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The New York

District TimesSummer 2003 Vol. 28, No. 4&5 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

9-11-01

District volunteers join FFE team abroadBy Vince Elias

O n the other side of the world,Corp s of Engineer s field force en-g ineer ing t eams con t inue tospend long days and arduous

hours supporting military for-

ward deployed units engaged inoperations in Iraq.

New York District contin-

ues to provide significant supp ortto our troops overseas throughproviding volunteers for FFEteams deployed in support of theArmy at cr i t ical locat ionsthroughout the world. Currently

New York District has deployedfive individuals to the Middle

East and Asia Minor in supportof these critical missions.

During Operation IraqiFreedom, the Corps had FFEteams deployed to Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq. The 18th

Engineer Brigade (Theater Arm y) dep loyed to Turkeyas part of the Army Forces Turkey team . The brigadeprovided critical d irect eng ineer sup port to ARFOR-T

to facilitate the crucial movement of American com-bined forces land component command forces andsup plies through Turkey into Iraq.

“The Corps trains FFE teams to p rovide tech-

nical engineer ing expertise and over sight of constru c-t ion con t rac t admin i s t ra t ion dur ing war t ime,

contingency operations, and d isaster relief missions,”said Maj. Don Pincus, Project Management teamleader. He served in Turkey as par t of a USACE FFEteam comp rised of volunteers from various Corps dis-tricts. New York District volun teers were Maj. DaveChestnut, Maj. Don Pincus, Mark Kucera, AndrewSmith, William Mathias, and John Kenney. Four vol-

unteers from Philadelphia District were also part ofthe FFE team assigned to the 18th Engineer Brigad e —

part of the Construction Management Section with-out the organization.

Page 2

Continued on page 3

Photo:USACE

CENAU

TUSEG

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided oversight of the construction of a bridgebypass in south-central Turkey. The bypass was emplaced to accomodate the flow

of heavy military equipment.

The passing of a Corps Icon

In memoriam Inside ...



U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • New York District2

of Engineers

In memoriam

New York District TimesNewsletter of theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

New York District

Summer 2003

Commander andDistrict Engineer

Col. John B. O’Dowd

Chief, Public AffairsPeter H. Shugert

[email protected]

Editor & Graphic DesignVince Elias

[email protected]

- Authorization: The New YorkDistrict Times is an authorizedunofficial newsletter of the NewYork District. It is published inaccordance with provisions ofArmy Regulation 360-1.

- Circulation: 1500 copies perissue in print and available onthe world wide web.

www.nan.usace.army.mil

- Submission: News, features,photos and art are solicited.Direct queries to: Editor, PublicAffairs Office, U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, New York District,26 Federal Plaza, Room 2113,New York, NY 10278-0090.

- Contents: Views and opinionsexpressed herein are notnecessarily those of theDepartment of the Army or thiscommand. All photos, unlessotherwise credited, are official

U.S. Army photos.

US Army Corps

New York District

®

New York District lost one of its most exper i-enced engineers with the passing of John H artman n,

Operations Chief on the even ing of Aug. 6.

“Throughout his long career with the NewYork District John Hartmann served his nation, the

U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

with distinction,” said Col. John B. O’Dowd, Dis-

trict Engineer.

“His experience and expertise will be sorely

missed,” O’Dowd add ed.

“I will also personally miss his positive atti-

tude and sense of hum or. Our thoughts and prayers

are w ith his wife Toba, and his family and friends.”

“As chief of the Operations Division, John’s leadership helped shape the

developm ent of our region’s waterfront and maintain the Port of New York and

New Jersey’s waterways,” said Stu Piken, chief, Programs and Project Manage-

ment Division. “But m ore important for u s was the leadership, m entoring and car-

ing he p rovided to all of us in th e New York District.”

(Clockwise) John Hartmann was involved in Corps operations such as debris removal at Ground

Zero, overseeing projects in the field, operations of the fleet of Corps vessels at Caven Point,

N.J., and WTC debris operations at the Staten Is-

land landfill with N.Y.

Gov. George Pataki.

John R. Hartmann, Jr.

Photosprovided

by:RandallHintz

Photo:VinceElias



3The New York District Times • Summer 2003

FFE team (cont’d. from page 1)

FFE Team Turkey

The du ties of the CMS includ ed on -site design,

reach-back engineering, CAD, master planning, projectman agement, project schedu le developm ent, govern-men t cost estimate p reparation, project status report-ing, adminis ter ing the Kel logg Brown Root

construction contract and various other contracts in-clud ing job orders, and m ultiple award task order con-

tracts.

To enable CFLCC force flow, the U.S. govern-ment contracted KBR to serve as generalcontractor for the construction of num er-

ous facilities across a 700-mile stretch of rugged terrain in southern Turkey.

“The work included bui ldingprojects at comman d posts, seaports, air-

ports, and convoy supp ort centers alongroads and railways, and facilities for the-ater support logistics centers, and tacti-cal assembly areas,” said Pincus.

FFE members from the Corps’Europe District performed commandand control duties for USACE assets sup-porting the 18th Engineer Brigade, con-tract construction management such as job order contracts and multiple award

task order contracts, A/ E contract admin-istration, environmental comp liance, andquality assurance.

According to Pincus, the mission was ex-tremely difficult. However, the cohesiveness and ex-pertise of the FFE team, coupled with their diligenceand determination ensu red su ccessful mission accom-plishment.

“There were obstacles such as th e dan gers anduncertainties associated with war and combat, timeconstraints, restrictions imp osed by the h ost govern-

ment, and putting together a team to meet the de-

mands of deployment,” said Pincus. “FFE membersand the 18th Engineer Brigade staff dem onstrated ex-pertise, professionalism, and commitment to dutythrough out the op eration. This enabled ARFOR-T to

Photo:USACECEN

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successfully establish the initial operating conditionsnecessary for military forces to successfully move

throu gh Turkey.”

