US Army: fall06

8/14/2019 US Army: fall06

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/us-army-fall06 1/16

The New York

District TimesFall 2006 Vol. 31, No.4 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

Commander’s complete biography

Inside . . .

Page 2

Col. Aniello “Nello” L. Tortora grasps the

Corps flag at the change of command

ceremony held August 25, 2006 in

downtown Manhattan.

New York District welcomes Col. Aniello ‘Nello’ L. Tortora,the 49th comman der and district engineer. He relieved Col. Richard J.Polo Jr., at a formal ceremony Aug. 25 in the U.S. Custom House in

Lower Manhattan.

Col. Tortora accepted the comm and flag from Maj. Gen. Wil-liam T. Grisoli, North Atlantic Division commander at the time, andwith it full responsibility for the District’s opera tions and personnel.

Tortora, who imagined his father arriving at Ellis Island in

New York Harbor and recalled his own journ ey to begin his Armycareer “up the Hudson,” noted that the Corps of Engineers has “avery special mission to create, to maintain an d to safeguard the infra-structure that makes America work.

“This is a sp ecial contract w ith the Am erican peop le,” h e said.

Col. Tortora emph asized that “ the greatest asset we hav e infulfilling ou r mission is the peop le assembled h ere today.

“I wan t to focus on the success of our p eople and customers,”he said. “I wan t to be a cham pion for the District’s emp loyees.”

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr., who had led the District since 2004,retired d uring th e ceremony.

In the weeks following, it was a seamless tran sition. Col.Tortora immediately made h is roun ds an d m et with District emp loy-ees and toured and inspected New York District p roject sites, ongo-

ing civil works and military p rograms construction projects.

Commander’s philosophy Page 3

New York District welcomes its 49th Districtcommander and District engineer

Photo:Vince

Elias

‘Cradle of the Corps’



U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • New York District2

of Engineers

New York District TimesNewsletter of the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,New York District

Fall 2006Aug.-Sept.-Oct. 2006

Commander andDistrict Engineer

Col. Aniello L. Tortora

Chief, Public Affairs

Peter H. [email protected]

Editing and Design

Vince [email protected]

- Authorization: The New YorkDistrict Times is an authorizedunofficial newsletter of the NewYork District. It is published inaccordance with provisions of

Army Regulation 360-1.

- Circulation: 1500 copies perissue in print and available on

the Internet at:www.nan.usace.army.mil

- Submission: News, features,photos and art are solicited.

Direct queries to: Editor, PublicAffairs Office, U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, New York District,26 Federal Plaza, Room 2113,

New York, NY 10278-0090.

- Contents: Views and opinionsexpressed herein are notnecessarily those of the

Department of the Army or thiscommand. All photos, unlessotherwise credited, are official

U.S. Army photos.

US Army Corps

New York District

9-11-01

Lest we forget

®

Colone l Aniel lo L. Tortora took command of theNew York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Aug. 25.

The New York District is responsible for the

Corps’ water resource development, navigation, and

regulatory activities in northeastern New Jersey, east-

ern and south-central New York State, including the

New York Harbor and Long Island, and parts of Ver-

mont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The District is

also responsible for design and construction at Army and Air Force installations

in N ew Jersey, New York, and overseas in Greenland.

Tortora also holds the title of Supervisor of N ew York Harbor.

Tortora, a native of southern Florida, was commissioned an engineer of-

ficer from the Uni ted States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1985. He

holds a bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Military Academy, a Master of

Science in Engineering from the University of Texas, and a Master of Science in

National Security Strategy from the N ational D efense University.

Throughout his career, Tortora has served in a variety of operational, com-

mand and staff assignments in the United States and overseas. He has commanded

at every level from platoon to battalion. His most recent assignment was Senior

Joint Engineer, Defense Continuity and Crisis Management, Assistant Secretary

of D efense (Homeland D efense) in Washington, D.C.

