Connection Summer 2014 Vol. 48 No. 3

BUILDING STRONG®PThe

acific

U.S. Army Corpsof EngineersHonolulu District

Pacific Connection

The2

The Pacific Connection, an unofficial publication authorized under the provisions of AR 360-1, is published quarterly by the Public Affairs Office, Honolulu District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Shafter, HI 96858-5440. Tele-phone: (808) 835-4004. This command information publication is published for Honolulu District employees and others who request it in writing and is also available online at: http://www.poh.usace.army.mil/. The expressed views and opinions are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army. Contributions are welcomed and highly encouraged. The editor reserves the right to make editorial changes to any material submitted as deemed necessary. Circulation:1,150.

Honolulu District CommanderLt. Col. Christopher W. Crary

Honolulu District Deputy CommanderMaj. Brennan V. Wallace

Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management

Anthony Paresa

Chief of Public AffairsJoseph Bonfiglio

Pacific Connection Editor | Command Information Manager

Dino W. Buchanan

What’s Inside

Lt. Col. Christopher W. Crary (back right) receives the unit colors from for-mer Pacific Ocean Division Com-mander Maj. Gen. Richard L. Stevens, becoming the 69th Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District. Photo by Dino W. Buchanan

On The Cover

Follow Honolulu District Online!www.facebook.com/HonoluluDistrict

www.twitter.com/CorpsHonoluluwww.flickr.com/HonoluluDistrict

www.youtube.com/HonoluluDistrict

Honolulu District’s official website:http://www.poh.usace.army.mil/

Resident Engineer Paul Sadowski and Capt. Jerrauld Ma stand by the newly-planted U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kwajalein Resident Office (KRO) sign on the island of Kwajalein in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The KRO will be critical in the District’s efforts to sup-port the Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) and U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA). Courtesy Photo

4 District Partners with USCG, FEMA, Hawaii Civil Defense inResponse to Hurricane Iselle

13 2014 National Public Lands Day at Pacific Regional Vistor Center

9 Honolulu District Change of Command photos

6 District, Division Officials Attend Coral Reef Task Force Meetings

8 Lt. Col. Christopher Crary Becomes 69th Honolulu District Commander

11 Chief of Engineers Visits USARPAC Mission Com-mand Facility

10Cadet District Engineer Program Offers Hands-On USACE Experience

14American Samoa Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Leone Bridge

12District Ohana Celebrates 2014 Hispanic Heritage Month

13Ohana Joins 2014 National Public Lands Day Activities

16Pacific Ocean Division Welcomes New Commander

Connection Summer 2014 Vol. 48 No. 3

BUILDING STRONG®PThe

acific

Pacific Connection

The 3

Lt. Col. Christopher W. CraryDistrict Commander

Aloha and Mahalo to the Honolulu District Ohana! It’s been just over three months since I took command of the Honolulu District and I would like to start by saying how thrilled my wife Maria and I are with the Aloha we’ve received from the District Ohana. I’m truly honored to be the 69th Commander of this great command and am ready to lead us into our future years of excellence. Myfirst impressionsof theDistrictOhanaandworkforce are that everyonehas asincere dedication to excellence. Since taking command, I’ve met many team members, visitedvitalprojectsandlearnedhowourDistrictsupportsourpartnersinthePacific.Yourenthusiasmandpersonalprideincompletingeverydaytasksisreadilyapparent. To our stakeholders, I say to you that the Honolulu District stands ready to assist you withallthecapabilitieswehavetooffer.Ilookforwardtoservingwithyou.Donothesitatetocontactus. Sincetakingtheguidon,theDistrict’soperationaltempohasbeenanythingbutslowasyouwillseeinthefollowingpages.InJuly,wehostedtheChiefofEngineers,Lt.Gen.ThomasBostick,ashevisitedourMissionControlFacilityprojectsiteandhostedthePacificOcean Division Change of Command ceremony. InAugust, theDistrictwasconfrontedwith thevery realdangersof twoback-to-backHurricanes IselleandJulio.After IsellebrushedtheislandofHawaiiwefieldedmultipleassetstoassisttheU.S.CoastGuard,HawaiiStateCivilDefense,FEMA,andotherfederal,state,andlocalagencies.Workingwithourlocalandfederalpartners,wejointlyconductedanunderwatersurveyinHiloHar-borAug.8,andensuredtherewerenochannelobstructions.Basedonthesuccessfulresultsofthissurvey,theCoastGuardreopenedHilo Harbor the same day allow-ingvesseltraffictosafelyresumeandprovideessentialcommodities.Inaddition,theDistrict,team-ingwiththe249thEngineerBattalion-PrimePower,workedwithstateandfederalofficialstoassisttheireffortsinrestoringpowerinaffected areas. InearlySeptember,severalseniorDistrictpersonnelandIattendedtheattendedthe32ndU.S.CoralReefTaskForcemeetingsonMauiwherewewereabletoengagetheHonorableMs.JoEllenDarcy,AssistantSecretaryoftheArmyforCivilWorksaboutourWestMauiWatershedPartnershipAgreementwithStateofHawaiiDepartmentofLandandNaturalResourcesandthe“RidgetoReef”ini-tiative.Thisagreementisoneofthefirsteffortsinthestatetocreateacomprehensivemanagementstrategytoaddressimpactstocoralreefsacrossmultiplewatersheds.DuringtheCoralReefTaskForceweekourCorpsofEngineersteammembersalsowereengagedinanumberofworkinggroupstodiscussregulatory,conservation,andwatershedmanagementactivities.Thisvenuealsoprovidedanexcellentopportunitytomeetwithanumberofourkeystateandregionalstakeholders. FiscalYear2014cametoacloseSept.30with theDistrictcompleting 569contractactionstotalingmorethan$315 million. More than54%ofthesecontractswereawardedtoSmallBusiness,exceedingtheUSACEgoal of43.3%. I’mextremelyproudoftheex-traordinaryeffort,pride,andprofessionalismeachofyouhasdemonstratedoverthelastseveralmonthstoattaintheaforementionednumbers. TheOhanaalsoheldasuccessfulNationalPublicLandsDayeventatthePacificRegionalVisitorCenterinlateSeptemberwhiletheDistrict’sSpecialEmphasisProgramCommitteehostedarousingHispanicHeritageMonthevent. Noneoftheevents,achievementsandgoalsmentionedabovejusthappen.Theyhappenbecauseateamofcaring,professionalin-dividualsworktogethertoachieveonegoal-success.ThissuccessbelongstotheDistrictandourpartners-youallearnedit.IaskyoutocontinuetoexecuteanddeliverqualityprojectsandservicesforalloursupportedcommandsandcustomerssothatyoucontinuetomaketheHonoluluDistrict“thebestplacewherethebestpeopleserve.” Once again Mahalo nui loa for the warm welcome to the District Ohana from Maria and me as we look forward to serving with all of you. PleasekeepourdeployedCivilianCandaceLotomauinyourthoughtsandprayers. Besafeinallthatyoudo,especiallyasweapproachthe2014HolidaySeason.