“I am extremly proud of all who volunteeredto sup port this importan t mission,” said Col. John BO’Dow d, New York District Engineer. “Their accom-

plishments once again demonstrate how the conductof our civil, military and environmental p rograms en-able us to support our troops when they are orderedinto harm’s way.”

FEE Team Turkey with Hodja Statue in background. “One

Team, One Fight,” as Corps employees and military members

work side by side. (l-r) Andrew Smith, N.Y.; Philip Breen, Phila-

delphia; Maj. Don Pincus, N.Y.; Lanier Drake, Philadelphia; Wil-

liam Matias, N.Y.; John Kenney, N.Y.; Emiliano Cruz,

Philadelphia; Mark Kucera, N.Y., and Maj. Dave Chestnut, N.Y.

Elements of ARFOR-T forces traveling to eastern Turkey (Mardin) to es-

tablish a forward headquarters.




B ehind Liberty Island and in the shadow of the

Statue of Liberty, 1st

Lt. Chris Hu rst and a consoli-dated team of 20 Army divers from Fort Eustis, Va.,were busy in late spring making underwater inspec-tions and necessary rep airs at N ew York District’s

Caven Point, N.J., term inal.

Caven Poin t serves as the New York District’s op erating base for its fleet of ves-sels. The du ties of the vessels vary w ith theprimary mission to keep the m aritime n avi-gation lanes free from obstructions in oneof the w orld’s busiest ports.

New York District tapped into theexpertise of the U.S. Arm y divers after it wasdetermined that the piers were in need of refurbishment and repairs to the quay w allwere necessary. The d ivers also completedund erwater sediment jetting in ord er to freeobstructions from a boat inlet, as well as

boat lift repair and construction. The diveteam spent three weeks from mid-May tomid -Jun e performing the crucial un derw a-ter patching, welding, pier removal, and re-furbishment—at times during inclementweath er conditions.

Few people in the military and evenfewer in the civilian comm un ity are awarethat Army d ivers exist and w hat their mis-sion entails. The training mission at Caven

Point involves just a few of those tasks. Portopening and clearance (salvage and lift),river and beach reconnaissance, search andrecovery, ships husban dry, und erwater ob-stacle emplacement and removal, demoli-t ions, and surveying all fall under the

diver’s capabilities.

Col. John B. O’Dow d, District Engi-neer, welcomed the divers. He also donneda wetsuit and made a dive during the in-

spection. He then took advantage of a long-s tand ing t rad i t ion o f p romot ing foursoldiers from th e d ive team : Pfcs. SeanRowley, Robert Parmenter, William H icken,and Bobby Strother were all promoted byO’Dowd to specialist.

Army divers keep boat terminal shipshape

The divers began their workday very early,

with w ork ending at times at midn ight, or even goinground the clock, dep end ing on the requirements.

(Continued on page 5)

Photos:VinceElias

By Vince Elias

The divers have the capability of

SCUBA and surface-supplied div-

ing, with depths up to 190 feet.

Equipped with hydraulic tools and

600 feet of hose, the diver units

are highly deployable and agile

enough to complete a broad ar-

ray of underwater work.

A team of Army divers spent 3 weeks

performing underwater patching,

welding, pier removal and refurbish-

ment, underwater jetting, and boat lift

repairs at New York District’s Caven

Point, N.J. terminal.

B




Photo:VinceElias

Photos:Pun

Tung

Siu

Headed by Hu rst, members from the 86th ,569th and 511th engineer dive platoons made up

the consolidated team for th e mission.

“Army divers and the Corps, especiallythe N ew York District, have h ad a longstand ingmu tually-supp ortive relationship. At Caven

Point, we hav e an awesome op portu nity to trainon a w ide variety of tasks and in the p rocess, pro-vide the Corp s of Engineers with a high-qualityprod uct,” said Hu rst. “Army divers are alwayseager to d ive and enjoy this type of tough , realis-tic training.”

The divers began their four-week-longmission by splitting their team into two su b-teams:a jett ing team using“ s u r f a c e - s u p p l i e d ”

se t s and a p ierdeconstruction teamusing hydraulic tools.Soldiers rotatedt h ro u g h b o t h s u b -teams to ensure maxi-

mum poss ib i l i ty o f seeing a ll the aspects of the m iss ion. After-ward, the team recon-

solidated to begin thequay wall repair. Themetal wall , buil t de-cades ago, has recentlydeveloped severe rust

spots and the diverswelded new patches tokeep the wall intact.

After making 25 pa tches, the d ivers again splitinto two sub-teams. One team rebuilt the boat lift whilethe other inspected the cross bracing of the pier and

replaced m uch of the dilapidated beams and hardw are.Throughou t the m ission, boat captains also sought thedivers’ exper tise to correct fouled lines on the boat pro-pellers and assist in performing maintenance of the

shafts.

“One of our unique capabilities,” said Hurst“is the flexibility to respond quickly to new missionson site.”

The work was accomplished without disrup-

tion to the Corp s’ mission at Caven Point.

Divers (cont’d. from page 4)

(Above) Quay wall and parking lot at Caven Point. The divers

fortified the area which began to lose its fill and integrity due to

years of wave again in the tidal zone.

(Left) Divers use a

high-pressure water

blaster at 40,000 psi to

refurbish a boat lift.

They replaced the

decking, removed rust,

painted and made

repairs to the struc-

tural bracing.

Col. O’Dowd, District Engineer, donned a wetsuit and

made a dive during the inspection.




Corps andPark Service

shore up the shore

New York District teamed with theNational Park Service and went on a plant-ing spree along the pristine Staten Island

shoreline in the early sum mer. Their mis-sion: To use natu re to combat the force of nature to shore up the sand dunes withplants.

They spent midday walking along-side a truck wh ose bed was filled with beau -tiful green plants. The plants were placed inthe sand along the shoreline of the Great KillsHarbor at the eastern shore of Staten Island .A variety of coastal specimens were plan ted

along the dun es. The plants were placed to restore thenatu ral plant life along the beach. The beach at GreatKills is part of the Gateway N ational Park area.

