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  • June

    Nautical tackle from the CSS Georgia. Tackle was used to move objects topside on the ship. A closer look reveals tracks left by teredo worms, which are organisms that consume wood in watery environments. Damage from teredo worms can be seen on the right side of the artifact.

    Divers continue to unveil ‘little shards of life’ from CSS Georgia

    SAVANNAH, Ga. - Last week marine archaeologists diving on the CSS Georgia entered their fifth and final month of the small artifact recovery phase. And though the number of artifacts they have been discovering has slowed to a trickle, the nuance each new item adds to the growing narrative cannot be understated.
  • Col. Marvin L. Griffin assumes command of the Savannah District at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Savannah, Georgia June 19. Griffin arrives at the district following a Senior Service College Fellowship with the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellowship Program. Griffin’s previous assignments include deployments to Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom and to Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo. Griffin is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1994.

    New commander arrives on rising tide at Savannah District

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Assuming command amid the burgeoning Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, Col. Marvin L. Griffin became the 40th commander of the Savannah District at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, June 19. It was a fitting tribute as the ceremony was held just blocks away from CSS Georgia recovery efforts currently underway near Old Fort Jackson.
  • Parker Brooks, a conservator and graduate student from Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory, demonstrates the function of an elevator screw prior to a free lecture on the CSS Georgia at the Savannah History Museum, June 2.

    As archaeologists recover artifacts, more questions rise to the surface

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — She has been stripped by salvage rigs, battered by dredges and had her hull shredded by teredo worms, yet the tattered remnants of the CSS Georgia that were all but forgotten until the 1960s continue to intrigue archaeologists and the community here.
  • Gordon Simmons (right), chief of engineering, USACE Savannah District, currently deployed to Afghanistan, receives the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal from Col. Pete Helmlinger, commander, USACE Transatlantic- Afghanistan District, Monday at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

    USACE Savannah District employee receives top honor

    BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN – Gordon Simmons, currently deployed to Afghanistan with USACE-Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA), has been awarded one of the highest honors bestowed within the Corps of Engineers. Simmons, chief of engineering, was presented with the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal Monday.
  • Angel Rivera, a Corps realty assistant, was one of two specialists from the South Atlantic Division’s Contingency Real Estate Support Team, or CREST, sent to hammer out leases and land-use agreements for Operation United Assistance, a humanitarian assistance mission aimed to combat the Ebola epidemic killing thousands of Liberians and paralyzing response efforts of the nation.

    A new lease on life: Realty assistant aids Ebola response efforts in Liberia

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – No stranger to warfare in the jungles of Vietnam and the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, Angel Rivera set out on a familiar task in an unfamiliar territory that bred an enemy just as malignant as those he encountered as a career Soldier.

  • May

    Distinguished communicator tops Georgia’s largest Toastmasters community

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Much like a sport, mastering communication techniques takes skillful execution predicated on the investment of time, practice and experience.

  • Corps revamps 'Wear It to Win It' water safety campaign

    SAVANNAH, Ga. -- This summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District is giving the public another reason to be safe while enjoying the great outdoors.
  • Dependents of district employees receive certificates and gather for the Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day held May 1. Facilitators guided participants through age-appropriate breakout sessions as students discovered the district’s expansive footprint on public works projects throughout the Southeast. Participants also tapped into large-scale efforts such as the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, dam operations, wetlands restoration projects and other salient initiatives during the four-hour event.

    Corps opens doors, minds for career day event

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – District offices became a proxy classroom for more than 40 dependents of employees who explored Corps projects and careers during the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day held May 1.

  • April

    Jim Jobling, a project manager with Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory, positions two separate eyes for tackle from a pivot gun carriage. At left, a brass eye compared to an iron version of the same.

    New artifacts reveal more about Civil War life

    SAVANNAH, Ga. -- As archaeologists recover more CSS Georgia artifacts from the murky waters of the Savannah River, the day-to-day hardships of serving as a Confederate sailor are becoming clearer.
  • The 542nd Forward Engineering Support Team - Advanced gathers for a group photo at a camp in Iraq. The team is completing a six-month deployment supporting the Combined Joint Task Force with a wide array of engineering missions across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

    Savannah’s FEST-A delivers unmatched engineering support traversing Middle East

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Four months after launching into a six-month deployment to Kuwait, Savannah’s Forward Engineering Support Team – Advance (FEST-A) convened recently to discuss engineering solutions supplied to the region and assignments on the horizon.