BUILDINGSTRONG®! ARMYSTRONG!

Commander’s Comments

“The best place where the best people serve, singularly focused on executing quality

projects...relevant, ready, responsive andreliable and having fun!”

Pacific Connection

The4

District Partners with USCG, FEMA, Hawaii Civil Defense in Response to Hurricane IselleStory by

Joseph BonfiglioChief, Public Affairs

Soldiers from the 249th Engineer Battalion - Prime Power, Alpha Company, 249th Mission Command Node, monitor emergency response opera-tions from their workstations inside the Honolulu District Emergency Operations Center at Fort Shafter. (Left to right): Master Sgt. Jamie Cosey, Staff Sgt. Shawn Truesdell, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Springette Ulston. Photo by Joseph Bonfiglio

InresponsetoHurricaneIselle,theU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers,Hono-luluDistrictfieldedmultipleassetstoassisttheU.S.CoastGuard,HawaiiStateCivil Defense, FEMA, and other federal, state, and local agencies. TheHonoluluDistrict,workingwithourlocalandfederalpartners,jointlyconducted an underwater survey in Hilo Harbor Aug. 8, and ensured there were no channel obstructions. Basedonthesuccessfulresultsofthissurvey,theCoastGuardreopenedHiloHarborthesamedayallowingvesseltraffictosafelyresume. Inaddition,theDistrict,teamingwiththe249thEngineerBattalion-PrimePower, alsoworkedwith state and federal officials to assist their efforts inrestoringpowerinaffectedareas. TheseactionsweretakeninresponsetotheFederalEmergencyManage-mentAgency(FEMA)Region9’srequestforemergencypowersubjectmatterexpertstosupportoperationalplanningeffortstoprovideemergencypower. A few days before Hurricane Iselle hit, the Honolulu District activated its EmergencyManagementTeams,includingtheEmergencyOperationsCenter,thePowerPlanningandResponseTeam, theChannelandHarborResponseTeam, the Crisis Action Team, the Crisis Management Team, its Liaison Of-ficers,anditsSubjectMatterExpertforEmergencyPower. The Honolulu District maintains one of the Corps’ eight power teams,readytodeployaspartoftheCorps’EmergencySupportFunction(ESF)#3,publicworks,andengineering-relatedsupport.Theall-volunteerteamscanprovidebackupelectricalpowergenerationany-where an emergency makes the service needed. Team members agree to be in anon-callstatus,readytodeployonshort-noticewhendisasterstrikes.PowerteammembersdirectlysupportFEMAemergencymanagementstagingareasandoperationscenters. TheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers ispreparedand ready to respond tonatural and man-made disasters. When disasters occur, it is not just a local Corpsdistrictorofficethatresponds.Personnelandotherresourcesaremobi-lizedacrossthecountrytocarryoutresponsemissions. TheHonoluluDistrictispartofthefederalgovernment’sunifiednationalresponsetodisastersandemergencies,andisthedesignatedleadforESF#3,publicworksandengineering-relatedsupportinthePacificOceanareaofre-sponsibility.TheCorpsconductsitsemergencyresponseactivitiesundertwobasicauthorities–theFloodControlandCoastalEmergencyAct,andwhen missions are assigned by FEMA, under the Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance Act. Inanydisaster,theCorps’topprioritiesare1)supportimmediateemergencyresponsepriorities;2)sustainliveswithcriticalcommodities,tempo-raryemergencypowerandotherneeds;and3)initiaterecoveryeffortsbyassessingandrestoringcriticalinfrastructure.FEMAcoordinatesthefederalgovernment'sroleinpreparingfor,preventing,mitigatingtheeffectsof,respondingto,andrecoveringfromalldomesticdisasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Honolulu District’s subject matter expert for emergency power Donald Schlack talks with emergency response officials at his workstation in the Honolulu District Emergency Operations Center. Photo by Joseph Bonfiglio

Pacific Connection

The5

District Partners with USCG, FEMA, Hawaii Civil Defense in Response to Hurricane Iselle

