Corps of Engineers' COVID-19 response one of many achievements

By David Vergun, Defense.govApril 28, 2020

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Nathan Oller, from the 182d Airlift Wing, based in Peoria, Ill., readies hospital beds in a wing dedicated to elderly patients ahead of a scheduled dry run of medical students posing as patients at McCormick Place Convention Center in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago, April 13, 2020. Approximately 60 members of the Illinois Air National Guard were activated to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to temporarily convert part of the McCormick Place Convention Center into an Alternate Care Facility for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms who do not require intensive care in the Chicago area.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Nathan Oller, from the 182d Airlift Wing, based in Peoria, Ill., readies hospital beds in a wing dedicated to elderly patients ahead of a scheduled dry run of medical students posing as patients at McCormick Place Convention Center in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago, April 13, 2020. Approximately 60 members of the Illinois Air National Guard were activated to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to temporarily convert part of the McCormick Place Convention Center into an Alternate Care Facility for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms who do not require intensive care in the Chicago area. (Photo Credit: Master Sgt. Shelly A Stark) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON -- As of yesterday, the Army Corps of Engineers was performing 50 Federal Emergency Management Agency-led COVID-19-related missions — totaling $1.8 billion — with 15,000 people engaged, according to an updated Defense Department fact sheet released today.

The Corps of Engineers has assessed 1,129 sites for possible use as alternate care facilities and has awarded 32 construction contracts to add 14,544 beds to states with critical bed shortages. Twenty of those are now complete, according to the fact sheet.

In the Alaska District, engineers recently transformed the auxiliary gym of the Alaska Airlines Center arena into a temporary care facility that can accommodate 51 patients. The design includes a pipe and drape configuration for each patient pod, nursing stations, and a system to maintain a negative air pressure environment. In all, the project cost $1.26 million and was completed in one week, according to an Army Corps of Engineers statement yesterday.

The Corps of Engineers has a long and illustrious history of aiding civilians as well as warriors.

Although there were American military engineers during the Revolutionary War, the official start of the Army Corps of Engineers was March 16, 1802. That's when President Thomas Jefferson authorized its establishment in the Military Peace Establishment Act.

A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District conduct site assessments of potential alternate care facilities April 6 in Apache County, Ariz., in response to COVID-19.
A team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District conduct site assessments of potential alternate care facilities April 6 in Apache County, Ariz., in response to COVID-19. (Photo Credit: Dave Palmer) VIEW ORIGINAL

By the 1820s, engineers helped open the interior of the United States by surveying roads and canals. They also built bridges and railroads in the decades that followed.

After the devastating Mississippi River flood of 1927, the mission expanded to include flood control projects such as dams and levees.

The Corps of Engineers also built the Washington Monument, which opened in 1884, and they supervised construction of the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914.

Beginning in 1941, the mission of the Army Corps of Engineers further expanded to include building structures to support the war effort. They erected large numbers of hospitals, barracks and workplaces on installations around the nation. They also erected factories for making tanks, aircraft and ammunition.

During World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of the Pentagon in just 16 months. This image shows the massive construction project, July 1, 1942.
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – During World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of the Pentagon in just 16 months. This image shows the massive construction project, July 1, 1942. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
The Army Corps of Engineers built the Washington Monument, which opened in 1884. This image shows the monument as it was being constructed in 1860.
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Army Corps of Engineers built the Washington Monument, which opened in 1884. This image shows the monument as it was being constructed in 1860. (Photo Credit: Mathew Brady, courtesy of the Library of Congress) VIEW ORIGINAL

Two of their notable achievements during the war was the construction of the Pentagon and the facilities used for the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Pentagon was built in just 16 months.

Today, the Army Corps of Engineers has about 37,000 soldiers and civilians working around the United States and in 130 other nations.

Their work also includes dredging waterways to support the movement of barges; helping restore wetlands in the Everglades, the Louisiana coast and elsewhere; maintaining recreation areas; and cleaning contaminated sites.

Related links

Army.mil: Worldwide News

U.S. Army COVID-19 Guidance

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website

Defense.gov

Corps of Engineers rapidly assessing, building hospital spaces

Corps of Engineers transforms convention center into treatment facility