  • Reservoirs maxed out: Flood storage captures excess rainfall

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The rain event that occurred Sunday, April 19, caused both Hartwell and Thurmond to exceed the limits of conservation storage (almost simultaneously) as water levels rose into flood storage territory. As of this writing, Hartwell’s elevation has climbed more than six inches above the conservation threshold (660.51 feet above mean sea level) and Thurmond follows close behind.
  • Canton Gardenhire assists Starbase student Tyrese research robots online at DeRenne Middle School in Savannah April 1. Gardenhire devotes two Wednesdays each month collaborating with students on projects covering physics, chemistry sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics operations and applications and STEM careers. The Starbase program is a Department of Defense educational initiative designed to expose at-risk youth to the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines, both on and off military installations.

    Corps IR member no stranger to district, community programs

    NNAH, Ga. – District employees may notice him parading the lobby in festive Halloween wear or encouraging participation in the latest American Society of Military Comptrollers offering. However, they may be unaware that off-duty, Canton Gardenhire possesses a similar finesse for volunteer service.

  • Spawning season a delicate balance

    SAVANNAH, Ga. -- An unfertilized fish egg sitting in a nest at Lake Hartwell was having trouble remembering what he was doing there … then it spawned on him. Although today is April Fools’ Day, this time of year is no laughing matter for largemouth bass that live in sub-basins along the Savannah River. Each spring, male fish build nests in shallow water by swinging their tails back and forth to create saucer-like depressions on the bottom, according to James Sykes, a fisheries biologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District.

  • March

    Stroke victim’s recovery facilitated by Savannah’s FRN coordinator

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A rising left arm gently roused Valencia Wynn out of her sleep at nearly 30,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Traveling on a transcontinental flight destined for Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Wynn peered through heavy eyelids to witness her arm elevate. Her fingers fluttered delicately as if playing on a floating piano, she said.

  • Beneath the barnacles: Archaeologists battle elements to uncover ironclad history

    SAVANNAH, Ga. — Each day as tourists saunter through the city’s famous squares, another group of visitors explores a different set of squares at the bottom of the Savannah River.
  • Sarah Wise, Corps regulatory specialist, accepts the district’s award of appreciation from Megagenesis director, Dr. Zke Zimmerman, presented to recognize the district’s consistent support at the annual event. Corps volunteers spent the day speaking with Savannah area students about internships and careers with the Corps at the event held Feb. 28 at Sol C. Johnson High School in Savannah. The event aims to promote a college-going culture by providing college and career information to students and parents, according to the website

    Outreach a ‘Wise’ pursuit to securing Corps’ future

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Millions of students are plagued by the age-old question, “What do I want to do for a living?” but the Corps helps to rectify this enigma by offering industry exposure to students at statewide outreach events.

  • February

    Regulatory Division members demonstrate their flood plains model at Jenkins High School for National Engineer Week Feb. 25. The district partners with the school’s engineering academy to foster interest in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields, also called STEM. This year, students encountered Corps employees holding degrees in a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines. The sample of professions represented a microcosm of the entire workforce whose individual efforts contribute to the Corps’ overall mission (USACE photo by Chelsea Smith).

    Corps invests in next generation of STEM leaders

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Canvassing for the nation’s future engineering talent starts through community outreach programs, and the district seized the opportunity to showcase a variety of Corps missions to approximately 160 engineering students at Jenkins High School in Savannah.

  • On groundhogs and water levels: What will reservoirs look like on Memorial Day?

    SAVANNAH, Ga. -- February has arrived and Groundhog Day has come-and-gone. So this makes me a little late in giving my annual prediction on how the three Corps of Engineers’ Savannah River reservoirs will begin the 2015 tourist season.

  • January

    Recovery of CSS Georgia remains in progress after 150 years in Savannah River

    Recovering the CSS Georgia ironclad scuttled on the Savannah River floor marks the beginning of the construction phase of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.

  • SHEP and the Savannah River – a Wrap-up

    Environmental stewardship remains a top focus of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. Deepening the Savannah harbor will impact the ecosystem of the estuary and conditions in the river all the way to the base of the Thurmond Dam north of Augusta, Georgia.