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to various kinds of stress . The EnvironmentalLaboratory investigates the effects of waterresources development projects on the environ-ment, and the interaction between militaryactivities and the environment . The CoastalEngineering Research Center provides thenational expertise in coastal engineering tohelp solve navigation, coastal flooding, beacherosion, storm protection and marineconstruction problems . The GeotechnicalLaboratory studies soils, pavements, off-roadmobility of military vehicles, earthquakeeffects and engineering geology. TheInformation Technology Laboratory doesresearch, development, and support ininterdisciplinary computer-aided engineeringfields and computer science fields .

esterday's explorer and today's successstory- the U.S . Army Corps ofEngineers leads the world in

engineering technology, while researching newtechniques for building tomorrow.

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Vicksburg, Miss. pursues a spectrum ofactivities in six component technicallaboratories .

The Hydraulics Laboratory studies floodcontrol, navigation and sedimentation prob-lems in waterways and harbors . The StructuresLaboratory studies the response of structures

No . 1 on the MississippiRiver built by Water-ways ExperimentStation

)lant harvester toontrol plants choking

The History of tlUS Army Coreof Engineer

i i IC L00ayVI10 UUUUV. .

and the Corps ofEngineers old andmost time honoredinsignia. War of 1812

Battle of Bunker HillJune 17, 1775 byH . Charles McBarron

7 he U.S . Army Corps of Engineerstraces its origins to the AmericanRevolution . On June 16, 1775, when

the Continental Congress established the Army,it provided for a Chief Engineer. ColonelRichard Gridley, the first to hold that position,set to work immediately directing fortificationsduring the Battle of Bunker Hill .

Congress addedcompanies of engineertroops, or sappers andminers, to the Armyand, in 1779, formedthem into a distinctCorps of Engineers .

The Engineers' finest hour was at the Battle ofYorktown in October 1781, which forced aBritish surrender .

When war with Britain threatened again in1794, Congress appointed temporary engineersto fortify key harbors . In 1802, the Corpsof Engineers was made permanent and tookcharge of the military academy at WestPoint, N.Y.

Constructing seacoast fortifications con-tinued as the engineers' primary responsibility .The Corps again saw combat in the Warof 1812 .

That war demonstrated the need to improvethe nation's defense and transportation systems .In 1824, the General Survey Act authorizedthe President to use Army engineers to surveyroad and canal routes . A separate measureappropriated $75,000 to employ publicengineers in improving navigation on the Ohioand Mississippi Rivers. Thus began the Army'slong involvement in civil works activities .

In May 1846, on the eve of the MexicanWar, Congress authorized the first regularcompany of engineer troops . During the CivilWar, their numbers increased, as engineerofficers commanded combined troops,conducted surveys and reconnaissance, anddirected siege operations .

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Camouflaged soldiersexperiment with laserequipment during win .ter combat exercisessponsored by the ColeRegions Research aniEngineering Laboratoi

Corps multipurpose projects have providedmany communities with storage for their primesource of drinking water . In meeting watersupply needs, the Corps has impounded morethan 9 million acre-feet of water in 110 lakesthrough the U .S .

The Corps also has been active in shorelineprotection and in developing new technologyin this area . The Corps uses both structural andnonstructural measures to protect the country'sseacoast and shores of the Great Lakes frombeach erosion and hurricane flood damage .Structures included groins and breakwaters .Nonstructural measures, such as adding sandor planting beach grasses, are often moreeconomical and practical .

s its civil works mission gainsvolume and complexity, the Corps ofEngineers is constantly seeking new

ways to do the job . The Corps is also preparedto respond to the needs of the engineer soldieron the battlefield. Research to support thiseffort is carried on by some 1,200 engineersand scientists at four major research centers .

The Army Construction Engineering Re-search Laboratory in Champaign, Ill . workswith the University of Illinois in conductingresearch and engineering studies in materials,energy, construction management and environ-mental quality.

The Army Topographic Engineering Center atFort Belvoir, Va, is committed to advancing thestate-of-the-art in geodetic, topographic andgeographic information for the Army andDepartment of Defense .The Army Cold Regions Research and

Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N .H .supports civil and military constructionthrough research, investigations and engi-neering studies of cold environments,including the mechanics of snow, ice andpermafrost .

The Waterways Experiment Station in

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J n the following decade, the Corps'involvement in civil works mushroomedas appropriations jumped from $3 .5

million for 49 projects and 26 surveys in 1866to $19 million for 371 projects and 135 surveysin 1882. Key developments occurred on theOhio River, which the Corps had canalized toa depth of nine feet by 1929, and on the lowerMississippi, where growing pressures fornavigation and flood control led Congress toestablish the Mississippi River Commission in1879 . This permanent body included threeCorps of Engineers officers .

