Who do you call to build a U.S. Navy base in Romania and bring an Aegis radar system, designed for a cruiser, ashore?
You call Denis duBreuil, a senior construction manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District.
duBreuil has worked on numerous civil, military and interagency projects in his more than 40-year career with the Corps. He relied on that breadth of experience to meet the intense, complicated and high-profile demands for a significant Missile Defense Agency (MDA) project in Europe.
His decades of experience in the Corps gave him the necessary skill set to persevere through a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week work schedule to overcome multiple obstacles with issues ranging from technical challenges, personnel issues, and the constant requirement for leadership video conferences to highlight progress and success.
"In the fall of 2014, MDA brought together a construction assessment team," said duBreuil. The team determined that a senior construction manager was needed onsite to support the project. duBreuil filled that position for an advertised 120 days beginning in March 2015. "I came home in February 2016."
The entire project was daunting. "We took an old Russian MIG fighter base, ripped it up and built a Navy base from scratch including a water treatment plant and power generators for the radar system," dubreuil said.
All of the materials had to come from the United States so the logistical "tail" was lengthy, and it took weeks for materials to arrive. Also, while the prime contractor was a U.S. company, most of the workers were local.
"There was a lot of on-the-job training to ensure that the project was constructed to our standards," he said.
"Overall, the team accomplished this huge project in time to meet the customer's requirement for operational capability in December 2015. I am proud of what this team did."
Col. Matthew Tyler, commander of the Europe District of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, praised duBreuil for his leadership and commitment to all agencies involved. "Denis was incredible. He was able to manage the project under a grueling timeline, while keeping the team's morale intact. It is amazing how committed all were to get this project completed. Denis, without a doubt, earned this prominent honor."
duBreuil is no stranger to projects that are both large and critical to the customer. From his Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Area Office, he has supported flood risk management projects (Lock Haven Flood Control, Wyoming Valley levee system), the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases replacement project (Fort Detrick, Maryland), and the Harpers Ferry Customs and Border Patrol Advanced Training Center, a $53 million project.
As a result of his contributions to the MDA program, he will receive the 2015 Lt. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler award from the Society of American Military Engineers at a May 26 ceremony. First awarded in 1955, the Wheeler award is presented for outstanding contributions to military engineering.
Project background
duBreuil led and mentored a 200 person interagency and international team, providing construction oversight and stakeholder partnership for the $220 million Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense project in Deveselu, Romania. In addition, his team built the first U.S. naval base to be constructed in decades at the world's first fully-functional land-based version of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, which addresses the issue of the evolving ballistic missile security environment.
These two separate, but closely interrelated and interdependent, projects were constructed in open country on the runway of a former Soviet bloc air base located several hours west of the capital of Bucharest. With project visibility at the highest levels of the Department of Defense, the American deadline, set by President Barack Obama, was to have the facility and the radar system up and running was Dec. 31, 2015. duBreuil led the team to success - the system achieved technical capability on Dec. 18.
In 2015, Aegis Ashore was one of the most complex and highly visible projects within the entire U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to the Wheeler award nomination, duBreuil's leadership, insight and experience enabled him to overcome countless challenges on the project and meet the mandate.
Construction included assembling the deckhouse structure out of more than 900 tons of steel, providing a deckhouse support building to deliver all mission critical utilities required for the combat systems, and building a complex power plant capable of providing 60hz military specification power from 50hz commercial Romanian power, and with a double set of back-up generators and switchgear. Additionally, the deckhouse, deckhouse support building, 24 power utility enclosures, and underground utility equipment all required shielding for High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) protection.
This HEMP protection equated to approximately five miles of continuous welds where the slightest flaw would compromise the entire protective system.
The land-based concept for the Aegis weapon system also included a robust automation system to reduce the number of Sailors needed on site, but meant more than 5,100 signals for building automation systems and the power control and monitor system had to successful communicate with the Navy-furnished Universal Control Console normally found on a ship. Finally, the security level of the weapon system and missile field required an Integrated Electronic Security System with over 5,400 signals from hundreds of sensors, cameras, card readers and other security devices.
If the Aegis Ashore portion of the project was not complicated enough, duBreuil also provided the oversight and leadership for the Navy military construction portion to simultaneously build the remainder of the base that spreads across the 430-acre former air base that is now proudly known as Naval Support Facility-Deveselu. Supporting more than 200 military members, government employees and specialized contractors, the facilities include a two-story combined barracks/dining facility with morale welfare space, administration space and recreation functions, a public works facility, a general purpose warehouse, a medical facility, a lift station and a personnel and vehicle access control facility.
Furthermore, the barracks/dining facility incorporates sustainable design principles and is planned to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification. The other facilities also contain sustainable design principles. Additionally, the project includes a complete access control point and boundary fencing.
Due to the remote location of Deveselu, temporary facilities, including a containerized housing area for approximately 100 USACE, Missile Defense Agency and Navy personnel, supported construction oversight and equipment installation.
The Wheeler award citation notes, "Through a tremendous level of dedication, experience and ability to lead a massive team of government employees, military personnel and civilians from USACE, the Missile Defense Agency, Navy, and private industry, duBreuil ensured decision making, contract administration, change management, and physical construction were all executed in the most efficient manner and within the best interest of the U.S. government."
duBreuil graduated from Penn State University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He is the deputy chief Construction Division-North. In this position, he is responsible for providing senior management oversight for three area offices located at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Detrick, Maryland, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and their construction staffs as they execute a $1.0 billion construction program.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
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