(Top photo) A false-color satellite image produced by NOAA shows Hurricane Iselle making landfall on the east side of the is-land of Hawaii and Hurricane Julio trailing just to the east. NOAA Image (Above center left) Civil Works Technical Branch Chief Mike Wong checks a computer-generated survey map while conducting the post-Hur-ricane Iselle Hilo Harbor survey. Courtesy photo (Above center) The Honolulu District, working with local and federal partners, jointly conducted an underwater survey in Hilo Harbor on Aug. 8 using a torpedo-shaped radar device (above right) and en-sured there were no channel obstructions. Based on the successful results of this survey, the Coast Guard reopened Hilo Har-bor the same day allowing vessel traffic to safely resume. The District, teaming with the 249th Engineer Battalion - Prime Power, also worked with state and federal officials to assist their efforts in restoring power in affected areas. Photos by Mike Wong (Left photo) Honolulu District’s Emergency Management Branch Chief Stan Keolanui (right) talks with Levee Safety Program Manager Lincoln Gayagas about potential weather scenarios inside the Honolulu Dis-trict Emergency Operations Center at Fort Shafter Aug. 8. Photo by Joseph Bonfiglio

Pacific Connection

The6

District, Division Officials Attend Coral Reef Task Force MeetingsStory by

Honolulu District Public Affairs

InearlySeptember,theHonorableMs.JoEllenDarcy,As-sistantSecretaryof theArmy forCivilWorks,PacificOceanDivision Commander Col. Jeff Milhorn, Honolulu DistrictCommanderLt.Col.ChristopherCrary,andotherCorpsteammembersattendedthe32ndU.S.CoralReefTaskForcemeet-ings on Maui. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resourceswasthehostforthe32ndUnitedStatesCoralReefTaskForcemeetings,whereparticipantsalsopresentedthelatestprogressinanefforttoprotect,restoreandsustainabilityusecoralreefecosystems. Throughout theweekCorps of Engineers teammembersengaged in a number ofworking groups to discuss regulato-ry, conservation, and watershed management activities. This venue also provided an excellent opportunity tomeetwith anumber of our key state and regional stakeholders. Several themed workshops, smaller issue-specific meet-ings,sitevisitsandopportunitiesforthepublictoengagewithparticipantsandlearnmoreabouttheirefforts. HawaiiDepartmentofLandandNaturalResourcesChair-manWilliamJ.AilaJr.,ataskforcemember,saidKaanapali,Maui was chosen as the meeting location for its national and localsignificance. TheHawaii Coral Reef Strategy identified the coral reefecosystemalong theWestMaui regionasaprioritymanage-mentarea.TheU.S.CoralReefTaskForcedesignatedtheWestMauiWatershedPlanastheprioritypartnershipinthePacificin2011.Thegoal intheareais toimprovetheoverallhealthofcoralreefs,nearshorewatersandwatersheds,fromthesummitofPu’uKukuitotheouterreef,incorporatingholisticresourcemanagementatthewatershedorahupua’alevel.Thisgoalisbeingaddressedthroughactionsfrom10partnershipprograms. Participantsatthemeetingsdiscussedkeynationalissues,proposednewactions,andpresentedthelatestprogressintheefforttoprotect,restore,and sustainably use coral reef ecosystems. Theweek-longeventalsoaffordedDistrictofficialsanopportunitytoprovideanoverviewofHonoluluDistrictcivilworksprojectsonMauiandin the Hawaiian Islands to Col. Milhorn and engage Darcy on civil works issues during a West Maui Watershed site visit. Althoughcivilworksprojectsmakeupapproximately17%oftheDistrictworkload,theyareincrediblyimportanttothecivilianpopulation. In2009,HawaiiestablishedtheKahekiliHerbivoreFisheriesManagementAreatolegallyprotectherbivoresandpromotecoralreefrecovery. In2011,theU.S.CoralReefTaskForcedesignatedWestMauiasaprioritywatershedpartnershipincorporatingholisticresourcemanagementattheahupua’aorwatershedlevel. In2012,acomprehensiveeffortknownastheWestMauiRidgetoReefInitiativethatincludesparticipationbytheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers,wasformalizedandresultedinseveralon-the-groundefforts.Theseincludedplantingraingardens,reducingerosion,limitinglandscapingimpactsandengagingthecommunityinactionstoimproveoceanhealth.

The Honorable Ms. Jo Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (center), joined Honolulu District Civil Works Branch Chief Derek Chow (left), Pa-cific Ocean Division Commander Col. Jeff Milhorn (fourth from left), Honolulu Dis-trict Commander Lt. Col. Christopher Crary (third from right), Senior Executive Gene Ban Director, Programs Directorate Pacific Ocean Division (second from left), Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management Tony Paresa (second from right) and Biologist Cindy Barger, Pacific Ocean Division (right) for a site visit to the West Maui Watershed during the week of the 32nd U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meetings on Maui. Courtesy Photo