A newspaper reporter tagged along with the

group asking questions about the important environ-mental project.

Corps and Park Service personnel planting coastal specimens in the

sand dunes along the eastern shoreline of Staten Island. Planted were

seaside goldenrod, native bay grass, and bayberry bushes.

Photo:PeterShugert

Col. John B. O’Dowd, District Engineer ex-

plained that the plants help the sand d unes preventerosion from the p ound ing ocean sur f.

“The plants can stabilize the d un es and stopthem from eroding,” O’Dowd said. “Dun es provideprotection from storms, and can provide wildlifehabitat.”

EEO Update

Victoria GrossBlack Employment Program ManagerPeople with Disabilities Employment

Program Manager

Sandra MontagneCo-Chair Black Employment Program Manager

Cliff JonesCo-Chair Black Employment Program Manager

Joyce WoodardFederal Women’s Employment Program Manager

Johnny MartinezHispanic Employment Program Manager

Isabelita HuertoAsian Pacific Islander Employment Program Manager

Marty GoffNative American Employment Program Manager

Special Emphasis Program Managers

In June, Col. John B. O’Dowd, District Engineer signed

the agreement under section 111 of the Matituck feasibil-

ity study as members of the project team look on. The

study area is Mattituck Inlet, NY and adjacent shores.

Photo:PeterShuge

rt

Significant signing




t a k e o f f

By Ken Wells

McGuire Air Force

Base in N ew Jersey is par tof the Air Mobility Com-man d w hose mission is toprovide rapid, global mo-bility and sustainment forAmerica’s armed forces.The C-17 program a tMcGuire is shaping up tobe one of New York

Dis t r ict ’s crowningachievements , wi th 11

projects un der d esign andconstruction totaling $85million.

The project beganwhen Congress approvedthe pu rchase of 14 new C-17 Globemaster III aircraft which would be assignedto McGuire. The C-17 would replace McGuire’s cur-

rent contingen t of 10 C-141 Starlifters, some of w hichda te back to 1960. Following Congress’ decision, AirMobility Command app roached N ew York Districtabou t d eveloping select concepts for the C-17 projectand to verify their program bu dgets .

The execution of the C-17 program fully uti-lizes the Project Management Business Process withan assigned project manager and a fully integratedproject delivery team.

“With the new PMBP in effect, I feel the re-energized enthu siasm, pr ide, and p roject own ership

of the PDT mem bers to see the p rogram executed effi-ciently and effectively to support our Air Force com-mu nity in their mission,” said Stella Marco, the C-17

bed d own p roject man ager.

The project delivery team determined thatsome of the facilities to house and maintain the C-17would have to be built from scratch. In order to ac-comp lish this, engineer s from New York District trav-eled to Ch arleston Air Force Base in South Carolina aswell as McChord Air Force Base in Seattle. Both bases

are home to extensive C-17 programs, wh ich p rovidedNew York District w ith w orking m odels for McGuire.While there, the engineers carefully stud ied the facili-ties, spoke w ith base personn el, and got a feel for the

Major renovations at air force base

operational and functiona

need s of the Air Force.

Add itional topics of dis

cussion includ ed nu mber opersonnel , equ ipmenspecifications, sp ace allocation and lessons learnedFrom those meetings it wasdeterm ined that N ew York

District wou ld need to buildone new maintenance hangar, an inter im fu el cell, air

craf t maintenance shopcommunications supporcenter and a flight simulator.

“McGuire Air ForceBase is a major hub for cargo

and troop transport on the east coast,” Lt. Col. Rich

Keyes, depu ty d irector for the C-17 program pointedout in his interview w ith N ew York District. “Once wehav e access to the C-17 we’ll be even more effective.”

The C-17 mad e its debu t in 1991 and is cap able

of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types ofcargo to main op erating bases or directly to forwardbases in a d eployment area. It requires a crew of threebut can carry as m any a s six flight officers wh o w orkin alternate shifts. The C-17 is able to deliver tw ice amuch cargo as the C-141 at similar operating cost. I

has enou gh room to tran sport u p to 170,900 pou nd s ocargo, as well as the ability to take off and land onru nw ays as short as 3,500 feet and as narrow as 90 feetThe C-17 is also a ‘low-floor ’ aircraft m eaning vehiclesuch as tanks, jeeps and armored personnel carriers

can be driven d irectly into the cargo hold an d securedfor transport.

By comparison the C-141 has been the workhorse of the Air Mobility Comm and for more than 20years and a stalwart of McGuire’s fleet. It requires alarger flight crew of five but can transport combaforces and equipm ent for long distances as well. However, the C-141 can only transport 68,725 pounds of

cargo and it requires longer runw ays for landing andtakeoff.

(Continued on page 8

The Corps’ C-17 project includes building a new hangar and

renovating and altering existing hangars for the Air Force’s

C-17 aircraft. The aircraft is capable of rapid strategic deliv-

ery of troops and cargo.

USAF

Pho

to




C-17 (cont’d from page 7)

When the C-17 pro ject is completed , the Corps

will have built one new hangar and renovated or al-

tered three existing hangars at a total cost of $38 mil-

lion. Robert Ph ilbrick, an en gineer for N ew York

District is working on the p roject’s design phase. “Thework on hangars is necessary because a C-17’s wing-

span is about 10 feet longer than a C-141 and its Tri-

tail assembly makes it impossible to use most of

McGuire’s existing hangars in their current cond ition,”

said Philbrick. Philbrick also stated tha t each hangar ’s

fire protection system has to be configured to accom-

modate the aircraft’s physical dimensions. “This

means that in the event of an emergency the entire

aircraft can be ad dressed by the fire pro tection system

–something that can’t happen if half the aircraft is

outside the h angar.”

