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  • December

    A USACE Contractor working a debris removal mission in Southwest Georgia, shown wearing safety protective chaps, following a near-miss accident with a chainsaw. Wearing chaps protected the contractor from a potentially severe leg injury.

    Contractor’s near-miss accident highlights the importance of safety gear

    A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ subcontractor working at a debris removal site in Calhoun County, Georgia, recently learned a valuable lesson about the importance of wearing the proper safety gear.
  • USACE, Savannah District Commander Col. David Hibner shown in front of survey vessel MAZE with the family of Anthony “Tony” Maze following the Vessel Dedication Ceremony, Dec. 7. In attendance for the ceremony were Maze’s wife Gayle, his daughters, grandchildren, and other members of his family. Also in attendance were many friends, USACE Savannah District employees, as well as USACE retirees.

    Vessel named in honor of former Corps boat captain Anthony Maze

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District dedicated its new hydrographic survey vessel, MAZE, on December 7, during a ceremony on the Savannah River. The vessel will be used to lead dredging operations and navigation, primarily in Savannah and Brunswick harbors and along the coast of Georgia, helping to ensure national security and international commerce for the nation. The vessel will also increase fleet flexibility, reliability and mission readiness including post –storm harbor assessments.

  • October

    This photo shows repair work that is part of the recovery effort after damages caused by Hurricane Florence Sept. 14 and 15, 2018, and is led by the Savannah District in cooperation with the 27th Combat Engineer Battalion (a) out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

    Airborne dozers put the jab in Engineers’ MOTSU knockout

    It’s new. Not the concept of dropping bulldozers from the sky. The Army has been doing that for

  • September

    Constructions efforts advance on Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, N.C. after destructive winds and flooding from Hurricane Florence.

    Engineer Task Force revolutionizes disaster response with MOTSU recovery

    Truckers hauled the first 2,000 tons of fill material into the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point,
  • The Corps' battle-tested mission command brings to bear the full spectrum of contingency response under authorities given directly to USACE by Congress and as part of the federal response led by FEMA.

    Airborne engineers work with Corps to put ‘blades in dirt’

    In less than two days the Corps of Engineers amassed an army of experts from five districts and one
  • Jason Whittaker, Savannah District structural engineer and Wayne Boeck, Omaha District structural engineer, perform a visual inspection of a wharf on the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, (MOTSU) North Carolina, in support of the installation after landfall of Tropical Cyclone Florence. U.S. Army photo by Russell Wicke

    Savannah Corps of Engineers leads Florence recovery on MOTSU

    The Savannah District was assigned the lead district in assessing and supporting recovery operations

  • August

    Aaron Wahus set out to be a forester but along the way found his niche as a park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During his 25-year career he moved from trainee to the top boss at the Hartwell Dam and Lake Project overseeing other rangers, a hydropower dam and one of the most visited reservoirs in the Corps of Engineers. He still manages to get out of the office and talk with campers, anglers and boaters to ensure a reservoir that meets the recreation needs of millions of annual visitors. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Billy Birdwell)

    Aaron Wahus – Ranger to project manager

    He only wanted to take a semester off from college to clear his head and set some goals. He just wanted a job where he could work outdoors, commune with nature and talk to people. That semester and that job set him on a career path to the top job at Hartwell Dam and Lake that still keeps him connected to the outdoors.
  • The Koritz family shown in front of the memorial wall at the new Thomas Koritz Clinic, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversaw the construction of the $55 million facility which was named in honor of Air Force Maj. Thomas F. “Teek” Koritz, a flight surgeon and pilot killed in a bombing mission during the Gulf War. (Courtesy photo)

    USACE Project Engineer helps to keep fallen Air Force pilot’s memory alive

    USACE employee Terry Brooks never imagined that he would ever have the opportunity to impact the lives of the family of a fallen service member, but one of his recent projects at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, provided him a chance to do just that.
  • An aerial overview of the Building 125 complex. At 14.7 acres, it's the largest hangar facility in the country. It houses C-5 Galaxy, C-130s and F-15 aircraft.

    Corps overhauls Air Force's "largest" C-5 aircraft facility

    Building 125, one of Robins Air Force Base’s most historic buildings, is currently undergoing a

  • June

    Jeffrey Stein, an architect with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District received the 2018 “James Connolly Award” during the Society of American Military Engineers Savannah Post’s Annual Program Review at the Savannah Riverfront Marriot, June 27. The Connolly Award is presented each year to a civilian or military engineer within the Savannah community for notable contributions in the field of engineering, particularly in design and construction methods. The award is named in honor of James B. Connolly (1868-1957), who was an Olympic gold medalist, Spanish-American War veteran, distinguished author, and a former Corps' Savannah District employee. Williams is the eighth recipient of the Connolly Award since it was first presented in 2004. The award was presented by the Savannah Community of Engineer organizations, which includes the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Savannah Post and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Savannah Branch. Stein was recognized for his outstanding accomplishments in the Corps' Savannah District where he serves as the Chief of Center of Standardization, responsible for planning, directing, coordination, and execution of various standardized Army facility designs that are used worldwide.

