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  • July

    Huntsville Center’s Human Capital and Resource Management Business Practices Division team built the first ever online “Welcome2IT” dashboard to simplify in-processing procedures. The site and process was recognized as one of the five 2022 U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Innovation of the Year Awards.

    Center's online onboarding dashboard recognized for innovation

    Innovation supports senior Army and USACE Leadership’s mantra of caring for its number one asset – people – and making a positive first impression for its new employees on day one sets the tone.

  • June

    Kellie Williams, Huntsville Center safety manager; Amy Borman, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health; and Col. Sebastien P. Jolie, Huntsville Center commander, hold up the Army Safety and Occupational Health flag during an award ceremony June 15. The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville received the Army's Safety and Occupational Health Star, making the organization the first in the Corps of Engineers to earn the award. (Photo by Elizabeth Canfil)

    Huntsville Center awarded Army Safety Star

    The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville became the first U.S. Army Corps of Engineers organization to earn the Army’s prestigious Safety and Occupational Health Star during an award ceremony at the Center on Wednesday, June 15.
  • Russell Dunford, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville Business Practice Division Chief, administers the oath of office to his daughter, Anne Marie, at her graduation May 25 from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Courtesy Photo)

    Like father, like daughter

    Russell Dunford, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville Business Practice Division Chief, traveled to the mountains of Colorado for his daughter’s graduation May 25 from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A graduate of Huntsville High School, AnnMarie “Annie” Dunford entered the Academy in 2018, alongside 1,434 other cadets. Annie was among the 973 who graduated, making her the first in the Dunford family to graduate from a service academy and one of 6039 women to have graduated since 1976, the first year women were admitted into military service academies.
  • REM workshop 2022

    REM workshop assists with prioritizing work according to policy

    The Resource Efficiency Managers in attendance are all contracted “employees” whose sole purpose is improving their assigned installation’s energy programs by identifying projects and practices to reduce energy and water costs.

  • May

    Albert "Chip" Marin III, Huntsville Center business and programs director; Maj. Gen. Richard Heitkamp, USACE deputy commander; Col. Sebastien P. Joly, Huntsville Center commander; and Lt. Col. Benjamin Summers, Huntsville Center deputy commander on day two of the Center's command strategic review.

    HNC’s command strategic review focuses on collaboration, transparency

    The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville collaborated with top U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leadership during the Center’s command strategic review May 24-25.
  • The Tom Bevill Lock and Dam near Alliceville, Alabama, is one of 10 lock and dam structures on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to receive retrofit and replacement of lighting systems from Huntsville Center’s Energy Savings Performance Contract program.

    Energy program saves money, resources for USACE districts

    Huntsville Center’s Energy Savings Performance Contract program has been reducing energy use and water consumption at military installations since the mid-1990s. Over the last several years, the ESPC has also developed contracts to support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works programs around the country.
  • Operators move M55 rockets containing VX nerve agent from a pallet to a transfer cart to begin the destruction process at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant April 15, 2022. (Courtesy photo by Blue Grass Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office)

    Destruction of last remaining VX nerve agent at Blue Grass marks milestone

    The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, served as engineering and construction oversight for the Program Executive Office Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives for the duration of this project and continues to maintain a role in ongoing facility reconfigurations.
  • Tony Travia, the senior healthcare engineer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, recently completed Harvard University's Senior Executive Fellows program. (Courtesy Photo)

    Medical Facilities chief completes prestigious Harvard leadership program

    Tony Travia, the senior healthcare engineer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was the only USACE employee selected to attend the 2022 John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellows program.
  • Ryan Strange, Huntsville Center Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research Physical Scientist, pilots an unmanned aviation system aircraft at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Strange, one of the pioneers in USACE Aviation, assists USACE aviation operations and ensures compliance with Department of Defense policy, which is a vital service to USACE aviation programs.

    USACE, Huntsville Center sees aviation mission growth

    Aviation operations is based on USACE Aviation policy, standards, training and oversight support which resides within Headquarters USACE Aviation and Remote Systems.
  • Patrick Stone, chief of Huntsville Center’s Facility Technology Integration Division, recently spoke to students at a USACE career fair for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (Courtesy Photo)

    USACE hosts career fair for Historically Black Colleges and Universities

    Representatives from the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville spoke to students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) about the Center’s numerous career opportunities during a virtual career fair and exposition hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • A smart phone is used during a Huntsville Center industry briefing to ensure geographically removed small business representative can attend the event. Huntsville Center’s Office of Small Business Programs was recognized April 27 by the Army as the top Small Disadvantaged 8(a) Business Program for 2021. One of the high points of the program's selection was building on virtual capabilities by conducting virtual industry briefs.

