in this context, "soldiering" applies toDA civilians, too.

And I think that when people stop a minute to reflecton that, that's the real reason they stay in. They're notstaying for the benefits and pay. They're staying for thatsense of service, dedication, mission, mission accomplish-ment, and satisfaction.

UPDATE: How is the Army better today than whenwe came in?

DILS: Well, when you say "better," to some people itimplies there was something wrong before. There wasnothing wrong before.

We've transformed this Army to meet the mission overand over again for more than200years. We transformedto accomplish the mission duringthe Revolutionary War.We transformed to accomplish the mission during theCivil War. We transformed to accomplish the missionduring the Cold War.

It has been a constant evolutionary transformation tomeet the mission need, just like we're doing today withthe war on terrorism. So I would caveat "better" by say-ing we're gettingbetter at evolving and changing and be-ing flexible.

This is a great Army that is the tip of the spear for thegreatest nation in history. Lots and lots and lots ofdedi-cated people have served that cause for more than 200years.

I spend a lot of time with veterans and retirees, and canyou look into their eyes and say that the soldier oftodayis better than they were? No, you can't say that. They didwhat the nation asked them to do. They stepped up andperformed the mission, went to war for this country, andthousands of them gave their lives.

So I definitely caveat the term"better."

UPDATE: Looking back over the past 32 years, whatwas the bestjob and the best assignment you ever had?

DILS: Those jobs that brought me the closest to sol-diers and civilians in the Army.

In my previous job as Command Sergeant Major of theManeuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, whereI served with Lt. Gen. Flowers, I was close to thousandsofsoldiers and civilians every day, all day long, immersedin that, just like I am now.

ryve served as the first sergeant of three companies inthe Army, and that's all about people and communica-tions. The soldiers, officers, and noncommissioned of-ficers in my unit accomplished the mission, the process,and I kind of served as the catalyst for the people andcommunications. I thrived on that.

I served several times as battalion and brigade sergeantmajor, again immersed in the people and communica-tions business, and not so much in the mission and pro-cess business.

I served as an instructor at the Engineer SchooL Ilikedthat; I was on the platform every day interacting withsoldiers, officers, and noncommissioned officers. I lovedthat because I had the opportunity to impart alittle of myknowledge to them, to encourage them to grow.

Being close to the people, the soldiers and civilians,those are the bestjobs rve had in theArmy. Thecloser tothem the better.

UPDATE: Any final thoughts or comments?DILS: Thanks for the opportunity to serve, rm very

appreciative every day ofwhat everybody in this organi-zation does for the United States and for the Army. Theydo it extremely well, and I very much appreciate the op-portunitytoworkwiththem.

6 ENGINEER UPDATE November2002

9-11 vet is Civilian of YearArticle by Vince Elias

New York DistrictPhoto by F.T. Eyre

HECSA

Joseph Seebode ofNew York District received the pres-tigious USACE Civilian ofthe Year Award for outstand-ing service to the nation for his actions immediately fol-lowing the tragic events of Sept. 11 that destroyed theWorld Trade Center.

The award was recently presented by Lt. Gen. RobertFlowers, Chief of Engineers, to Seebode at a ceremonyin Orlando, Fla.

Seebode is an environmental engineer with more than21 years of experience with the U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers. He is the program manager directing the chal-lenging engineering and construction effort to deepen thePort of New York and New Jersey to 50 feet. He is alsomanaging the development and execution of a compre-hensive environmental restoration strategy for the NewYork/New Jersey Harbor Estuary.

Before this assignment, Seebode managed the Corps'Regulatory Program in New York District for 13 years.

On the morning ofSept. 11, Seebode was on his way toa meeting with the Port Authority ofNew York and New

Jersey in the World Trade Center. As he evacuated theunderground train station of the complex under a heavysmoke from the first attack, the second plane hit Tower 2.Seebode says he feels fortunate, since he was able to es-cape unscathed from the north side of the building com-plex, notwithstanding falling glass and debris.