His previous assignments include: platoon leader and company executive

officer, 43rd Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), Fort Benning, Georgia, and

Honduras; B Company commander, 16th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 1st Ar-

mored D ivisio n in Nuremberg, Germany, and for Operations Desert Shie ld and

Desert Storm; project engineer, Omaha District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;

battalion S-3, 588th Engineer Battalion (Combat) and brigade S-3, Engineer Bri-

gade, 4th Infantry D ivision, Fort Hoo d, Texas; and s taff officer, Futures D irector-

ate, U.S. Army Training and D octrine Command, Fort Monroe, Va. He also

commanded the 2nd Engineer Battalion (Combat), 2nd Infantry D ivis ion, at Camp

Castle, Korea.

He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the N ational War College.

He is a member of the Association of the United States Army, the Society of

American Military Engineers, the Army Engineer Association, and the National

Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star

Medal, D efense Meritorious Service Medal, three aw ards o f the Army Meritori-

ous Service Medal, three awards of the Army Commendation Medal, Army

Achievement Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, and Saudi Arabia Liberation

Medal.

About Col. Aniello L. ‘Nello’ Tortora

Col. Aniello L. Tortora

Commander, New York District



3The New York District Times • Fall 2006

Commander’s PhilosophyBy Col. Aniello L. ‘Nello’ Tortora

BEING THE BEST - TEAMWORK IS KEY

People want to feel that they are part of a winning

team. Each and every one of us is a valuableteam member who must contribute in order

for all of us to be successful. I expect all of

us to give 100 percent every day to making

our part of USACE and the Army GREAT!

Epitomize teamwork and be a team of teams that

sacrifices for the common good. Take pride in the Dis-

trict. Resolve District issues inside the District - use the

chain of command; open door policy; do not make nega-

tive comments about the District or its members in public.

READINESS

Our nation is at war. We play a significant role in support

to the war fighter and make strategic contributions to pro-

tecting our homeland and keeping our economy strong.

All of us must be prepared in the event of a natural or man-

made disaster. Each team member must know their role

and be ready. As a team, we must know and practice stan-

dard procedures. This includes establishing relationships

with our federal department counterparts and how we sup-

port them.

TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE

Safety first. Caring leaders define expectations and en-force standards. Developing future leaders is one of our

most important obligations to the future of USACE. Posi-

tive coaching and mentoring are critical. Schedule and

conduct counseling of your subordinates -- critical to en-

suring people sustain success and are given the opportu-

nity to improve. The METL should drive our team and

individual training. Use the after action review process.

HAVE FUN

Balance your life -- we all face competition for our time.

Individual goals, the needs of our families, and the require-

ments of our job all demand our attention. The key is to

strike a balance.

Attitude is everything. Each day we have one of two basic

choices: to enjoy what we are doing or the opposite. I

intend to do everything within my power to make your ser-

vice positive and professionally rewarding. Be positive and

have fun!

People are precious … people want to be part of a win-

ning team … leaders create winning teams … do the

right thing—always … treat all with dignity and re-

spect … life is short—be positive and have fun!

VISION

The Army’s best engineer district…ready for all

contingencies…a proud, winning team of

teams…executing all missions to standard in: Sup-

port Stability, Reconstruction and Homeland Security

Operations; Develop Sound Water Resources Solutions;

Enhance Life Cycle Infrastructure Management.

WHAT I VALUE

Character … people who: live Army values; are innovativeand hard charging—on top of their game; balance their lives;

are team players (within the District and outside of the Dis-

trict); take the initiative; have a positive attitude; live by the

golden rule.

WHAT I EXPECT FROM EACH OF YOU

Safety … know/live Army values … know/do your job … do

the right thing … treat all with dignity and respect … accom-

plish our mission: project delivery on time, within budget,

and safely in order to delight our customers, partners, and

stakeholders, while always prepared to respond to civil emer-

gencies, disasters and support the Global War on Terrorism

KNOW AND PERFORM YOUR JOB

Be technically proficient and stay current in your field.

Credibility starts with our customers knowing we have the

knowledge and skills to get the job done and then executing

to standard.