About the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force TheUnitedStatesisoneofmanynationsaroundtheworldworkingtohaltthecoralreefcrisisandprotect,restore,andsustainablyusecoralreefecosystems.TheUnitedStatesCoralReefTaskForce(USCRTF)wasestablishedin1998byPresidentialExecutiveOrder13089toleadU.S.effortstopreserveandprotectcoralreefecosystems.TheUSCRTFhasbeeninstrumentalinbuildingpartnershipsandstrate-giesforon-the-groundactiontoconservecoralreefs.TheUSCRTFworksincooperationwithState,territorial,commonwealth,andlocalgovernmentagencies,nongovernmentalorganizations,thescientificcommunity,andcommercialintereststofurthertheunderstandingandconservation of coral reef ecosystems. TheUSCRTFisresponsibleforoverseeingimplementationof theExecutiveOrder,anddevelopingandimplementingcoordinatedeffortstomapandmonitorU.S.coralreefs;researchthecausesof,andsolutionstocoralreefdecline;reduceandmitigatecoralreefdeg-radationfrompollution,overfishingandothercauses;andimplementstrategiestopromoteconservationandsustainableuseofcoralreefsinternationally. Healthycoralreefsareamongthemostbiologicallydiverseandeconomicallyvaluableecosystemsonearth.TheUSCRTFrecognizesthe urgent need for action to address the state of coral reef management and science, and to reduce threats to coral reef ecosystem condi-tion to make reefs more resilient in the face of climate change. Science has demonstrated that reef communities can recover when they are protectedandstressorsremoved.Precioustimeforcoralreefecosystemscanbesecuredthroughincreasedprotectionfromlandandmarinepollution,unsustainablefishing,development,andotherstressors,allofwhichweknowcandamagecoralcondition.ItisclearthattheUSCRTF,withpartners,mustsignificantlyincreaseourcollectiveefforttoaddressthefactorsoverwhichwecanexercisecontrol. USCRTFmembersmeetbiannuallytodiscusskeyissues,proposenewactions,presentprogressreports,andupdatethecoralcom-munityonpastaccomplishmentsandfutureplans.Inaddition,theUSCRTFSteeringCommittee-madeupofrepresentativesfromeachoftheparticipatingFederalagencies,states,andterritories-meetsmonthlytodiscussprogressoncurrentUSCRTFinitiativesandplannewareas for collaboration.

Pacific Connection

The

What is the West Maui Ridge to Reef Initiative?

TheWestMauiRidgetoReef(R2R)Initiativeisanall-encompassingapproachacrossmul-tipleagenciesandorganizationstoaddressadverseimpactstocoralreefsinWestMaui.TheStateofHawaiirecognizedthatanintegratedandcomprehensiveapproachtoreduceland-basedsourcesofpollution isoneof themost importantsteps tohelprestorecoral reefecosystems.TheR2RInitiative builds on already established efforts underway and leverages resources across a number ofagenciesandcommunitygroupstoimplementactionstoreduceoneofthekeysourcesofreefdecline–land-basedsourcesofpollution. TheU.S.CoralReefTaskForcedesignatedtheWestMauiWatershedasaprioritypartnershipinthePacificin2011,focusingonWahikuliandHonokowaiwatersheds.ThefullR2Rprojectareaincludes24,000acresfromKaanapalinorthwardtoHonoluaandfromthesummitofPu`uKukuitotheouterreef. TheR2RObjectiveistorestoreandenhancethehealthandresiliencyofWestMauicoralreefsandnear-shorewatersthroughthereductionofland-basedpollutionthreatsfromthesummitofPu`uKukuitotheouterreef.TheseeffortswillbeguidedbythevaluesandtraditionsofWestMaui.

7

(Right photo) Honolulu District Civil Works Branch Chief Derek Chow (front right) briefs ASACW Ms. Jo Ellen Darcy (left front), Senior Executive Gene Ban, Director, Programs Directorate Pacif-ic Ocean Division (second row right), and Pacific Ocean Division Commander Col. Jeff Milhorn enroute to a site visit within the West Maui Watershed. Courtesy Photo

Pacific Connection

The8

Lt. Col. ChristopherW.Crary became the69th commander of the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers Honolulu District in a military cer-emony held July 17 onFort Shafter,Hawaii’sPalmCircleparadefield. FormerU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineersPa-cific Ocean Division Commander Maj. Gen.RichardL.Stevenshostedtheceremonyduringwhich outgoing commander Lt. Col. Thomas D. Asbery and incoming commander Lt. Col. Crary passed the ceremonial flag symbolizingthe official change of command. During theceremony,Craryandhisfamilywerepresentedwith fresh flower leis, a Hawaiian symbol ofwelcome, with the Asbery family also receiving leis as a tribute to their service. For his outstanding work and contribu-tions to the Honolulu District, Asbery received the Meritorious Service Medal. Asbery leaves to become the PacificOceanDivisionDeputyCommander. During his tenure, Asbery met the challenge of successfully leading the District in executing all mission requirements: military construction (MILCON), civil works, international and in-teragency services, real estate, regulatory, envi-ronmental services and emergency management support. For fiscal years 2012 and 2013, theDistrict’s contracting team awarded more than $512.4 million in contracts in Hawaii and the PacificRegion. Honolulu District is responsible formajormilitary design and construction, civil works, international and interagency support, realestate services for the Army and Air Force, regulatory work, environmental services and emergency management. The District’s current activeprogramisvaluedatabout$2billion.Asbery ledahighlymotivatedstaff insupportofU.S.Armymilitaryconstruction,transforma-tionandArmyinitiativesonHawaiiArmypoststhat included the renovation of several historic quadrangles (Quads) on Schofield Barracks.U.S.ArmyGarrisonHawaii,CorpsofEngineersand several contractors also joined forces under Asbery’stenuretostartandfinishconstructionoftwostate-of-the-artLEED-certifiedenergy-efficientbarracksatSchofieldBarracks.Athirdbarracks at HelemanoMilitary Reservation isslatedtobecompletedinmid-2014. During his tour, Honolulu District along with the National Memorial Cemetery of thePacific atPunchbowl and theAmericanBattleMonuments Commission, dedicated two new pavilions at theHonoluluMemorial.TheDis-trict also celebrated the grand opening of the$11.4 million state-of-the-art learning center at theAsia-PacificCenter forSecurityStudies atFortDeRussy. Under Asbery’s leadership, the Districtalso began construction of a new Warrior in Transition barracks and complex at SchofieldBarracks, aChildDevelopmentCenter atFortShafter,phaseoneofthenewCombatAviation

Lt. Col. Christopher Crary Becomes 69th Honolulu District CommanderStory by

Honolulu District Public Affairs

Brigade complex at Wheeler Army Airfield,andthefirstphaseofsixplannedphasesforthefuture headquarters of the U.S. Army Pacific(USARPAC) Mission Control Facility at FortShafter.GroundbreakingfortheUSARPACfa-cilitywasheldinApril2012. During his tenure, the District also contin-ued military construction support for the AirForce at HickamAirfield, including construc-tion in support ofHickam’sF-22 aircraft pro-gram.

