BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers compound at Camp Victory, Iraq, was officially designated Camp Wolfe Oct. 22 in honor of Navy Cmdr. Duane Wolfe. Wolfe was the officer in charge of the Al-Anbar Area Office, killed when an improvised explosive device struck the vehicle he was riding in outside of Fallujah, Iraq, on May 25, 2009.
The ceremony was hosted by the USACE Gulf Region Division and included Wolfe's family and friends in Los Osos, Calif., via an internet hookup.
Maj. Gen. Michael R. Eyre, commanding general of the USACE Gulf Region Division, told the guest at the ceremony that Wolfe was "a force for stability, hope and trust among the Iraqi people. His death was a tremendous loss not only for Gulf Region Division, but also for the people he was so determined to assist."
Col. Dan Anninos, commander of the Gulf Region District, said that the designation is a lasting tribute to Cmdr. Wolfe's commitment and accomplishments.
"Camp Wolfe is an enduring camp, charged to execute our reconstruction mission that Cmdr. Wolfe was such integral part of," Anninos said. "He was a father, a husband, a son and a sailor, who loved life and loved those around him. I recognize that this may be of little comfort to his wife, Cindi, and many others, but please know we will never forget, and our grateful nation will never forget as we honor those who have given their lives for our freedom."
Cindi Wolfe, who was able to participate in the ceremony via the Internet, told the guests, "Much like so many of you here today, my husband was a builder of both roads and freedom, an engineer of bridges and peace, a man of faith and honor. It was my great good fortune to have spent the past 34 years building a warm home and a loving family with this fine man."
As officer in charge of the Al-Anbar Area Office, Wolfe was responsible for the U.S. servicemembers, government civilians and local Iraqi nationals working at the area office and three resident offices. His staff oversaw nearly $300 million in planned and ongoing construction projects, many of which are providing essential services to the Iraqi people. Projects included the first-ever wastewater treatment facility in Fallujah, an Iraqi Army location command, an Iraqi judicial complex and a 132-kilovolt substation in Ramadi.
Wolfe was serving as an activated Navy reservist with the Navy Operational Support Center, Port Hueneme, Calif. He was also a civilian employee at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Born in Canada, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1958. He joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Hueneme High School in Oxnard, Calif., in 1972. He served five years on active duty and joined the Navy Reserve in 1978 and was commissioned in the Naval Reserve in 1995 after earning a B.S. degree in Construction Engineering from California Polytechnic Institute.
Wolfe was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with "V" Device for Valor and the Purple Heart. He is survived by his wife, Cindi, and their three children.
The USACE compound at Camp Liberty was established in September 2004 and had been referred to as the "Castle Gate" compound, because the walls surrounding the compound resembled those of a castle.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq has completed thousands of reconstruction projects in partnership with other U.S. government agencies and the government of Iraq. Since 2004, GRD has completed more than 5,300 projects throughout Iraq valued at $9.1 billion, with more than 350 projects ongoing.
Sarah Eilts, daughter of Ted Eilts, who was Chief of Engineering for the Gulf Region District, wrote a poem for the occsasion, read by Maj. Gen. Eyre at the ceremony:
"You set off to serve your country,
you didn't know the cost,
but now that you have left us,
we all know what we have lost.
"We've lost a brave man,
who in protecting us did pass,
we've lost a good man
but his memory will last."
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