Shortly after the full ramifications of the terrorist at-tack were known, Seebode was designated the officialCorps liaison to the City of New York, and was back inlower Manhattan working with city, state, and federalofficials on a number of efforts to expedite rescue andrecovery operations.

Working 15-20 hour days for weeks, Seebode coordi-nated with city and state officials where Corps expertisewas available to support rescue and recovery operations.This included topographic and bathymetric survey ac-tivities, water and fuel transport for fire trucks, debrisremoval, and dredging and dredged material disposal.

He managed the logistics and emergencypermits neededto allow expeditious dredging in the Hudson and Eastrivers to create the water depths necessary to accommo-date barges taking debris and structural steel from theWorld Trade Center site to the Staten Island Landfill andrecycling facilities.

Many of the Corps' efforts, and those of other agencies

Joseph Seebode of New York District is the CorpsCivilian of the Year.

involved in rescue and recovery operations, were de-scribed in a recent History Channel documentary aboutthe World Trade Center tragedy. Seebode is interviewedseveral times in the documentary.

U.S. military prison gets new facilitiesBy Thomas O'Hara

Kansas City District

'This day celebrates the transition fromold to new," said Col. Colleen McGuire,commandant ofthe U.S. Disciplinary Bar-racks (USDB) before the ceremonial rib-bon-cutting of the $67.5 million facilityat Fort Leavenworth, Kan. "This facilityincludes the most state-of-the-art equip-ment and systems available today. Cam-eras, sensors and alarms replace the walland towers. I'd like to thank Kansas CityDistrict of the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers for making this happen."

The USDB is the only maximum secu-rity prison in the Department of Defense.Its history dates back to May 1875, mak-ing it the oldest penal institution in con-tinuous operation in the military system.The USDB mission is to incarcerate U.S.military prisoners sentenced to long termsof confinement, and to conduct correc-tional and treatment programs to main-tain good order and discipline and reducerecidivism upon release.

Finishing this monumental project didnot come without hurdles, both naturaland manmade. "Ninety days per contractyear was built into this contract for ad-verse weather delays," said Dale Bestgen,project engineer of Kansas City District."In the first year of this project, the con-tractor experienced an additional 99 ad-verse weather days which we had to workaround."

In addition, the facility required an ex-tensive electronic control system that hadto be designed, built, and tested. The sys-tem, Division 17, is a series of program-mable logic controllers with 80,000-plusinput/output points to control remotelights, locks, and other controls from avariety of manufacturers. They all had tobe integrated to act as a single system.

"Getting all those systems integratedand functioning was challenging," saidBestgen. "It didn't happen overnight."

Gossen Livingston, of Wichita, Kan.

was the lead architectural design firm forthe 521-bed facility. The design is basedon modern prison standards modified tofit the unique military missions require-ments ofthe USDB. The integrated secu-rity system was designed by Rosser Jus-tice Systems, of Atlanta, Ga., a subcon-tractor to Gossen Livingston. '"They areprobably one of the premier designers ofcorrectional facilities," said Bestgen.

The district's success in building a de-sign project as complex as the USDB wasnot lost on the customer. "This has notbeen an easytask,"said Brig. Gen. StephenCurry, commandant of the Military Po-lice School at Fort Leavenworth duringthe ribbon-cutting ceremony. "It hasn'tbeen easy for the Corps to overcome ob-stacle after obstacle. At one point it was aday-by day, week-by-week event to man-age a schedule for this complex project.But they did it. A truly remarkable ac-complishment and one of significant im-portance."

The new facilities at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., replace a physical plant thatwas more than 100 years old. (U.S. Army Photo by Don Middleton)

Planning for the facility began as farback as 1990. It was authorized in 1994,and ground was broken for constructionin June, 1998.

"I'm sure every one of the four or five

former commandants here today, at somepoint sitting in the old venerable 100-plus-yearold facility, once or twice thought'Wouldn't it be nice...?" said Curry. "To-day they can say 'Isn't it nice?'

Budget executions top 95%By BernardTate SPD - $357 million (99 percent) and Development Center executed 90.3

Headquarters SWD - $467 million (111 percent) percent of its funding for FY02. Its totalOther - $177 million (113 percent) program size was about $664 million.