The hangar bay facility will be used for aircraft

maintenance, individually unique aircraft tests and

evaluation of aircraft systems, weap ons systems, and

high-priority test program s. It will also provide ind oor

aircraft jacking so maintenan ce crews can lift the plane

off the ground for heavy maintenance such as flight

control placement and rigging. Maintenance shops will

also be provided for manu factur ing, inspection, repair

and recovery of the aircraft. Additional capabilities will

includ e metal technology and structural maintenan ceto ensure the p lanes stay in p eak condition.

The air freight term i-

nal/ base supp ly complex is

a separate military construc-

tion p roject that is also being

built. The complex, wh en

completed will help supp ort

the C-17 prog ram ’s mission.

The one-story w arehouse is

slated to cost $22 million

with an ad ditional $5 million

for equipment. Its purpose

will be two-fold. The el-

evated finished floor portion

of the bu ilding will consist of

ramps, truck docks, pallet

pits and cargo staging areas

for air freight op erations. An-

other portion of the ware-

house wi l l hand le base

supply functions such as bulk storage, high-density

shelving, parts pick up and delivery. Both sections of

the warehouse will contain offices for administrative

support.

Two paved parking areas are also under con

struction with enough space for approximately 130vehicles. The District will also renovate two existing

facilities displaced by the new airfreight terminal/ base

sup ply comp lex. One w ill house classrooms for train

ing while the other w ill serve as a new in-flight kitchen

facility that provid es meals for crew and passengers

while in flight.

Construction of the training simu lator, wh ose

cost is set at $4.3 million required the Corps to mee

with Boeing Company, the C-17 aircraft man ufacturer

Boeing d eveloped the C-17 simulator p rogram un der

contract to the Air Force and possesses an extensive

know ledge of precisely what is needed to ensure the

flight crews are prop erly trained . Pilots of the C-17

spend most of their time training in simulators because

it’s cost-effective and highly efficient. The average

simulator operates round-the-clock at 16-hour shifts

with 8 hour s dedicated to maintenan ce. In building

the structure wh ere the simu lator will be housed, the

District need ed to m ake special considerations in the

building design for the sophisticated comp uter equ ip

men t and hyd rau lic equipm ent that control the simu

lator.

Construction projects abound at McGuire Air Force Base. Facilities for the C-17 pro-

gram are scheduled to begin opening this Autumn.


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Additional projects in the C-17 program in-clud e a $1.7 million commu nications su pp ort centerthat will act as the nerve center for the C-17 project,

tying all the buildings into McGuire’s existing com-mu nication network. There will also be a $6 millionmaintenance training device facility for training me-chanics and technicians who will be responsible forma intaining th e aircraft. This building w ill serve as amaintenance-training site for C-17 personnel to hone

their skills on landing gear, cockpits, tail assembliesand other vital portions of the aircraft.

To support the C-17 flight crews, the Districtis also developing plans for a new $15 million con-

solidated flight line opera tions facility. The CFOF willbe home to McGuire’s C-17 squadron s and their sup-port staff. “Right now the pilots are living out of ahangar but recently lived in trailers,” said Keyes.“We’re trying to give them a perm anent h ome.”

The CFOF will also be home to squad ron op-erations, aircraft m aintenance u nits, life sup port ar-eas and surv iva l equ ipment s to rage . Ai rcraf t

maintenan ce will occupy app roximately h alf the firstfloor and consist of administrative services, training

tool storage and small comp onent rep air. The remainder of the first floor will be occupied by life supportand survival equipment storage. Items such as para-chutes, life vests, life rafts and bio-chemical warfareequipm ent will be foun d h ere. Flight crew equ ipmen twill be stored and maintained in this portion of the

facility. Squadron operations will be located on thesecond floor that will hand le mission p lanning, crewscheduling, briefings, training and administrative sup-port.

Some of the bu ildings at th e base date back tothe 1950s and can no longer keep u p w ith the deman dsof moder n techn ology. Engineering challenges in-clud ed rem oving asbestos and PCBs from older structures during demolition. Other challenges included

relocating utilities and water m ains, up grad ing commu nications and digging n ew storm drains.

Facilities for the C-17 program are scheduledto begin opening in the Fall with aircraft slated for arrival in Au gust of 2004.

C-17 (cont’d from page 8)

Col. John O’Dowd and members of the Green Brook Project Delivery Team attended the Green Brook Bridge cer-

emonial ribbon cutting in Boun d Brook, NJ. in July.

The celebration marked the comp letion of the restoredand elevated Green Brook Bridge, a major milestone of theDistrict’s Green Brook Flood Con trol Project tha t is expected to

take over 10 years to complete an d will cost in excess of $400million.

All gathered un der a canopy, not far from the brid ge,“where 10-feet of standing rain water was during Tropical

Storm Floyd in 1999,” remem bered Peter Palmer of the SomersetCounty Board of Chosen Freehold ers. O’Dowd, state politicians,the N ew Jersey Departm ent of Environmental Protection com-missioner, and members of the Green Brook Flood ControlComm ission spoke of the bridge’s imp ortance to the region’seconomic future and the teamw ork that made the d ay a reality.

“This bridge is more than just concrete. It brings two

commu nities together, Bound Brook and Midd lesex Borough.It’s a bridge to the future,” said Bruce Sadowski, president,Middlesex Borough Council.

Flood control project bridge opens at Green Brook

Cutting the cermonial ribbon symbolizing the open-

ing of the new bridge. (r-l) Col. John B. O’Dowd, Dis-

trict Engineer; Peter Palmer, director, Somerset

County Freeholders; David Crabiel, director,

Middlesex County Freeholders; Vernon Noble, chair-

man, Green Brook Flood Control Commission; Bra-

dley Campbell, N.J. Department of Environmental

Protection; Bruce Sadowski, president, Middlesex

Borough Council, and Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.

7th Dist).

By JoAnne Castagna

Photo:LindaVan

Zandt




Meet David Leach, of Constru c-tion Division wh o wa s nam ed U.S.Army Corps of Engineers employee of

the year.

