23 Nov 2020

Mississippi Valley Division’s R5: Forging ahead for FY21

The week of Oct. 19 – 23 was bustling at Vicksburg District headquarters as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) and District leaders convened for the annual major subordinate command (MSC) Regional Governance Boards known as R5. If you aren’t familiar with the R5, the purpose of the meeting is a financial, program, and project review of the previous fiscal year (FY) and an assessment of the upcoming three FYs with a focus on the direction of the organization through the development of Lines of Effort (LoE).

6 Aug 2020

A look back: Hamilton’s 35 years of service

Hamilton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, and later adopted by his parents at the young age of six months. "I grew up here in Wynne, where the (USACE) Area Office is located (and now where he works)," he said. "And I graduated from Arkansas State University in 1982."

9 Jun 2020

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.”

28 May 2020

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.

28 May 2020

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.

20 May 2020

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.

15 May 2020

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.

10 May 2020

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.

1 May 2020

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.

29 Apr 2020

Memphis Builders: Behind the mask

Walking around the Alternate Care Facility construction site, people are usually focused on what workers are doing, not so much the people themselves. And if you’re like me, you’re also very focused on the ground as you don’t want to trip and fall over something as simple as a little cord. But, it’s important to get to know the people doing the work. They are the ones making this facility a reality after all. They are also the people sacrificing time with their families, working 12 hours a day and seven days a week.

28 Apr 2020

Thank you: Building a facility of hope

The team of people building a facility made to care for people who contract the COVID-19 virus are working around the clock to make sure that if our local hospitals can't handle the caseload at that time, no one gets turned away. We want to thank all of our workers out there making this alternate care center ha reality. No matter what part of the team a worker is on, each is important and contributes an invaluable knowledge and skill to this facility of hope and care.

21 Apr 2020

Corps electric engineer ‘makes’ much needed shields

It’s no secret our country is experiencing a shortage of face masks. Ever since this virus was declared a pandemic, even those working in hospitals can’t seem to get their hands on the very medical supplies they need to do their day-to-day job. Some hear of the shortage and scramble to get their hands on whatever masks they can find, but not Navigational Electrical Engineer Jeffrey Farmer and the nonprofit group he’s apart of called the “Midsouth Makers.”

15 Apr 2020

Social distancing, the MVM mission

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has several recommendations in place to try and stop the spread of this monstrous virus, to include such measures as wearing a face mask when out in public and practicing what has become mandated in many states: social distancing. While social distancing and other precautions are in place for the right reasons, they can unfortunately have a challenging impact on business operations. Especially difficult is when your employees cannot do their job behind a computer. So what do they do?