As engineers debated effective floodprotection measures, federal responsibility forflood control grew in response to recurringfloods . With legislation in 1928, attentionbroadened from the Mississippi to include itstributaries . The Flood Control Act of 1936recognized flood control in general as a properactivity of the federal government and gaveresponsibility for most federal projects to theCorps of Engineers .

After World War II, multi-purpose projectsinvolving navigation, water storage, irrigation,

."~ recreation,

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control, predominated . In the process, theCorps became a leading producer ofhydroelectric power.

The Corps role in protecting the naturalenvironment also expanded . It was influential

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Boating is a popular

addressed in Presidential Executive Orderactivity on many C'

11490 . In response to this order, the Corps hasdeveloped its National Security EmergencyPreparedness (NSEP) program, designed tomeet defense and essential civilian needsduring national security and major domesticemergencies. The Corps, in coordination withstate, local and other federal agencies, hasdeveloped support plans that can beimplemented both here and abroad .

;winiy curing naturiisasters

and c

he Corps emergency plans addressingmajor domestic situations impacting onnational security include providing

support to others for dealing with civildisturbances; natural disasters, such asearthquakes, flood control and drought ; andcontrol of certain hazardous materials . Recentemergencies for which the Corps has providedsupport include Hurricane Hugo, the SanFrancisco Bay Area earthquake, and theAlaskan oil spill . The program emphasizessupport to the military as well as to the publicsector .

Corps of Engineers projects also providepublic recreation facilities, featuring boating,swimming, fishing, hunting, camping andhiking. The Corps manages more that 2,500separate recreation areas at 460 water resourcedevelopment projects in 43 states .

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Washington Monument,February 1884

Senate wing amCapitol dome i

in the creation of Yellowstone as the firstnational park in 1874 and, in the 1870s, beganto regulate construction of bridges to preventobstruction to navigation . In 1899, Congressgave the Corps authority to regulate almost allkinds of obstructions to navigation .

he Corps of Engineers has had aspecial relationship with the Districtof Columbia since 1791, when former

Army engineer Pierre L'Enfant designed themaster plan for the new capital . In the mid- 19thcentury, Lieutenant Montgomery C . Meigssupervised construction of a permanent watersupply system for the cities of Washington andGeorgetown. In the post-Civil War period,Army engineers worked on reconstruction ofthe Capitol ; supervised the development ofRock Creek Park; completed the WashingtonMonument; helped design and superviseconstruction of the State, War and NavyBuildings (today's Executive Office Buildingnext to the White House), and the Library ofCongress; and oversaw dredge and fill opera-tions, which created acres of public parkland .

After 1878, an Army engineer officer servedon the District's three-man governing com-mission. The George Washington MemorialParkway, the Pentagon and National Airportbegan as pre-World War II Corps projects .

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Apply to COMMANDING OFFICER207-B WASHINGTON BARRACKS, D.C

sharing rules for non-Federal participation inproject funding . In the Water ResourcesDevelopment Act of 1990, the Secretary of theArmy was directed to include environmentalprotection as one of the Corps primarymissions . The new legislation also establisheda goal of "no net loss of wetlands" for theCorps and a 3-year demonstration program forwetlands conservation .

n its civil works navigation mission, theCorps completed the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway a year and a half

ahead of schedule . The 234-mile Tenn-Tomwas one of the largest navigation projectsconstructed by the Corps and requiredexcavation exceeding that of the PanamaCanal. The Corps excavated 307 million cubicyards of earth .

The Army Civil Works program also has animportant regulatory function, which makessure there is a public interest balance between

environmental protection for proposed fills andcommercial development in the waters of theUnited States . Balance results from a review ofpermit applications for proposed activities andguards sensitive areas against unnecessary,detrimental construction .

Another important responsibility of theCorps is responding to major emergencieshaving an impact on our nation's security, as

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ince the Civil War, engineer officersand troops have played key roles in sixwars . During World War I, in combat

and in such activities behind the linesas constructing ports, storage depots, hospitals,and barracks, the Corps performed a greaterdiversity of military services than ever before .

Its support of the Normandy landing andbreakthrough of enemy lines, its bridge-building efforts, and support of amphibiouslandings during World War II stand out .

Throughout the Pacific Theater, the Corpsbuilt pipelines, dredged harbors, and built andrepaired ports. Bases in Greenland and Icelandprotected Atlantic shipping . The Corps also

A soldier constructionengineer checks out hissurvey markers duringroad construction

built the 1,671-mile Alcan Highway in Alaskaand the Ledo Road from India to Burma .

