Celebrating The Corps Of Engineers
All year long, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be celebrating its 250th anniversary. The Corps dates its founding to before the founding of the United States itself, on June 16, 1775.
The “America’s Engineers” magazine the Corps is publishing again this year details the vast range of its projects at home and overseas. Many of the Corps’ projects are familiar to readers of The Waterways Journal. From the construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the deepening of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System from 9 feet to 12 to the Soo Locks modernization and the updating of locks and dams in the Ohio River system, the Corps of Engineers’ role in maintaining waterways infrastructure is irreplaceable.
The Corps is engaged in every disaster response. One article details how the Engineer Research and Development Center at Vicksburg, Miss., is providing 280,000 gallons of potable fresh water that allows the flood-damaged University of North Carolina at Asheville to open its classes.
The magazine also highlights past moments in the Corps’ history, from the building of the Panama Canal and accompanying advances in the fight against malaria and yellow fever, to the Corps’ involvement in civil works projects in the Great Depression and cleaning up sites contaminated by the Manhattan Project.
Our industry has a history of advocating for the Corps in Congress while working closely with it to ensure that resources are used effectively. The Corps’ rich story offers an illuminating narrative and reminder at a time when the scope and necessity of government programs are being questioned and tested.
The Corps’ range of responsibilities is mind-boggling and matched by no other comparable military engineering organization anywhere in the world. As the year progresses, we salute the men and women of the Corps of Engineers and look forward to drawing attention to its anniversary activities.