    Huntsville Center’s small business program takes Army award

    The win recognizes Huntsville Center as a leader within the Army and USACE in removing barriers faced by underserved individuals and communities as prime awards to Small Disadvantaged Businesses exceeded $358 million for fiscal year 2021.

  • April

    U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville employees receive a site briefing by a SunPower Corporation contractor before visiting a solar array construction site on Redstone Arsenal in 2017. Projects like the Arsenal’s The 10 MW solar array with a 1-MW storage system undergo reviews by the Center’s Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program validation team before they are submitted to compete for Department of Defense funding.

    Validation team meeting climate change criteria changes

    The ERCIP validation team is opening any Fiscal 2024 projects that don’t have carbon free solutions and updating the projects to fulfill the criteria.

  • March

    After two decades of witnessing the outstanding support provided by the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, the National Guard Bureau has chosen the Center for its Electronic Security Systems needs.

    HNC provides Electronic Security support to National Guard

    After two decades of witnessing the outstanding support provided by the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, the National Guard Bureau has chosen the Center for its Electronic Security Systems needs.
  • Soldiers train at the American University Experiment Station during World War I. The American University Experiment Station was closed after World War I and its historic boundaries are included within the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carried out cleanup efforts to remove potential hazards stemming from past military activity. Wilson Walters, a Huntsville Center employee who was instrumental in the beginning stages of the Spring Valley project, will retire at the end of this month. (Courtesy Photo)

    Half Century of Excellence

    Walters, a safety and occupational specialist and technical manager for recovered chemical warfare materials for the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, is saying goodbye this month to the program he was instrumental in creating when he began his civilian career in 1992.

  • February

    April Rafael-Adams, mechanical engineer team lead, has served as a first aid attendant at Huntsville Center for more than 15 years. She said the training has taught her the lifesaving skills needed to provide assistance during medical emergencies in and out of the workplace.

    Safety Office provides training, equipment for medical emergencies

    Huntsville Center’s Safety Office is actively taking steps to decrease the risk of an unfavorable outcome for medical emergencies occurring at the Center by ensuring employees have access to the correct equipment and training, establishing emergency protocols, and training first aid attendants to serve in all facilities.

  • January

    On MLK Day, communities all across the country will be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This poster, created by the Department of Defense Education Activity, acknowledges the efforts of Dr. King as a husband, father, friend, and fierce advocate for the betterment of all people. (Courtesy of Department of Defense Education Activity)

    MLK Day: “A day on, never a day off”

    Each year on the third Monday of January, we observe and reflect on the work of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how his sacrifices, goodwill and perseverance blazed the trail for civil rights and racial equity in America.
  • Daphne Thompson received the Installation Support and Program Management Directorate's 2021 Difference Maker Award. Thompson, a project manager with the Furnishings Program, has been with Huntsville Center since January 2009.

    ISPM honors Thompson with 2021 Difference Maker Award

    Daphne Thompson, who has worked at Huntsville Center since January 2009, received the Installation Support and Program Management Directorate’s 2021 Difference Maker Award during an awards presentation in December.

  • December

    Kenny Hall, son of Ray Hall, Huntsville Center engineer, signed a letter of intent Dec. 15 to attend the Naval Academy where he will play football. Kenny’s athleticism and his academic achievement (4.17 grade point average) led to 10 scholarship offers with six coming from Ivy League schools.

    Huntsville Center engineer’s son heading to Naval Academy

    Although Kenny Hall has always excelled in football, his father, Ray Hall, a Huntsville Center engineer, coached his only child academically for a top-notch education.
  • A computer scientist at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., uses a supercomputer without reliance on expensive live experiments and prototype demonstrations. A recent procurement policy change streamlines the way Huntsville Center’s High Performance Computing program procures supercomputing systems for its stakeholders.

    Supercomputer procurement streamlined after process review

    The change streamlines the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville’s High Performance Computing Program’s process to procure supercomputing systems for its stakeholders.
  • Jesus Ramirez, Program Manager with Huntsville Center’s Fuels Program, recently completed Auburn University’s Competitive Professional Development Training Program in Building Construction. The certification program is a professional development partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Auburn University. By participating in the program, Ramirez earned enough course hours to receive a master’s in construction management.

    Certification program leads to academic degree for project manager

    Jesus Ramirez, Program Manager with Huntsville Center’s Fuels Program, recently completed a certification program that not only enhances Ramirez’ ability to contribute to Huntsville Center’s mission, but also added an academic degree to his accomplishments.