Leach was selected from hun-dred s of nominees from Districts and Di-visions worldwide, and becomes the

second recipient to be chosen back-to-back from N ew York District. Joseph J.Seebode w as the previous w inner fromNew York District.

Leach received the award for fos-tering teamw ork and creating synergis-

tic relationships, and is credited withmaking v i t a l ly impor tan t work p ro jec t s movesmoothly an d expeditiously.

Leach is remembered for being on e of severalCorps employees working on the response to the at-

tacks against Amer ica in Septem ber 2001. In just onemon th it w ill be two years since the Corps was calledin to assist the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency and th e City of New York. Surv ey and debris

Leach named Corps Employee of the Year

David Leach

boats ferried victims away and struc-tural engineers advised and assisted.

FEMA assigned the d ebris mis-sion to the Corp s at th e Staten Islandlandfill and Leach was assigned asarea engineer, overseeing work by theCorps’ pre-placed d ebris man agement

contractor, Phillips & Jord an of N ash-ville, Tenn .

There they executed the mis-s ion and set up and operated the

equivalent of a base camp on the h illof the land fill. Over one million tons

of debris, ranging in size from mas-sive pillars of steel to wallet-sized ph o-tograph s, were taken to th e landfill.

He w as described by many as a brilliant man-ager, clearing u p a w ork backlog in just four w eeks.

The debris management mission w as consid-erably more difficult because the landfill was also acrime scene, but David Leach had the u nique abilitythat brough t people together as a team.

The battlefield simulation center at Fort

Drum, N.Y. will be a state-of-the-art fa-

cility that will support both battle simu-lations for maneuver units and combat

support simulations. The project will

provide necessary training for Army di-

vision, Guard and Reserve units. The

facility replaces an undersized and de-

teriorating complex, which is currently

housed in eight separate buildings.

(Look for an article on the BSC in the

next issue of the District Times).

Army training facility takes shapeMilitary ProgramsUPDATE

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Around New York Distr ictAround New York Distr ict

Employee uses martial arts as

recovery mechanism

Karate has help ed N ew York District employee

Diane Deptu la, of Hum an Resources, get exercise, hand le

stress, get through illness, and bond with h er children .

She became involved w ith Isshinryu Karate seven

years ago when her daughter, then 9 years old, started

classes. She imm ediately signed up and started the w eek

after. “I like karate because of the overa ll exercise I get an dbecause it is a great stress reliever. We start with a stretching routine, follow

with calisthenics, that’s followed with u pp er and lower bod y techniques, then

we work on ou r Kata, wh ich are a series of self defense or fighting techniques,

then w e typically end w ith Kumite, which is light sparring,” she said.

The exercise she receives from kara te enabled h er to get through a physi-

cally challenging part of her life. Three years ago she was diagnosed with a

benign brain tum or located on a nerve that controls hearing and balance. As a

result she lost hearing in h er right ear an d balance on the right side of her body.

“At the time of my d iagnosis I was in the best ph ysical shape of m y life because

of kara te. Subsequen tly, kara te helped m e becau se it focuses on balance. This,

in turn h elped me with my d iminished balance function,” she said.

Three years later she continues to practice the art and in June 2003 she

earned a 1st degree black belt. To earn the belt she had to be able to explain the

lineage an d terminology of Isshinryu Karate, demonstrate p roficiency in p er-

forming the Katas, and, the “h ardest p art.” sparring w ith a nu mber of senior black belts, one after another. She

plans on ad vancing to a 3rd degree black belt. This wou ld enable her to be a sensei, or teacher, and ed ucate youn g

children about th e art, w hich she enjoys.

The same d ay she received her black belt, her dau ghter received h er brown belt. “I was able to give my

daughter my brown belt. When you pass your belt down to another student it is said to mean that you are

passing dow n the know ledge associated with that belt.” She ad ds, “Passing the belt to my dau ghter w as a veryproud mom ent for me.”

A proud moment in Deptula’s

life was passing her brown belt

to her daughter Kaitlin.

Lightning quick Deptula spars with another karate op-

ponent.

By JoAnne Castagna

CAREER MILESTONE FOR EMPLOYEE DAUGHTER

Stella Lymberis, M.D., daughter of New York District employee Gus Lymberis, recently

achieved a milestone when she was awarded a grant from the Radiological Society of

North America Research and Education Foundation. The grant will be used in her studies

at New York University Medical Center Institute. Dr. Lymberis is currently a resident physi-

cian in the Department of Radiation Oncology at NYU MCI.




Employees lauded at Engineer Day 2003Hats off to the following employees who were recognized in July by Col. John O’Dowd, District

Engineer for their performance and service to the government.