The U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers ex- "ERDC was recently selected as theecuted well over 95 percent of its total Military Programs Army's Large Research and Developmentbudget in fiscal year 2002 (FY02). Organization of the Year for 2002," said

The Directorate of Military Programs Rob Lambert, acting Executive DirectorCivil Works executed 97 percent of its budget in FY02. ofERDC. "Winning this top award indi-

In Army military construction cates the kind ofwork done by ERDC inThe Directorate of Civil Works ex- (MILCON), Military Programs executed executing its research, development, and

ecuted 102 percent of its budget in fiscal $145 million of the planned $153 million operational programs."year 2002 (FY02). The scheduled budget (95 percent); $116 million ofthe plannedwas $4.7 million, with $4.8 million used. $123 million for Air Force MILCON (94 Real EstateThe actual expenditures by division were: percent); and $75 percent of the planned

LRD - $820 million (104 percent) $69 million (109 percent) of the DoD/ The Directorate of Real Estate ex-MVD - $1,119 million (100 percent) Support for Others MILCON. ecuted about 98 percent oftheir workloadNAD - $569 million (97 million) and associated funding in FY02. TheirNWD - $606 million (101 percent) ERDC total program size is about $550 million.POD - $47 million (108 percent) Of this, about $120 million is labor andSAD - $727 million (102 percent) The U.S. Army Engineering Research administration.1 - -

November2002 ENGINEER UPDATE 7

Around the CorpsChanges in Engineer Update

The Engineer Update has reduced from 16 pages toeight pages as a cost saving measure. The eight-page hard-copy version will concentrate on Corps of Engineers news,policy changes, and programs and projects.

But the features articles that our readers enjoy will stillbe available in the on-line version at www.usace.army.mil.At the website, click on "News and Information," thenclick on "News Publications," and finally click on Engi-neer Update.

The on-line Engineer Update will carry all the newsand information of the hard-copy version, plus more fea-ture articles.

Cancer walkMembers ofNew England District raised money for a

good cause and honored the memory of a friend duringthe Walk to Cure Cancer on Sept. 2. The annual five-mile walk around Lake Quinsigamond in Shrewsbury,Mass., raises funds for equipment and researchers for thenew Massachusetts AFL-CIO Cancer Research Center.

Six employees, led by Bud Taylor, pounded the pave-ment in the rain as a team for a second year and raisedabout $3,000.

This year's Walk to Cure Cancer held special meaningto the team. They dedicated their efforts to BruceChapman, who worked in Regulatory Division and wasteamcaptainforthewalklastyear. Chapmandiedearlierthis year of cancer. "It was dedicated to Bruce, and italways will be from this district," said Taylor. "We won'tforget him. His fight didn't end when he stopped walkingwith us."'

Cost Engineer of the YearA civil engineering technician with Transatlantic Pro-

grams Center is the USACE 2002 Cost Engineer of theYear. James Maddenre-ceived this prestigiousaward on Sept. 26 for hiscontributions to the costengineering profession.Col. Merdith W.B.Temple, TAC Com-mander, presented theaward on behalf of Lt.Gen. Robert Flowers,USACE Commander.

The award is given toa cost engineer who isdedicated to improvingthe quality of cost engi-neering in the Corps. James Madden."It's an honor to be rec-ognized by my peers and selected by a committee of se-nior cost estimators and engineers," said Madden.

Arkansas River cruisePrivate citizens recently joined the Arkansas Hospital-

ity Association, and officials of the Arkansas Game andFish Commission and Little Rock District in the "Arkan-sas River Good News Cruise." The good news is that theMcClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is animportant economic asset and that local, state, and fed-eral agencies are working with private interests to increasethe river's benefits.

The 11-vessel flotilla stopped at 10 communities June11-15 to hold news conferences and, at some locations,evening social events. Ed Watford, Deputy District En-gineer for Project Management, told the gatherings aboutthe river's benefits, including navigation, hydropower,flood reduction, and recreation. But the main theme wasthe cooperation among federal, state, local and privatesectors that is improving aquatic habitat.

