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  • March

    USACE Division Deputies visit Memphis for Summit, Engineer Yard tour

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Division Deputies recently met in Memphis, Tennessee, for a Deputies Summit and tour of the Memphis District area. "The USACE HQ Deputy Summit enables the MSC/Centers/Labs and 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) Deputies to share lessons learned, best practices and engage key HQs staff on Enterprise challenges, policies, and processes in order to Take Care of our People, Support National Readiness, Modernize, Strengthen Partnerships, and Revolutionize Delivery," Mississippi Valley Division Deputy Division Engineer Col. Jeremy Chapman said.
  • Project Makeover: Tractor Shop Breakroom

    The Memphis District's skilled tradesmen are at it again, demoing and remodeling one building at a time until they've covered every structure in need of a makeover at Ensley Engineer Yard. Recently, a team of mechanics, electricians, carpenters, pipefitters, HVAC technicians, and revetment workers all got together to completely renovate the Tractor Shop’s breakroom, literally from the ground up.
  • Employee Spotlight: Carla Wells

    In any business, it’s the people that make it work. Without them, organizations ultimately fail. That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District values each and every one of its employees so much. To show how much we do, we highlight one employee every month by asking a few questions about the position they’re in and how they got to where they are today. This month, we are highlighting Carla Wells. She is a government purchase card business manager for the Contracting/Oversight Branch.
  • Associated General Contractors of America Event a success

    The Mississippi Valley Associated General Contractors of America (MVAGC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) met for an event known as the Mississippi Valley Construction Roundtable, which was held in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, this year on Feb. 18 and 19. “The meeting between the Mississippi Valley Branch of the AGC and Mississippi Valley Division of the Corps of Engineers offers an opportunity for staff from the division headquarters and six districts to interact with our contracting partners who help us deliver our program,” Construction Branch Chief Jim Wolff said. “Through two key meetings (the Dredging Issues Roundtable and the Construction Specifications Session Roundtable), open communication, and frank discussion, we identify issues or problems related to dredging, construction, and contracting. These meetings offer member contractors an open forum to develop potential solutions to solve issues or problems.”
  • December

    Hurley docked after another successful dredging season

    After almost eight months of dredging the Mississippi River, the Dredge Hurley and crew are now home where the Hurley is docked at Ensley Engineer Yard for some much-needed repairs and maintenance.
  • Projects Completed: Pumping plant engine repairs

    Engines at Memphis District’s Huxtable and Graham Burke Pumping Plants needed extensive repairs to return the plants to full operation. Two service contracts were awarded and the Project Delivery Team, along with its local partners, has successfully reached project completion on both. Congratulations Team.
  • November

    Giving back where it matters most

    According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the percentage of Americans without work skyrocketed from a little over 4 percent to a full-blown 14 percent between March and April this year. While that number has dwindled down in percentage points from month to month, it's still nowhere near where we were before our country was hit with COVID-19 and consequently suffered a significant collapse in the job market. This is part of what motivated U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District's Brian Schneider. Schneider is the district's Outreach Coordinator and has been with the Memphis District for just over a year. As his title suggests, he's passionate about reaching out, and that's just what he did when this opportunity presented itself.
  • September

    Blue Roof recipients witness USACE innovation

    Innovating and improving processes are what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do, especially when it comes to hurricane recovery operations. So when it came time to respond to a Hurricane like Laura, the Corps came ready to deliver temporary roofing with an upgraded Blue Roof Program.
  • July

    Bank Grading Unit paves way for commerce, safety

    Memphis District Commander Col. Zachary Miller recently visited Island 68, a project site in Arkansas, where he met with the district’s hardworking Bank Grading Unit and reviewed progress made at the site thus far. According to Project Manager and River/Civil Engineer Cole Stonebrook, we have done work here before as this area is particularly erosive and scours easily in moving water. “The soils in the area are very unstable and highly erosive,” he said. “We are addressing a large bank failure by grading irregularities in the bank alignment to a smooth straight alignment. The Grading Unit is grading the banks to a one on four slope,  which requires moving 220,000 cubic yards of material.”
  • June

    Slide repairs contracted in four states

    The Memphis District's Caruthersville Area Office team successfully held a virtual preconstruction conference to discuss contracts awarded for future levee slide repairs in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee.  “The contracts furnish all plant, labor, equipment, and any incidental-related work according to the plans and specifications for repairing 18 slides under Work Area Three and 14 slides under Work Area Four for a total of 32 slides,” Lead Civil Engineer Jack Ratliff said.
  • Memphis District Commander tours several project sites