HonoluluDistrictprovidedsignificantcivilworkssupporttotheStateofHawaiiduringAs-bery’stour,includingthesigningofa$3millioncost-share agreement between the state of Ha-waiiDepartmentofLandandNaturalResources(DLNR)andtheCorpstodevelopawatershedplantosupporttheWestMaui“RidgetoReef”Initiative.Theinitiativeisoneofthefirsteffortsinthestatetoimplementacomprehensiveman-agement strategy to address impacts to coralreefsacrossmultiplewatersheds.

Lt. Col. Christopher W. Crary (back right) receives the unit colors from former Pacific Ocean Division Commander Maj. Gen. Richard L. Stevens, becoming the 69th Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District. Looking on are outgoing District Commander Lt. Col. Thomas D. Asbery (front left) and Honolulu District Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management Tony Paresa. Stevens presided over the ceremony on the Palm Circle Parade Field at Fort Shafter. Photo by Dino W. Buchanan

Pacific Connection

The 9

Lt. Col. Christopher Crary Becomes 69th Honolulu District Commander

In addition, Lt.Col.Asbery, in support ofUSACEHeadquartersEmergencyManagementdisasterrequirements, initiatedthedeploymentof15Districtpersonnelforemergencymanage-ment support recoveryefforts in theaftermathofHurricaneSandyintheNortheastU.S.duringthewintermonthsof2012-2013. Asberywasalsotheproponentfortheestab-lishmentofahands-onengineerofficerprofes-sionaldevelopment experiencewith theCorpsforjuniorofficers,developmentofaworkingre-lationshipwithtwoWoundedWarriorunits:theWarriorTransitionBattalionbasedatSchofieldBarracks and the Marine Wounded Warrior De-tachmentbasedatMarineCorpsBaseHawaii,Kaneohe. The District supports the WoundedWarriorprogramsbyallowingservicememberstogainvaluableworkexperienceasvolunteersas they transition back into either the military or civilian life. Asberywasalsotheproponentinthesign-ing of a Memorandum of Agreement between Honolulu District and the government of Amer-ican Samoa to formalize a partnership for theCorpstosponsorscience,technology,engineer-ing and math (STEM) activities in American Samoa schools. Throughout his tour the District was also highly involved in State and local MATH-COUNTScompetitions,participationinSTEMoutreach events such as theUniversity ofHa-

waii-Manoa College of Engineering Career fairs, the annual Engineer Week, the Hawaii ScienceOlympiad,aswellasmanyDistrictper-sonnelspeakingatlocalschools. In January 2013, the District welcomedhome the 565th Engineer Detachment Forward Engineer Support Team-Advance (FEST-A)fromtheirhighvisibilityandsuccessfuldeploy-ment in supportofOverseasContingencyOp-erations in Afghanistan. Crary will command an organization of about300engineers,scientistsandsupportstaffserving the Pacific Region, including Hawaii,Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of theNorthernMarianaIslands,andKwajalein. Crarymost recently served as the DeputyCorpsEngineerforthe130thEngineerBrigade,Schofield Barracks, Hawaii while the brigadewas deployed to Afghanistan in support ofOperationEnduringFreedom. Healso servedas the Deputy Commander of the Corps’ SanFrancisco District. He served two years with the 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo. astheBattalionOperationsOfficerandBattal-ionExecutiveOfficer.Lt.Col.Crarywascom-missionedasaSecondLieutenantin1997afterearning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil EngineeringfromtheUniversityofAlabamaatBirmingham. He earned a Master of Science in EngineeringManagement from theUniversityofMissouri-Rollain2002.

Photos by Dino W. Buchanan

Pacific Connection

The10

Cadet District Engineer Program Offers Hands-On USACE Experience

TheHonoluluDistricthostedtwoU.S.ArmycadetsaspartoftheCadetDistrictEngineerProgram(CDEP).ThisprogramallowsWestPointandROTCCadetsanopportunitytogainfirst-handconstructionandengi-neeringexperiencewiththeU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers(USACE). CDEPCadetsaregenerallyassignedforseveralweeksoftrainingatUSACEDistrictstoworkoncivil,mechanical,electrical,orenvironmentalengineeringprojects.TheprogramexposesthemtoUSACEmissionsandhelpsthemexplorepotentialactivedutyopportunitieswithintheU.S.ArmyEngineerBranchprofession. “Thisprogramhashelpedmeunderstand theCorpsa lotbetter,”said Cadet Kyle Underwood, who is studying civil engineering atWestPoint. “I thought theCorpsdid the construction, but they’re actually theprojectmanagerswhoensurethequalityofworkisveryhigh,thatappro-priatesafetymeasuresare taken,and thatany issuesorchangeswith theprojectcanbeaddressedproperlyinatimelymanner.” AccordingtoUnderwood,heenjoyedworkingontheprojectsas-signedtohim,startingwiththeCentralVehicleWashFacilitywhichisbasi-callyanenormouscarwashwhichservestoefficientlyrecycleandconservewaterwhilepreventingrunofffromdamagingtheenvironment. “Istudiedenvironmentalengineeringsothisisagreatpracticalap-plicationofwhatIlearnedintheclassroom,”saidUnderwood.“Ialsoen-joyed working on the Warriors in Transition Barracks which is for Soldiers whowereinjuredinIraqandAfghanistan.Itgivesthemaspecialunitwherethey can have an Army job while transitioning back to the civilian world.