Service AwardsCOMMANDER’S AWARDS

Robert AlpernSupervisor of the Year

Lynn RakosProfessional of the Year

Stuart ChaseEngineer of the Year

Stella MarcoEmployee of the Year

Steven NolsOutstanding Government Improvement

Thomas RoseHealth and Safety

Joseph MyersWage Grade Employee of the Year

Gail CristieManagement Assistant of the Year

Andrea ShouldersLeadership Award

Kill Van Kull Project Delivery TeamProject Delivery Team of the Year

Field Force Engineer Team (Turkey)Forward Engineer Support Team

Albany Field Office Western PermitsSection Team

Teamwork Award

DISTRICT INCENTIVE AWARDS

Frank MullinPeers Outstanding Service Trophy

Marty GoffSpotlight Award

John DowningSpecial Thanks and Recognition Award

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS

Rita FisherU.S. Savings Bonds

Liliana CorreaRed Cross Blood Drive

Gustavo Sierra-GonzalesCombined Federal Campaign

40 Years

John Petrovich

35 Years

Stuart Chase

Arthur Connolly

30 Years

Jess ArringtonGerald ByrneBarbara Crawford

Joseph ChupaBarbara DinniganPerlita DockettStanley George

Anthony HansMuriel LambsonJohn JacksonWilliam Matias

William McDonaldNicolasa RuizThomas Thompson

25 Years

Brian AballoRobert Alpern

Lou BenardDavid BrouwerHonesto Castaneda

John ChewGrace CollinsAlma DabneyLawrence Danner

Sandra GaffneyMonte GregesRalph Karpel

Robert KurtzNestor LimRichard MandraWilliam Petronis

Steven SchumachJohn TavolaroKing Yee

20 Years

Milagros Alexoudis

Betzaida AndujarVincent BertolinoShewen BianConstance Black

Anesta BotrosJannie ButlerThomas Compitello

Sterret DanielsThomas DannemanStephen DeNardisFranco DiCroce

Elaine EubanksDiane EvansPaul FrancoJacqueline Garcia

Gregory GoepfertRobert HassPaula Higgins

Paul JalowskiTeresa JohnsonPaul KaraJohn Kirk

Anthony LauriaWilliam LithgowAdam ManzanoStanley Michalowski

Jane MordanSandra MontagneRobin Owens

Arlene PetrosinoRobert PhilbrickRick RacklinThomas Roche

Antonio SianAnne SpiegelbergMichael WojcickiJohn Wong




Hall of Fame

New York City Federal ExecutiveBoard Awards 2003

Madona CamishionAdministrative Support

Randy WilliamsDirect Service

David LeachDistinguished Service

Neal KolbTeam Leader

Gustavo Sierra-Gonzalez

Combined Federal Campaign

Thomas HodsonDistinguished

Government Service

Chairman’sAward winners

Hall of Fame

Louis W. Pinata

Inducted July 2003

Retirements

Jerry

Caspe

JoeIngiane

Engineering

41 years

Logistics

Management

Ellen Higgins

Operations

32 years

Gold Coin recipientsStarsStars

Ronald Brattain,

project planner and

Karl Ahlen of Plan-

ning Division re-

ceived a USACE

gold coin for their role in the Union Beach,

N.J. shore protection project.

20 years




History is being mad e right now in the Port of New York and NewJersey, which is the largest container p ort on th e East Coast. Curren tly, there

are approximately 80 pieces of dredging-related equipment in the harbor,includ ing d redges, drill boats, survey boats, tugs and scows. It is arguablythe largest concentra tion of equipm ent in one area in th e entire 200-year his-tory of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Many pieces of equipment areworking to d eepen th e three active contract areas in the Kill van Kull to 45feet, which stretches eight miles from Up per New York Bay into N ewark Bay.Eventually, using a creative “piggyback” contract by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a portion of the KvK channel will be the firstcompleted 50-foot chann el in the p ort.

Years before the mobilization of the first d redge, before the first project

area was aw arded to a contractor, the KvK team worked together to produ ce

a Project Management Plan du ring the p lanning and design p hase. Now, the Project Delivery Team h as executedan aggressive, accelerated schedule, which by 2004 will complete the deepening project ahead of schedule and

under bud get.

“We w orked closely w ith other agen-cies, including the Port Authority engi-neers, to identify and evaluate a numberof opportunities to accelerate the sched-ule,” said Steve Weinberg, EngineeringTeam leader, New York District, who has

worked on the p roject since its first phasein the early ‘90s. “We optimized the con-

struction contract size and sequence, whilesimultaneously minimizing the impact onthe environment through environmentalwindows. We also modified equipmentand d eployed innovative methods of dis-posal op tions that increased th e project ex-ecution capabilities wh ile m aintaining

nav igation safety.”

The dedication and teamwork of allthe m embers is credited for this huge accomplishment, loggingcountless hou rs to keep th e project moving forward . The team

includes Corp s staff ranging from Contr acting Division to Coun-sel; Engineering to Construction; and Real Estate to Logistics.Also it includes several ou tside agencies such as the p roject spon-sors, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the U.S.Coast Guard; Sandy Hook Pilots, and the New Jersey Depart-men t of Transp ortation.

The first phase of this project began in the mid 1980s anddeep ened the KvK to 40 feet. Now, because of the dem and of thelarger vessels calling a t the port, contractors have been workingto constru ct a 50-foot channel in certain areas.

Making way for bigger shipsBy Carolyn Vadino


Rock glacial till material being taken from the Kill

van Kull. (Photo: Larry Baier, NJ DEP)

The Kill van Kill project area map. The Kill van Kull is a waterway that separates

New Jersey and New York states between Bayonne, N.J. and Port Richmond,

N.Y. The waterway is used primarily by container vessels laden with goods

entering or exiting important ports in the metropolitan area.

A dredge removes material dur-

ing deepening operations.

Photo:PeterShugert




KvK (cont’d. from page 14)

Post-Panam ax vessels, which to the outside eyecan appear no different from 10 years ago, actuallywill carry 8,000 containers, compared to 3,000 typi-

cally loaded on tod ay’s Panam ax ships.

The Kill van Kull is one of the most heavilytrafficked channels in the p ort, where d redging, dr ill-ing and blasting occurs d aily. While the Corp s and itscontractors work to deepen the channel, it remainsopen to daily vessel traffic. In order to ensu re safe ves-sel movement requ ires daily commun ication betweenthe Coast Guard and the pilots navigating the p ort. Itis a challenge that often goes u nnoticed by those notdirectly involved in th e deep ening p rocess.

“Joe Citizen may read in the pap er or see the

vessels within the channel moving back and forth or

floating stationary, and to them , it looks pretty m un -

dan e,” said Tom Costanzo, a project manager with th ePort Authority who has been working on the d eepening p roject since the first phase in 1980. “The on ly rea-son it looks mundane is because the Coast Guard isdoing one hell of a job to m ake sure channel closuresand restricted channel passages are working to the

optimal degree possible.”Additional challenges range from navigational

and environmental imp acts that could h ave halted theprogress of the project, to quality-of-life impacts af-fecting surrounding communities as a result of con-tinuous drilling and blasting. Team members creditthe constant comm un ication interna lly, as well as withthe affected communities, as one of the key successfactors of this p roject.