That event sparked coverage on ESPN, in newspaperarticles, and on live morning TV and local radio news.

Employment of the disabledThe Georgia Department of Labor/Division of Vo-

cational Rehabilitation (VR) Services honored Savan-nah District and two local businesses for hiring peoplewith disabilities.

The awards were presented at VR's first annual Em-ployer Awards Luncheon on Oct. 3. Savannah Districtwas cited as Large Employer of the Year.

The Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Sandfly, Ga., washonored in the mid-sized category, and Starbucks Cof-fee (locations in downtown and Montgomery Cross-roads, Ga.), was honored in the small category.

The Los Angeles County Drainage Area floodcontrol project won an award from the AmericanPublic Works Association.

LACDA wins awardThe Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA)

flood control project won one of the nation's most pres-tigious public works awards at a ceremony in KansasCity, Mo., on Sept. 23.

The American Public Works Association (APWA)cited the "extraordinary partnership" among the man-aging agencies, including Los Angeles District, as onereason for picking the project.

"Throughout the six years of LACDA construction,the channel maintained its flood control function," saidthe APWA. "During construction, vehicular, railroadand utility bridges remained operable as well." APWAalso praised LACDA for completion five years ahead ofschedule and $150 million under budget.

Navy kudosJohn Ham of Transatlantic Programs Center recently

received a Superior Civilian Service Award signed byVice Admiral T. J. Keating of the U.S. Naval ForcesCentral Command and 5th Fleet. Ham was cited for hisoutstanding achievements from March 1998 to August2002, while serving as chief of TAC's Bahrain ProgramsOffice.

The Bahrain office is building quality of life and ad-ministrative facilities for Navy personnel stationed atthe Naval Support Activity in Manama, Bahrain. TheNaval Support Activity provides logistics and adminis-trative support to the Navy's Fifth Fleet, headquarteredin the Arabian Gulf.

Ham's achievements included managing $65 millionof military construction funds for housing, medical, rec-reation, and office facilities. The Navy citation statedthat he was "directly responsible for the unprecedenteddevelopment of the Naval Support Activity Bahrain toaccommodate the ever-increasing military mission inthe Central Command area of responsibility and to op-timize the force protection posture of the installation."

The Navy also appreciated Ham's expert skills in en-gineering, which led to design modifications that en-hanced the quality of life for U.S. Navy personnel sta-tioned at the facility.

His "attention to detail, the respect of his staff, con-tractors, and peers resulted in a flawless safety record,as well as an outstanding quality product delivered onschedule and within budget," the citation read.

Ham is now assigned to TAC headquarters as a projectmanagement division chief.

S - _------

Native American students look over a model of alock and dam.

Learning platformfor Native Americans

St. Paul District employees helped teach students atthe Native American math and science camp at the Uni-versity of Minnesota's St. Anthony Falls laboratory July26 through Aug. 3. The laboratory's focus is engineer-ing, environmental, and geophysical fluid dynamics.

Yvonne Berner from Regulatory Branch, and MichelleSchneider from Hydrology, taught ninth- and 10th-gradestudents about the interrelationship between climate andhydrology and the importance of wetlands to the hydro-logic cycle.

The university has hosted the camp each summersince 1991. This year was the first that the NationalCenter for Earth Surface Dynamics (NCESD) and theSt. Anthony Falls laboratory have been involved. Thecamp expanded to include a second year for returningstudents. The first-year students brushed up on mathand science skills. Second-year students learned aboutwater resources.

St. Paul District had expressed a desire to be involvedwith the outreach aspects of the NCED, and this com-mitment became a reality with the assistance of instruc-tors for the camp.

Berner and Steve Lenhart, the lockmaster at UpperSt. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, arranged a tour of thelock and the interpretive center for the students and staff.After the lock tour, the group met on Nicollet Island.Matt Pearcy, district historian, and Brad Johnson, dis-trict archeologist, talked to the group about the historyof the St. Anthony Falls area and how it related to thestudents' Native American culture.