It’sgoodtoseethattheArmyistakingcareofourreturningSoldierswhohavegivensomuchintheserviceofourcountry.” Inaddition,UnderwoodworkedontheQuadDRenovationProject.TheSchofieldBarracksQuadswerebuiltbackinthe1920sandtheCorpsispainstakinglyensuringthattherenovationworkishistoricallycorrectandreflectsthebarracksastheywereoriginallybuilt. “Whenthisprojectiscomplete,Soldierswillhaveanimprovedqualityoflifebecauseoftheupgradedfacilities,”saidUnderwood. UnderwoodspokehighlyoftheUSACEQualityAssuranceRepresentatives(QARs)andthefieldengineerswhomentoredhim. “ItwasgreatworkingwiththeQualityAssuranceReps,andothers.Theywereallveryhelpfulandexplainedeveryaspectoftheworktome,”saidUnderwood.“TheytookthetimetoteachmeandmakesurethatIunderstoodtheprocess.IwouldfavorablyconsiderafutureassignmentwiththeCorps,andIhighlyrecommendtheprogramtomyfellowCadets.” CadetMattS.BorlandoftheUniversityofMichiganalsopraisedtheprogram. “IfoundoutabouttheCDEPfromsomeoneinmyROTCprogramwhowasinitlastyear.Hetoldmeitwasagreatexperiencetoseehowengineeringworksin the Army, and he recommended that all engineer Ca-detsapply,”saidBorland. “BeforecomingintothisprogramIknewwhattheCorpswas,butIdidnotknowhowitactuallyoperated.Duringourfirstweek,theDistrictDeputyCommanderMaj. Brennan Wallace made sure we met with a broad crosssectionofpeoplerepresentingeverydepartment(ProjectManagers,Contracting,etc.)inordertoshowushowtheCorpsworks,”saidBorland. “Wewere then sent out todifferent projectsites to experience firsthand how a several thousandpagecontractisactuallyexecutedbythecontractor.IattendedmeetingswiththeCorpsteamandthecontrac-torstoseehoweverythingiscoordinated.” While in Hawaii, Borland got to work on the QuadBRenovationProject,whichhefoundveryinter-esting because of the age of the buildings and unfore-seenprojectissues. “IfounditparticularlyinterestingtoseehowtheCorpsnegotiateswiththecontractorsontoughis-sues,”saidBorland. AccordingtoBorland,“thisexperiencewillhelptheArmy,theCorps,andtheDistrictbecauseonemorecadethasbeeneducatedonwhatUSACEdoes.IamlookingforwardtoapossiblefutureassignmentwiththeCorps.IwilltellthepeoplebackatmyschoolaboutthisprogramandtheHonoluluDistrictwhichwillleadtomoreengineersapplyingtocomeouthereinthefuture.” AccordingtoMaj.Wallace,“havingcadetsparticipateintheCDEPnotonlybenefitstheindividualcadet,butalsobenefitsUSACEandtheEngineerRegiment.TheprogramexposesfutureofficerstotheCorpsanditscapabilitiesandhelpsthemconsiderfutureassignmentopportunities.” Editor’s Note: Cadet Kyle Underwood is from Bayport, New York and Cadet Matt S. Borland is from Troy, Michigan.

Story byJoseph Bonfiglio

Chief, Public Affairs

Cadet Kyle Underwood (center), Honolulu District Construction Control Representa-tive Daniel Wong (left), and Project Engineer Randy Itamoto discuss features of the Central Vehicle Wash Facility Project on Schofield Barracks. Underwood is a West Point Cadet who came to the Honolulu District for the Cadet District Engineer Pro-gram. Photo by Joseph Bonfiglio

Cadet Matt S. Borland (right) and Honolulu District Construction Control Representative Joseph Tribbey discuss the features of the Quad B Renovation Project on Schofield Barracks. Borland, an ROTC Cadet with the University of Michigan, came to the Honolulu District for the Cadet District Engineer Program. Photo by Joseph Bonfiglio

Pacific Connection

The 11

(Above) Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick (fourth from left), and senior Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Army Pacific (USAR-PAC) leaders toured and were briefed on the construction status of the USARPAC Mission Command Facility (MCF) at Fort Shafter July 17, the same day Lt. Col. Chris Crary (center) became the new Honolulu District commander. The MCF, which the Corps is building for USARPAC, will consolidate USARPAC headquarters into one facility that will support Mission Command of Army or joint forces across the Asia-Pacific Area of Operations. (Below right) MCF Phase One Project Manager Gerald Young explains the project’s layout to Lt. Gen. Bostick. (Below left photos) Lt. Gen. Bostick talks with Pacific Ocean Division and Honolulu District command staff and engineers about the MCF. Photos by Joseph Bonfiglio