    Memphis District Commander Col. Zachary Miller had a busy day June 17 kicking off a summer full of visiting several of the district's project sites in our area of responsibility. Encompassing almost 25,000 square miles, the Memphis District is responsible for federal civil works projects in portions of six states - Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
  • Memphis Revetment Season in full swing

    The Memphis District Revetment season officially began this year on June 11, with District Commander Col. Zachary Miller hosting a kickoff meeting at the Ensley Engineer Yard to get things started. “Protecting the Mississippi River banks keeps the channel in place, which maintains the necessary depth and alignment that allows the thousands of tows to travel up and down the river year round,” the commander said. “Without this work, the river would shift resulting in new, shallow cutoffs that could not be safely traveled.”
  • Following in dad's footsteps: A tour of MVM

    Cpt. Alex Burruss was supposed to move to Ft. Hood, Texas, but due to the Coronavirus situation, Army priorities quickly shifted and the captain found himself moving to Tennessee instead. “I was excited, but also a little frustrated,” he explained. “However, I saw Lt. Gen. Semonite discussing the Alternate Care Site mission on the news and knew that we were -are- living in a unique time in history and that it would take a national-level effort to beat COVID-19.”
  • May

    Future leaders during COVID-19

    The Memphis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is known for executing many different tasks, projects and missions all at the same time. Even when COVID-19 presented itself, this district didn’t stop doing everything it’s normally charged to do. Like many other organizations around the world, the Coronavirus altered how some projects were carried out within the district; this included how the Leadership Development Program (LDP) continued on as well.
  • A look back: Marshall’s 40 years of service

    “First and foremost, what inspired me was the veterans,” Marshall said. “While serving as a purchasing agent in the Prosthetics Department of the VA, I enjoyed helping the veterans get the products, medicines, home alterations, and equipment they needed. Providing equipment for the blind and handicapped, and seeing their appreciation for the small things filled my heart with joy.  I enjoyed having input in the selection of the equipment provided, and enjoyed informing them of products or services they were unaware that they may have qualified for.”  Contract Specialist Valerie Marshall recently celebrated 40 years of federal service, so we decided to step back and take a look at how she spent those years, as we are very grateful for her service to the Memphis District as well as to this nation.
  • Fisk Scour Repair Project is Ready-to-Advertise

    Reaching a project milestone is the result of successive interim achievements along the way. Successive interim achievements have propelled the Fisk Scour Repair Project Delivery Team (PDT) to successfully reach its important Ready-to-Advertise milestone on May 15.
  • New Supplemental Program Manager, Programs Management Branch

    Simmerman began his career as a Civil Engineer in the Survey Section, where he completed a year and a half “intern” rotational assignment rotating through various Memphis District Offices. Andy has also worked on the Mississippi River Channel Improvement Project and has served over four years as a Project Manager working on projects in Eastern Arkansas, mainly the Grand Prairie Project and White River Comprehensive Study, as well as the St. Johns New Madrid Project.
  • Metal Shop makings...

    Navigation is one of our oldest missions. We’re mandated by Congress to keep the Mississippi River open for commercial navigation by maintaining a 9-foot-deep and 300-foot-wide channel, and we do that by dredging on an annual basis. So, as one might imagine, our dustpan dredge, the Hurley, gets used quite a bit keeping the Mississippi open, so our talented team at Ensley Engineer Yard have their work cut out for them keeping her running year after year. This brings us to the project Machinist Brandon Almeida is working on – it’s something the Dredge Hurley uses called “propeller rope guards.” He’s also making the mount needed to make the rope guards on – talk about complex work.
  • Memphis Builders: Behind the Mask III

    This next builder of the care facility really stood out to me – and it wasn’t the side by side braids either. It was her presence. Have you ever just met someone who gives off a certain type of aura or energy that makes you feel a little more calm or at ease? This person had it. Here from St. Joseph, Missouri, her name is Jonna Henry, and she works for a subcontractor in Safety. I guess her occupation explains that aura I felt earlier.
  • Memphis Builders: Behind the Mask II

    Building this FEMA-assigned Alternate Care Facility requires a great variety of skill sets; that’s quite obvious to most people. What isn’t so obvious is just how many of one skill set a person can find in a matter of two days and two floors worth of construction workers. After meeting Anthony Bell on Tuesday this week, the Low Voltage Technician from Memphis, I thought that was a pretty unique job title to be honest. I’d actually never heard of it before. Let me introduce you to two more low voltage technicians, Hunter Dunkin, who I found working on the second floor, and Nick Marcy, who I saw on a ladder gathering cable on the fourth floor.