At home, the Corps of Engineers took overresponsibility for all Army construction inDecember 1941 . This effort included militaryand industrial projects, a total mobilizationthat involved more than 27,000 projects at acost of $15 .3 billion . The Corps created aspecial district to oversee the ManhattanProject, a massive effort to constructproduction and assembly facilities for atomicweapons, new scientific equipment andresidential communities for workers .

After World War II, in less traditional roles,the Corps became the design and constructionagent for NASA, supported the ICBMconstruction program, and worked on militaryand civil projects overseas .

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Crewmen from theCorps' U.S. derrick-boatOhio guide a 76-tonqate from Black RockLock

facilities for beddown of the B-2 Bomber atWhiteman Air Force Base, Mo .

While the Corps' military mission is huge,its civil works projects are most often in thepublic view . The Assistant Secretary of theArmy (Civil Works) directs and supervises thecivil works mission carried out by the Corps'350 engineer officers and 28,000 civilians .

7 he water resources program includesalmost 1,500 projects . The Corps isresponsible for planning, design,

construction, operation and maintenance ofprojects for flood control, navigation, hydro-electric power, water supply for municipalitiesand industry, recreation and fish and wildlifemanagement and environmental enhancement .

The Corps currently operates more than 500flood control dams and thousands of miles oflevees, floodwalls, floodwayss and channels .Over the past 50 years, the projects cost about$23 billion to construct . In 1986, these projectsprevented more than $27 billion in damage and

have averaged $10 .7 billion in savings annuallyover the past decade .

The Water Resources Development Act of1986 was the first major legislation affectingthe civil works program in 16 years. Inaddition to authorizing a number of new

Bonneville C

projects, the law included significant new cost-

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b he Army Corps of Engineers is a- complex organization with multiple

responsibilities requiring extensivedesign, engineering and construction expertise .This Army major command is an integral partof the Army and, as such, is the responsibilityof the Secretary of the Army. The Corps Com-mander also serves as Chief of Engineers, an

Army staff position .As the Army's senior

Engineer, the ChiefEngineers Tod '

works with the rest ofthe Army staff and other

commands to make sure combat engineer unitsare equipped, organized and manned properly .He also supervises the development of con-cepts, plans and policies for engineer supportof the Army, research and development insupport of the civil works program andmanagement of the Army's nuclear powerprogram as well as topographic services .

This effort includes preparation of the Corpsof Engineers for mobilization and the construc-tion workload that would follow. There areconstruction requirements to be determined,and designs accomplished in preparation forpartial or full mobilization of our country intime of emergency.

Under the direction of the Assistant Secretaryof the Army (Installations, Logistics andEnvironment), the Office of the Chief ofEngineers has staff responsibility for Armymilitary construction, family housing,environmental activities, facilities engineering,real estate and real property maintenance .

The Corps is the real estate agent for theDepartments of the Army and Air Force,acquiring, managing and disposing of land formilitary and civil works programs .

The Army's military and civil works landmoldings are extensive, comprising 24 millionacres . The Corps also provides real estate sup-port to other Federal agencies upon request,such as the Departments of Commerce, Energyand Interior, and NASA .

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The Corps of

Corps of Engineersofficials, and archaeoic-gists examine the fos-silized skull of a 45million-year-old whaleduring a Corps-con-

In support to the AirForce, the Corps servedas the constructionagent for the B-2bomber operational

A s the nation marches toward buildingpeace in the 21st century, the Corpsmilitary activities have kept pace .

Military construction support has been crucialto successfully concluding Operation JustCause in Panama and Operations Desert Shieldand Desert Storm in Southwest Asia .

As part of the nation's effort to end the ColdWar, the Corps has recently completed the firstchemical demilitarization plant at JohnstonIsland in the Pacific Ocean . Used for thedestruction of chemical weapons, the plant isthe first of nine under the Corps design andconstruction . These facilities will contributesignificantly to international peace andsecurity .

One of the most dynamic current programsinvolves the environmental restoration,protection and enhancement of current andformerly used military sites . This work, alongwith support to the Environmental ProtectionAgency, will soon be a billion dollar per yearmission for the Corps .

The realignment and reduction of thenation's military forces creates another missionfor the Corps through supporting affectedinstallations with planning, real estate andconstruction .

As the Air Force military constructionagent, the Corps plays a key role supportingthe men and women in blue . Projects includeconstructing the Large Rocket Test Facility atArnold Engineering and Development Center,Tenn., as well as the operational and support

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