Chief of Engineers Visits USARPAC Mission Command Facility

Pacific Connection

The12

District Ohana Celebrates 2014 Hispanic Heritage Month EachyearfromSept.15-Oct.15,theU.S.Army Corps of Engineers and the HonoluluDistrict celebrate the tremendous contributions ofHispanicAmericans toourmilitaryandna-tion. In honor of this year’s Hispanic HeritageMonth,theDistrict’sSpecialEmphasisProgramCommitteeheldaPaniolo-themedeventinmid-SeptemberthatfeaturedexpertHawaiiansaddlemakerandPanioloKeithRyderwhotalkedsto-ry and shared some of the "tools" of his trade. Inthe1830s,KingKamehamehaIIIinvitedMexican vaqueros to Hawaii to teach native Ha-waiians how to herd cattle. The Hawaiian word forcowboy,Paniolo, isbelieved tobe theHa-waiianpronunciationofEspañol. Employees also listened to Mary Eiger, aRegistered Dietitian at Tripler Army MedicalCenter, who discussed the benefits of eatinghealthyHispanicfood.Followingthepresenta-tionsemployeesandguestssampled10entriesintheannualandhighly-popularchilicook-offwith winners determined in three categories, People’s Choice, Commander’s Choice, andGuestSpeaker’sChoice.

Photos by Joseph Bonfiglio

Pacific Connection

The 13

Ohana Joins 2014 National Public Lands Day Activities

More than 40 volunteers picked up trash atFortDeRussyinWaikikiSept.20.inhonorofNa-tionalPublicLandsDayandInternationalCoastalCleanupDay. The Corps of Engineers’ Pacific RegionalVisitorCenter (RVC)coordinated theevent thatwassupportedbyCorpsemployees,DeltaSigmaThetasorority,andPunahouJuniorROTCcadets. About 20 cadets led by Punahou JROTCCommanderLt.Col.RobertTakaoconcentratedtheir efforts on cleaning the beach berm behind historicBatteryRandolph. “We’vebeendoingthisforthelastsevenoreight years, and we always get willing volun-teers,”Takaosaid.“It’sneverhardtogettheca-dets to come out because they realize how good it is for our world to do things like this. I’m really proudofthem.” Volunteerscollectedmorethan10largebagsof trash from the area. “We’rehappyabouteducating thepubliconthe importanceofpreservingandimprovingourpreciousnaturalandculturaltreasures,”saidAn-gelaJones,headparkrangerattheRVC. National Public Lands Day is the largestsingle-day volunteer effort for public lands intheU.S. In 2013,more than16,000volunteersworked to clean 1,651 miles of shoreline, main-tain135milesoftrails,andplantsome835treesand shrubs at USACE-operated sites. FormoreinformationonNationalPublicLandsDayvisithttp://www.publiclandsday.org.

Story by Joseph Bonfiglio

Chief, Honolulu District Public Affairs

Photos by Joseph Bonfiglio

Pacific Connection

The14

Pacific Jungle FUDS Kahana StreamRemedial Investigation / Feasibility StudyA contractor diver returns from a practice dive in Kahana Stream on Oahu in support of the Pacific Jungle FUDS Re-medial investigation/feasibility study in September. Dive over-sight at the stream was provided by Dive Coordination Richard (Rick) Benoit, Portland District and Honolulu District’s Ord-nance and Explosives Safety Specialist and Dive Administra-tor Harmon Slappy. Photo by Kevin Pien

In mid-September the American Samoa government conducted a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $5.4 million Leone Bridge on Tutuila Island. The original Leone Bridge was damaged beyond repair during the 2009 tsunami. The Federal Highway Administration / American Samoa Directorate of Public Works requested Honolulu District conduct the planning, design and construction of a new Leone Bridge within the Interagency and International Services (IIS) program. The contract called for remov-al of the temporary bridge, site cleanup, new construction and a final inspection. (Right) The new bridge as it appeared shortly be-fore completion in September. Courtesy Photo (Below) The damage to the original bridge is visible after the September 2009 tsunami. Photos by Atlas GeoTechnical and Lyon Associates, Inc.

American Samoa Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Leone Bridge

POD Commander Visits Schofield Barracks Projects Sites Pacific Ocean Division Com-mander Col. Jeff Milhorn (left, third from right) listens as Resident Engineer Kim-berly Jyo (left, center & bot-tom photo, right) talks about the Grow the Army project footprint outside and inside a new Tactical Equipment Maintenance Facility. (Cen-ter photos) Central Wash Fa-cility project manager Jason Tanaka talks about the vari-ous aspects of the nearly

completed facility. Joining Col. Milhorn for the visit were District Commander Lt. Col. Christopher Crary (above, second from right), and other District engineering and construction branch staff. Photos by Dino W. BuchananDistrict Names New Regulatory Chief

Michelle (Shelly) Lynch was named to lead theDistrict’sRegulatoryOfficeinlateSep-tember.ShepreviouslywasaSeniorRegu-latory Project Manager in the RegulatoryOffice. Lynch’s work experience includesworking as a Biologist for the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management,andtheU.S.ForestService,working for the Oregon Department ofTransportationasaBiologistandaRegionEnvironmental Coordinator. She also was a SeniorRegulatoryProjectManagerforfouryearsatPortlandDistrictbeforecomingtothe Honolulu District.

Pacific Connection

The

Employees of the Month

15

June

Don SchlackWhile serving as the Power Subject Matter Expertfor the 2014 Makani Pahili hurricane exercise Don planned, coordinated, and executed an outstandingexerciseforthePOHPowerPRT.Priortotheactualexercise,hespentcountlesshoursofhispersonaltimedevelopingexerciseobjectives/scenariofortheevent,that included over 100 scenario injects to keep theplayactiveandrealistic.

June

Wendy MowWendydistinguishedherself inheroutstandingsup-porttoherProjectandProgrammanagers,PDTsandasaMissionSpecialistontheEmergencyPowerPRT.During June, she actively participated in thePowerPRT training tomaintain her preparedness and alsoparticipatedintheMakani Pahili exercise sharing her PRTandENGLinkknowledgewithnewteammem-bers.

