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  • April

    A Captain's role in an ACF build-out

    Editors Note: April 6, 2020 was the day the Memphis District awarded the contract to build an Alternate Care Facility (ACF) in Memphis, Tennessee. The article below was written by Cpt. Alex Burruss, who at that time deployed to the Memphis District to work as an Operations Officer and assist with ACF projects and operations. This is his account of what happened during his few months working here. At the onset of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers. USACE collaborated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for the rapid expansion of COVID-19 treatment spaces. USACE assigned each of its districts an area of responsibility, and the districts integrated into the local and state response agencies within their areas of responsibility. As local civil authorities conducted analysis and projected bed space requirements, USACE developed facility modification options for accommodating additional beds. Districts completed site assessments and provided project management support for converting existing buildings into alternate care facilities (ACFs).  In April 2020, three weeks after the President declared a national emergency, the U.S. Army Engineer School (USAES), Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, deployed more than 30 Soldiers in support of the USACE response effort; Cpt. Alex W. Burruss was deployed to the Memphis District, USACE Mississippi Valley Division, Tennessee, for more than 60 days.
  • Power of the pump, no telework

    While many people are at home working in front of a computer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have people out in the field operating equipment and facilities that, at this point in time, cannot be controlled from a workstation at home. The Graham Burke Pumping Plant is one of those “pieces” of equipment that requires people to be on-site for safe operation. Pumping Plant Operator Leaderman William “Billy” Ray and Pumping Plant Operator John “Brady” Foran are two of those valuable employees who are called upon to run one of the Corps’ most valuable facilities.
  • Corps, multiple teams ready to construct Memphis ACF

    As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District continues to work in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - and in coordination with other federal, state, local, tribal partners, and our prime contractor AECOM – to build Memphis' Alternate Care Facility and to synchronize the interagency response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, multiple teams came together yesterday to meet and prepare for a very busy month ahead.