“There have been challenges because thisproject is highly visible in th e pu blic eye,” said H arold

Haw kins, of the Harbor Program Branch.

One of the nation’s most popular symbols, the Statue of Liberty willbe the focus of one of New York District’s civil works p rojects. In OctoberNew York District will begin making repairs to the seawa ll that su rroun dsthe national pa rk of Liberty Island . The d istrict w as asked by the N ationalPark Service to rep air the Liberty Island seawall, “in the shad ow of the great

statue,” said Anthon y Ciorra, project man ager, PPMD.

Liberty Island is where th e national m onu ment stands. The 12.7-acreisland sits in the Upp er Bay por tion of New York H arbor. Over the centuriesLibety Island h as been called d ifferent nam es including “Minnissais” by the

Mohegan Ind ians, Great Oyster, Love Island , Bedloo’s Island , and todayLiberty Island, just to name a few. and has had various owners such asAmsterd am, England, France, and the United States.

The island has served dif-

ferent p urp oses – as a defense for-t ification to protect New York

Harbor in th e 19

th

century, as a tem-porary quarantine station duringthe sma llpox epidem ic, as a refugefor Tory sympath izers dur ing

England ’s occup ation, and also asa summ er home by a private owner.

In the late 19th century, theisland was chosen to be the home

for the Statue of Liberty, a gift of in-ternational friendship from thepeop le of France.

District to fortify seawall around Lady Liberty

The Statue of Liberty national monument, and the seawall surrounding Liberty

Island.

Photos:VinceElias

By JoAnne Castagna




In 1996, a tenant of a 27,000-square-foot resi-

dential building in Hoboken, N.J. observed droplets

of an odd substance dripp ing from th e ceiling onto the

countertop of their apartmen t. State health officials

were notified and responded. They discovered mer-

cury, a human toxin, underneath the building’s

wooden floorboards, absorbed in the walls and mer-

cury vap or in the air. Urinalysis testing w as condu cted

for the residen ts. The results showed unacceptable lev-

els of mercury in some children who were living in

the building. The building was proclaimed an immi-

nent pu blic health hazard .

At the request of the EPA, New York District

oversaw th e clean u p d esigned by a General Electriccontractor, Blaslund , Bouck, an d Lee, Inc., and carried

ou t by BBL’s contractor, Sabre Dem olition, Inc.

Approximately 40,000 residents live

within a one-mile radius of the building and

a high school nearby. The structure includ es

a five-story building and an attached four-

story brick town house.

From 1910 to 1965 the bu ilding served

as a m ercury man ufacturing facility for Gen-

eral Electric Compan y. For 55 years the ind us-trial building produ ced m ercury vap or lamps

and mercury connector switches.

In the early to mid ‘90s the five-story

building was converted into 16 residential

apar tments and artist stud ios. After the mer-

cury was discovered in the

mid-‘90s, the U.S. Environ-

men tal Protection Agen cy

investigated and decided

that the site needed to be

remediated. This includeddemolition of the building,

soil sampling, excavation,

and off-site disposal of ma-

terials.

GE was required un -

der administrative order to

perform the remediation.

The Corps and EPA

relocated 16 families and 20

Corps and EPA remediate New Jersey siteBy Joanne Castagna

businesses from th e area. The governm ent bough t out

their property and even tually provided alternate per-

man ent residences.“Remediation of the building involved disas-

sembling it by hand and dem olishing the brick wa lls

using jack hammers. The building’s windows were

removed and the brick surfaces beneath them in-

spected for mercury contamination. The floor w as re-

moved one bay at a time and insp ected for mercury.

The concrete slab and subsu rface pip ing was removed

and mercury contamination w as removed from the

surrou nd ing soil,” said N eil Ravensbergen, project en-

gineer.


Photos:NeilRavensbergen

Scaffolding was installed

around the structure and

covered with shrink wrap

to keep dust from migrat-

ing offsite.

Workers removed the

flooring and inspected

for mercury contamina-

tion.




While remediation wasongoing, measures were taken toprotect the surround ing popula-

tion from mercury contamina-tion. Measures included settingup an air han dling system to fil-t e r ou t mercury vapor ; su r -rounding the bu i ld ing wi th

scaffolding and covering it withshrink wrap to eliminate dustmigrat ion; placing s idewalk closings, a perimeter fence, andconcrete barriers around the site;mon itoring the a ir for contami-

nants and n oise du ring the work

day; and establishing a water treatmen t plant to pro-cess water that came in contact with m ercury-contami-nated m aterials.

The non-hazardou s solid w aste and asbestos-con ta in ing mater ia l tha t was removed dur ingremediation was transported to waste management fa-cilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and mercury-containing debris was shipped to hazardous wastelandfills in N ew York an d Alabama. Elemen tal mer-

cury w as recycled.

“So far th e project has been successful. The resi-dents are happy and we have made s ignif icantprogress on the remediation of the site and restoration

is imminent . We are cont inuing to sample andremed iate the soil at the site and in neighboring yard s.

The project is estimated to becompleted by Spring 2004,”said Ravensbergen.

The project’s success isa resul t of teamwork be-

tween the various agencies,“As a team w e developed anunderstanding of each oth-er ’s concerns and needs and

worked together with theEPA and GE to resolve issuesand manage the work andprovide a safe work environ-men t,” said Ravensbergen.

“Our working relation-ship has been excellent. The

Corps’ staff, when reporting any problems, alwayssuggests technically-feasible and sound solutions,”said Jon Gorin, remedial project manager, EPA RegionII. “Also, over the years, I’ve found th at the engineersfrom the Corps hav e a good sense of when an issue isimportan t, and w hen it is something relatively minor.

I’ve not always found that to be the case when w ork-ing w ith oversight staff from private firms.”