June

Jason TanakaAs the POH Power PRT Action Officer for the2014 Makani Pahili hurricane exercise Jason didan outstanding job in planning, coordinating, andsupervisingtheexecutionoftheemergencypowermission forEmergencySupport Function #3. Hedemonstratedanextremelyhighleveloftechnical/tactical expertise for the execution of this criticalmission in realistic simulated circumstances.

July

Graeme Silva

July

TristanandGraemerosetothechallengetoprepositiontheDistricttohandletheNationalSecurityAgency’s(NSA)year-endworkload.WiththeNSA’sexpectationsontheHonoluluDistricttobeprompt,flexible,andtohandletheirever-changingworkload,bothTritanandGraememeteverychallengebyusingtheAlphacontract-ingprocess;includingdevelopingtheacquisitionstrategy,arrangingsitevisits,andcoordinatingthecontrac-torsoralpresentationsrequiredfortheNSAtogetarealistichandleontheiryear-endworkload.

Tristan Suetsugu

Honolulu District's Candace Lotomau (right) receives a Chief of Engineers’ Commander’s Coin (shown below right) and congratulations for her outstand-ing contracting contributions while deployed to the Bagram Area Office from

Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick during his visit to Transatlantic Afghanistan District in September. Cour-tesy photos

Contracting’s Lotomau Recieves Chief’s Coin for Excellence

Honolulu District’s Newly-Licensed P.E.s

District Commander Lt. Col. Christo-pher Crary presented commander’s coins and his congratulations to the District’s newly-licensed Profession-al Engineers (P.E.) in the State of Hawaii to (top) James Nakamura and (above) Kevin Khan during recent District staff meetings. Pathways to a P.E. in Hawaii include undergradu-ate and/or graduate degrees, more than three years of experience in the field and passing a two-hour exam. Photos by Dino W. Buchanan

Welcome: Bryson Clemente, Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Klasse, Lauren Molina, Sarah Watts, Robert SchiefferWelcome Back: Shivaun White, Tom Snider, Scott Mo-chizuki, Loren Zulick, Paul TakataGoodbye: Scott Mochizuki, Zach Okemura, Farley Wata-nabe, Harmon Slappy, Curt Yamasaki, Fabian Lidao, Pat Tom, Larry DeGroot, Devin Kamita, Geoffrey Ries, Myron Oh

Transitions

Aloha to our Overseas Contingency Operationsvolunteer who is deployed to Afghanistan:

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersHonolulu DistrictPublic Affairs OfficeBuilding 230, Rm. 302Fort Shafter, HI 96858-5440Official Business

Pacific Ocean Division Welcomes New Commander

Candace Lotomau

Col. Jeffrey L. Milhorn (right) receives the Army Colors from Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick during the change of command ceremony July 18, on Palm Circle, Fort Shafter. Photo by Duy Ta, ACE-IT Visual Information Specialist

Maj.Gen.RichardL.Stevens relinquishedhis position as commanderof theU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers(USACE)PacificOceanDivisiontoCol.JeffreyL.Milhorn,duringachangeofcommandceremony,July18onPalmCircle,FortShafter,Hawaii. Withthepassingoftheceremonialflag,symbolizingtheofficialchangeofcommand,Milhornbecamethe31stcommanderoftheArmyCorps'divisionservingtheAsia-Pacificregion.Henowleadsanorganizationthatemploys1,600military,DepartmentofArmy,hostnationcivilianengineers,techniciansandotherprofessionalsintheannualexecutionofa$3.2billionprogram. The mission includes engineering design, construction and real estate management fortheArmyinHawaii,ArmyandAirForceinAlaska,andforallDepartmentofDefenseagenciesinJapan,theRepublicofKorea,andKwajaleinAtoll,RepublicoftheMarshallIslands. MilhornisnostrangertoHawaii,havingservedtwopreviouscommandtoursatScho-fieldBarracks,with the25thInfantryDivisionand8thTheaterSupportCommand.Hemost recently served as the chief of staff of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. Lt.Gen.ThomasP.Bostick,chiefofengineersandcommandinggeneraloftheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers,hostedtheceremony. StevensremainswiththeArmyCorpsteam,astheDeputyCommandingGeneralofMilitaryandInternationalOperationsatUSACEHeadquartersinWashington,D.C.

Story byTerri Kojima

Chief, Pacific Ocean Division Public Affairs

In MemoriumDesmund Lum passed away Sept. 21 following a long battle with lung cancer. Desmond worked with USACE for more than 30 years as a Budget Analyst; 24 years with Honolulu District and four years with Japan District (1988-1992). He was more than a coworker for many; he was a teammate, friend, and part of the Ohana.

Beverly Ledesma died in an auto accident on Oahu Oct. 1. Beverly worked for the federal government for more than 29 years and at Honolulu District for nearly 13 years, most recently as a Management Analyst in the District’s Resource Management Office. She was a very person-able and beloved member of the Ohana.

Pacific Ocean Division Com-mander Col. Jeffrey L. Milhorn presented POD commander’s coins to Civil Works Technical Branch Chief Mike Wong and Contracting Specialist Jennifer Ko in early September for their tireless efforts in the face of Hurricane Iselle to support the Hilo Harbor Survey Team. Their efforts, along with many others, allowed the U.S. Coast Guard to quickly reopen Hilo Harbor on the island of Hawaii after the storm. Photo by Duy Ta, ACE-IT Visual Information Specialist

POD Commander Presents Coins to Employees