    Army civilian architect earns prestigious Savannah award

    Connolly Award” during the Society of American Military Engineers Savannah Post’s Annual Program Review at the Savannah Riverfront Marriot, June 27.
  • Burton “Burt” Moore, right, with the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, discusses beach renourishment on Tybee Island, Georgia, with Joe Wilson, that town’s director of public works. Moore oversees beach renourishments as part of his duties as the dredging manager for the Savannah District. In the spring of 2018, the Savannah District undertook the task of renourishing parts of Tybee’s beach eroded by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The $4.3 million contract took approximately 250,000 cubic yards of pristine beach sand from a “borrow site” about a mile offshore and placed in onto specified areas of the beach. Beach renourishment helps protect the city from future storms. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Billy Birdwell.)

    Childhood beach kid becomes adult beach builder

    He grew up running along the beach at Tybee Island, Georgia. Recently, he ran a program to rebuild the beach there. Burton “Burt” Moore spent untold hours exploring the beach and backwaters of Tybee Island, a barrier island where the Savannah River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Energetic kids still spend off-hours enjoying the sun, sand and surf there.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District team members welcome new Commander Col. Daniel Hibner and his family to the district following a Change of Command Ceremony, June 8.

    Corps’ Savannah District welcomes new commander

    During a ceremony overlooking the Savannah Harbor in historic downtown, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District welcomed a new commander, Col. Daniel Hibner, and said farewell to outgoing commander Col. Marvin Griffin, June 8.

  • April

    Spencer Davis, senior project manager for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, talks with Engineer Battalion soldiers from Fort Stewart as part of a career progression program at the Dissolved Oxygen Injection System downriver site, Jan. 17. The DO system is one of eight environmental mitigation features of the SHEP.

    A balanced approach to success

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – With his perma-grin and easy going attitude, you’d never guess Spencer Davis carries the weight of a $973 million megaproject on his mind.

  • March

    Contractors outside the Incident Support Base (ISB) at Ft. Buchanan receiving the morning assignments on 13 March 2018.

    Savannah Temporary Emergency Power Team deploys to Puerto Rico

    27 personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District augmented by three personnel from other Corps districts arrived in Puerto Rico March 6 to begin a 45-day Standard Temporary Emergency Power Mission rotation. This unprecedented mission is as demanding today as it was in October 2017 during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, as many Puerto Ricans remain without a steady power source.

  • February

    Mississippi native and Auburn University Alumni Laura "Beth" Williams is one of the faces working behind the scenes on the Corps' $973 million Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.

    Corps employee’s Mississippi roots inspires engineering career

    Growing up in Mississippi, Laura “Beth” Williams had heard of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and saw their work on the Mississippi River. “I loved looking at aerial photos and old maps that showed how the massive river had meandered all over the delta, leaving its tracks behind,” said Williams, (BS 1998 and MS 2000 Auburn University).
  • The New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam (NSBL&D) is owned and minamally maintained by the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is located outside Augusta, Georgia, on the Savannah River between Georgia and South Carolina. The NSBL&D was originally opened in the late 1930s to aid in river navigation between Augusta and the deep water ocean port in Savannah. Commercial operations on the Savannah River essentially ended in 1979. The NSBL&D later entered caretaker status. Today it impedes the migration of certain endangered fish to traditional spawning grounds upstream. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Billy Birdwell)

    Column: The fate of the lock and dam in Augusta, but first a little history

    The fate of the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam has become a topic widely discussed in the past year. The issues surrounding the lock and dam are complex and deeply rooted in the past.
  • ACE-IT Chief Herman Kramer (left) and Savannah District Commander Col. Marvin Griffin (right) cut ribbon celebrating the completion of a new Information Technology Helpdesk Jan. 31.

    New Savannah District helpdesk unveiled

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, unveiled its new Information Technology (IT) Helpdesk during a ribbon cutting ceremony Jan. 31. The newly renovated space provides a more functional and efficient area devoted to assisting employees with their technology needs.

  • January

    Josh O’Neal, resident forester at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Forestry Resources Office, Fort Stewart, Georgia, inspects bales of pine straw before they are hauled off the installation.

    Bustling Corps Forestry Program supports habitat, enhances military training

    There’s a saying that money doesn’t grow on trees, but foresters at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Forestry Resources Office at Fort Stewart, Georgia, may beg to differ. They generate thousands of dollars every year from something that grows on trees - pine cones.
  • The microgrid temporary power system continues to supply critical power in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, until the town’s main grid is back online. “A microgrid can take many forms,” said USACE Task Force Power Restoration Operations Officer Capt. Aaron Anderson. “We are taking one or more 1,850 kilowatt generators, the huge ones you find powering hospitals and big box stores, and with the use of transformers, set up at a site. We then hook directly into the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority infrastructure through a substation or directly into the main grid, and push power to a variety of facilities that are on the line that haven’t been damaged and can accept it.”

    Microgrid technology brings vital electricity to Puerto Rico’s hardest hit towns

    In a continuing mission to restore critical electrical power to the people of Puerto Rico, Task Force Power Restoration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is using microgrid technology to temporarily power areas that have been hardest hit by Hurricane Maria.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations Maj. Gen. Donald E. "Ed" Jackson speaks to power restoration leaders Thomas Holden, Jr., USACE Grid Power Program director, Carlos Torres, Puerto Rico Power Restoration coordinator, Dr. Ahsha Tribble, FEMA Power Sector chief, Col. John Lloyd, Task Force Power Restoration Commander, and Justo Gonzalez, PREPA interim director, at the daily stakeholder coordination meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jan. 4.

    USACE deputy visits Task Force Power in Puerto Rico

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations Maj. Gen. Donald E. "Ed" Jackson visited Task Force Power Restoration at the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Jan. 4 to get an update on the mission and to meet team members.