“I have worked at several Sup erfund sites andthis has been a real success in terms of removing aser ious hea l th hazard to the pub l ic ,” added

Ravensbergen. “Not only was this building not struc-turally sound, but the mercury contamination wasoverwhelming and truly a health hazard to anyoneon or aroun d it. It’s a sham e to loose a piece of historybut it w as a benefit to the overall environment.”

The building’s windows were removed and the brick

surfaces beneath inspected for mercury contamina-

tion.

Remediation (cont’d from page 16)

Photo:NeilRavensbergen

TidbitsBy Mary Stavina

Did you know?

Robert E. Lee was a U.S. Army engineer officer

from 1829 to 1855. Born Jan. 19, 1807 in Stratford

Hall, Westmoreland County, Va., Lee’s father was

Revolutionary War hero Henry “Light-Horse

Harry” Lee. Home-schooled by his parents until

he was 13, he then entered an academy in Alex-andria, Va. After a year at a Quaker prep school, he entered the U.S. Military Academy,

West Point, NY July 1, 1825. An excellent student, Lee graduated number two in the

class of 1829 and entered the Corps of Engineers.

His first assignment was as assistant engineer of fortification work on Cockspur Island in

the Savannah River. For a time he worked under the command of Lt. Joseph Mansfield,

Corps of Engineers, who would be killed at Antietam leading a Union Army Corps.

In 1831 Lee went to Fort Monroe, Va., as assistant engineer responsible for the outworks

and approaches to Fort Monroe and preparatory work for construction of Fort Calhoun,

now Fort Wool, Va. Gen. Robert E. Lee

SourceUSACE

HistoryOffice




New York District moved forward with theimplemen tation of PMBP by training em ployees to be

facilitators for the small group discussion portion of the PMBP employee training. “The PMBP is aboutpeople working together in teams including th e cus-tomer an d together creating plans to accomp lish thegoals of the project,” said Col. O’Dowd. “The smallgroup discussions are an invaluable w ay of learning

abou t th e PMBP.”

Earlier this year, over 45 New York Distr ict em-ployees received tra ining tobecome PMBP small group

discussion facilitators andfound i t to be useful. “I

l earned tha t you rea l lyhave to plan, plan, planyour facilitated sessions,not monopolize the discus-sion, and try to get othersto open up,” said GregoryGoepfert, project manager

PPMD, and faci l i tator .Monique Wiggins, an ac-countant in Resource Man-agement and faci l i tatorsaid that she did the train-ing because she likes chal-

lenges . She learned thedifference betw een facilita-tion, teaching and aboutvarious facilitation tech-niques.

John Chu bb, Assistan t Chief, PPMD, BaltimoreDistrict came to N ew York District to conduct the fa-cilitation training with his partner, Alan Koppel, pro-gram man ager. “Alan and I co-facilitated small groupfacilitation training a t all six districts in th e North At-

lantic Division. I think the facilitators ensure that wehave open an d h onest dialog as we d iscuss our respec-tive and diverse views about teamwork.” He adds,“The bottom line is we all need to be pu lling togetherto ensure we remain tru ly the best. The world is moreand more competit ive and our customers have achoice.”

The small group facilitated discussions beganin early Spr ing and New York District emp loyees were

Group discussions a catalyst for program successBy JoAnne Castagna

In the spring of 2003, discussions began with employees organized into small groups.

Photo:V

ince

Elias

organized into group s. They talked abou t the topics

outlined in the inter-active, multi-media PMBP CDcurriculum that employees reviewed prior to the

meetings. Topics included “Why PMBP?” and “Teamsand Me.”

The small group discussion attendees hadpositive things to say as well. When asked if they arebenefiting from these discussions, Robert Philbrick wh o just attend ed h is first discussion answ ered, “Adefinite yes.” Philbrick, a project engineer with Engi-

neering Division add ed, “This process encourages em-ployees to hear others’ points of view on each top icand provides an excellent format for employees to

define PMBP in their own word s.”

O’Dowd stated that in the near future the

PMBP will be supp orted by P2, a new autom ated sys-tem for m anaging p rojects, and following the sm allgroup discussions em ployees will be able to obtainfurther PMBP mentoring and coaching from theirmanagers and supervisors. He add ed, “When it comesto the small group discussions, there is somethingpositive to be gained in taking a few h ours to d iscusswh ere the Corps is going in the future and to improve

wh at w e are doing as a district, which in turn effectswh at we are doing for the nation.”




District shots summer 2003




A Friendly Remind er from Your Security Office...

Do not process, store or transm it classified inform ation on non-secure telecomm un ications systems. OfficialDepartm ent of Defense telecomm un ications systems — including teleph ones, fax machines, comp uter net-

works, and mod ems — are subject to monitoring for telecomm un ications security pu rposes at all times. Use

of official DoD telecomm un ications systems constitu tes consen t to telecomm un ications security mon itoring.

Attn: PAO, Rm 2113

26 Federal PlazaNew York, NY 10278-0090

EMPLOYEE HOTLINE

Emergencies

Inclement Weather

Building closure

(888) 700-0029

Julie Ha, PPMDGenaro Paulino Perez

Shawn Stumpf, PLJames Bennett, Ops

Herman Wine, PPMDFrancis Delfino, PAODavid Seng, Ops

Farewell

Welcome

New York District was informed by a letter from Mrs. RuthSchwartz of the passing of her husband Max Schwartz.

Max Schwartz was a World War II veteran and was with the

Corps of Engineers for 45 years prior to his retirement in 1985.

Taps

V . P

e r r

e r a Where on the road in New York

may a bicyclist drive?

The law requires that bicyclists drive with traffic (Sec. 1234(a)).

Bicycling against traffic is a leading cause of bicycle accidentsGoing with traffic makes bicyclists more visible, and their move-

ments more predictable, to motorists. Pedestrians are required

to use sidewalks when they are provided and safe to use. Where

sidewalks are not provided, a pedestrian is required to walk on

the left side of the roadway facing traffic (Sec. 1156). Source

N.Y. State Department of Transportation

Be Safe

9-11-01

LestWeForget

us army: summer03

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