Corps Kicks Off Year-Long 250th Anniversary Celebration
By Patrick Bloodgood, Corps of Engineers Public Affairs
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is highlighting 250 years of service to the nation by celebrating its birthday throughout 2025. The Corps was established on June 16, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized the first chief engineer to oversee the construction of fortifications and other military infrastructure. To commemorate this milestone, the Corps will be participating in events and activities nationwide throughout the year, including ceremonies, exhibits and community outreach programs.
From constructing fortifications during the Revolutionary War to building the infrastructure that saw America grow as a military and economic powerhouse, the mission of the Corps of Engineers has always focused on delivering engineering solutions for the nation’s toughest challenges.
As the nation expanded, the Corps’ missions grew to meet the needs of the country. Flood risk mitigation, navigation, water supply, environmental restoration, providing state-of-the-art facilities for the nation’s warfighters and emergency response were all areas added to the mission of the Corps of Engineers.
Today, the Corps is responsible for operating and maintaining more than 700 dams and reservoirs, which provide flood control, water supply and hydroelectric power to millions of Americans; maintaining more than 12,000 miles of inland waterways, which facilitate the transportation of goods and commerce; managing more than 150 million acres of public lands, which provide habitat for wildlife and recreational opportunities for the public; providing emergency response and recovery support to communities affected by natural disasters; and conducting research and development to help solve the nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources and environmental sciences for the Army, Department of Defense, civilian agencies and the nation’s public good.
“For 250 years, the Corps of Engineers has been working to safely deliver quality projects on schedule and within budget,” said Lt. Gen. William H. “Butch” Graham, 56th chief of engineers and commanding general of the Corps. “I am proud to be a part of this elite organization, and I’m extremely proud of the 40,000 committed USACE teammates who wake up every day to solve some of the nation’s toughest challenges.”
Learn more about the Corps’ 250th anniversary activities at www.usace.army.mil/250th or follow the Corps on social media.