Engineer/ecologistsThe Professional Development Support Center

(PDSC) has launched the PROSPECT course "Ecologyfor Engineers." It was developed for engineers, physi-cal scientists, and other non-ecologists to foster ecologi-cal literacy. Students get an overview of current eco-logical paradigms, procedures, and vocabulary. Thecourse involves classroom lectures, discussions, com-puter exercises, and field trips to local restoration sites.

This course focuses on the Corps environmental man-date and provides a conceptual framework in ecologysimilar to the role that physics plays in engineering. Itis a turnabout on the classic "physics for poets" classoffered by many universities.

The next session is scheduled for Aug. 4-8, 2003 inSeattle, Wash. (Additional sessions will be offered ondemand.) A course description is included in the PDSCcourse catalog at http://pdsc.usace.army. mil/down-loads/purplebook2003.pdf

Although the course is targeted toward engineers andphysical scientists, social scientists, attorneys, econo-mists, and others with some background in mathemat-ics and a desire to understand the ecology behind theEnvironmental Operating Principles will also find thecourse useful.

Contact your training officer to register. For moreinformation, contact the course coordinator, Dr. BillBrostoff, (601-634-3435), or John Buckley, PDSC (256-895-7431).

8 ENGINEER UPDATE November2002

Hurricane LiliContinued from page onemembers from Walla Walla District'sTemporary Power PRT and the Army's249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power)converged in Memphis District's Readi-ness Branch toprepam forthe storm's land-fall. The Temporary Housing PRT fromSavannah District was also on alert for im-mediate deployment if needed.

Several Memphis District offices, in-cluding Human Resources, Security andLaw Enforcement, and Safety all workedtogether to efficiently process nearly adozen out-of-district employees as theyarrived in, or transited through, Memphis.

Working. Monitoring the increas-ingly severe weather reports, VicksburgDistrict directed the mat-sinking unit tomove from Kenner, La., to Aben, La.There, they placed mat for one day, thenproceeded to a protected area at WhiteCastle, La., towaitout the hurricane. This"floating hotel" figures prominently inresponse plans to a catastrophic New Or-leans hurricane to provide lodging forCorps people and other responders.

Back in Memphis again, the district'sInformation Management Office quicklyput together a computer network to aidresponse teams operating from there.Working until after 9 p.m. Oct. 1 and 3,Memphis District's Resource Manage-ment Office also processed more than $4million in emergency assistance funds forregional activation, water, ice, power, tem-porary housing, the Corps' DeployableTactical Operations System (DTOS), lo-gistics team, and for debris oversight.

A unique aspect of the New OrleansDistrict hurricane plan is their prior ar-rangement to execute missions on theirfinancial managementdatabase. This en-ables the district to complete fiscal mis-sion closeout after recovering from theeffects of a catastrophic storm.

From Vicksburg District again, a con-tracting specialist deployed to New Or-leans District headquarters, and logisticsspecialists traveled to Camp Beauregard.Two Vicksburg District Division Logis-tics PRT team members also deployedthere.

Prepare for worst. As the stormgrew closer, New Orleans District pre-pared for the worst. District CommanderCol. Peter Rowan closed the district of-fices and told everyone to take whateveractions were necessary to protect theirfamilies and property.

Fortunately, New Orleans dodged theworst. The storm made landfall in south-central Louisiana, and quickly fell from aCategory4to aCategory2hurricane. Still,there was significant damage in the areaand plenty for the Corps to do.

Soon after landfall on Oct. 3, and withonly minimal effect on New Orleans Dis-trict operations, Memphis District beganpreparing to transfer command ofthe hur-ricane response back to New Orleans Dis-trict. The mission officially passed fromMemphis District to New Orleans Dis-trict on Oct. 4.

That same day, New Orleans Districtreopened and jumped into action. Hurri-cane-driven waters had overtopped thelevees flanking Louisiana Highway 317in St. Mary Parish (county) west of Mor-

gan City, La. Parish officials requestedpermission to cut two levees so the trappedwater could escape. With help from NewOrleans District, a team from the parishmade the cuts near East Cote Blanche Bay.

Teams. Members of the Corps'emergency power PRT also set up shopon Oct. 4. Six two-soldier teams from the249 x' fanned out ofthe district's LafayetteArea Office to assess emergency powerneeds as requested by Louisiana throughFEMA.

Ice, water, emergency power, tempo-rary housing, and debris removal teamswent to work at New Orleans Districtheadquarters now as members of the dis-trict Emergency Response and RecoveryOffice, and immediately sent ice and wa-ter to Abbeville, La.

As expected, water removal proved tobe one of the greatest challenges to therecovery effort. New Orleans Districtsupplied 13 pumps to the Montegut areain Terrebonne Parish, and four pumps toPlaquemines Parish

Returning to normal. With thereopening of New Orleans District of-fices, their Castle Kids ChildDevelopmentCenter, and area offices in Lafayette andVenice, La., life was hectic but returningto normal for employees. The district'sfloating plant equipment and vessels, themat sinking unit and other craft, went backto work as well. Sounding boats beganpinging their sonars to locate shoalingcaused by the storm on navigable water-ways.

Damage assessment teams from NewOrleans' Construction Division went towork in many south-Louisiana parisheslooking at Corps operations and projects.FEMA and Louisiana officials are doingpreliminary damage assessments to coverdebris and all structures like roads, bridges,

Heavy rainsContinued from page onedamage, but possibly some public incon-venience. Moderate flooding, at 40 feet,begins to inundate secondary roads.Transfer to higher elevation is necessaryto save property. Some evacuation maybe required. Severe flooding occurs whenthe river peaked at 54.35 feet, the flood-of-record on April 22, 1997.

In comparison, the river crested thisyear at 38.54 feet early on July 14.

At the DeMers pump station construc-tion site in Grand Forks, NODAK Con-struction, Inc. built a temporary levee toprotect an excavation site, while ICS, Inc.built 10-foot ring dikes around two junc-tion manholes in East Grand Forks. ICSis the prime contractor for the East GrandForks project.

While the preparations temporarilydisrupted construction, the contractors onboth sides of the river continue to makegood progress, and both cities are pleasedwiththeresults.

Greg Boppre, city engineer for EastGrand Forks, said at a recent flood-fightmeeting, "Even though the project isn'tfinished yet, with the work that has beendone to date, we're in great shape to meetthis crest."

Louisiana National Guard soldiers load bottled water at the staging area inAbbeville, La., for areas affected by Hurricane Lili. (Photo courtesy ofMississippi Valley Division)

homes, utilities, and businesses. Employ-ees from the New Orleans Area Office arealso doing damage assessments in nineeastern Louisiana parishes, and theLafayette Area Office is doing the samework in 18 southwest Louisiana parishes.

Robert Peters, Mississippi ValleyDivision's Emergency Management chief,was pleased with the unified approach theCorps mounted in response to the hurri-cane.

Resources. "It's important to notethat disaster response is a division fight,but regional and national resources areused to supplement the effort of the sup-ported division and district," he said. '"Forexample, response to Hurricane Lili drewresources for provision of temporaryemergency power from Walla Walla Dis-trict, for emergency housing from Savan-nah District, and ice and water from Rock

Island and Vicksburg districts."Although preliminary damage esti-

mates from the storm range as high as $170million, the experience gained by the dis-tricts that make up MVD was priceless.Ifa real "big one" ever hits New Orleans,they will be better prepared to work to-gether efficiently to help the area"weather" the storm and get back on itsfeet quickly.

"It was amazing how our divisionpulled together as a team, attacked themission, and worked efficiently," said

for New Orleans District. "It was a totalteam effort and our division really cametogether. Hurricane Lili was another fineexample of the Corps of Engineers con-tinuing to provide vital services to ournation during an emergency. Our divi-sion will remain prepared for any futurenatural disasters."

Tricia Liggett, project engineer in the East Grand Forks Resident Office, andDave Zavoral, subcontractor superintendent on the East Grand Forks Leveephase 2 project, watch a bulldozer build a ring dike around an open stormsewer to prevent flooding. (Photo by Ryan Otto)