UNDERSTAND INTENT AND MISSION TWO LEVELS UP

Know your customers -- vision, expectations, needs, metrics;

look for win-win solutions.Think regionally and nationally; seek opportunities; be ag-

gressive in solving problems and executing all missions on

time.

DO THE RIGHT THING

Legally and morally -- the “look in the mirror test”. Live the

Army values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor,

Integrity, and Personal Courage. Set the example for others

to emulate. Express pride in public service. Review the

“Just Do It” card.




Top leadership inspects District Harbor projects

Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, Chief of Engineers, an d staff from H Q, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visited NewYork District Aug. 31 for a media tour a rran ged by

New York District’s Public Affairs staff.Following an entire day of meeting with the m edia

ran ging from the Associated Press, New York Times,Fox television netw ork an d Time Magazine, Lt. Gen.Strock boarded a Corps vessel and cond ucted aharbor inspection w here he w as briefed by Districtpersonn el on key navigation, operations and m ainte-nance p rojects in the Port of New York and NewJersey.

District personnel board the dredge Maricavor and the drill

boat Fractor during a Harbor inspection in August.

The New York H arbor is a major shipping port and center of comm erce. Key channels have to be d redgedto meet the growing dem and s of the port. It is the nation’s third largest container port, ind irectly and directly

supporting more than 230,000 jobs in the region. Important navigation projects for the Port of New York andNew Jersey include the recently completed 45-foot Kill van Kull Channel, the 41-foot Arthur Kill Channel --How land Hook Marine Terminal Deepening and the 41-foot Port Jersey Chann el Deepening.

New York District has played a major role in thenavigation, developm ent and ma intenance of water re-source activities in the New York and N ew Jersey Har-bor Estuary for m ore than 200 years. The District is facedwith the challenge of deepening the N ew York and NewJersey Harbor w hile preserving its natura l estuary.

On Aug. 29, NY District personnel from HarborBranch, Opera tions and the Kill van Kull field office p ro-

vided a h arbor insp ection and briefing for Col. Aniello

L. Tortora , comm and er, New York District. Col. Tortorainspected ongoing harbor deep ening projects, boardedthe d redge Maricavor and the d rill boat Fractor.

The inspection includ ed an overview of the Port Jer-sey Chann el, the Kill van Kull, the Arthu r Kill and New -ark Bay and its relevant container terminals.

(l-r) Col. James Rowan, Col. Aniello L. Tortora, Commander

New York District; Maj. Gen. Don Riley, Director of Civil Works,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Capt. Clay Morgan.

Maj. Gen. Don Riley, director of Civil Works, HQ,

U.S. Arm y Corp s of Engineers visited N ew York Dis-

trict and boarded the corps vessel Hocking for a

harbor inspection Oct. 4.

Photo:CarolynVadino

Photo:P

eterShugert




In Augu st, personnel from the U.S. ArmyCorp s of Engineer s in conjun ction with th e U.S.

Arm y Recruiting Battalion, New York City cel-ebrated the grand opening of the U.S. Army’srecruiting center in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Army recruiters immediately set uptheir new offices to enable them to continue theirrecruiting m ission. The cost of the bu ild out forthe new center was $57,730. SLMGI Constru c-

tion Inc. of Elmhurst, N.Y. was the contr actor.

The center replaced an older facility lo-cated on a d ifferent block in Brooklyn just fou rblocks from a major traffic intersection. The

older facility w as d eteriorating, had pest p roblems an dwas not visible to foot tra ffic.

According to on e recruiter, because of a lack of foot traffic in front of the building, it made recruiting

tougher to attract new candidates for enlistment.

The new recruiting center is at the intersectionof Pitkin and Rockaway Avenues, which hap pens to beone of the bu siest areas in Brownsville.

“In recruiting, just like in any commercial realestate venture, the most importan t thing is location, lo-cation, location,” said Alex Litvak, realty specialist, withthe Corps Real Estate Division, in N ew York District.

“Pitkin Avenue is a major commercial hot spotin Brownsville. The new office is located on the sameblock as a cell phone store, athletic footwear store, vari-ous sp orts shop s and electronic stores. These businessesattract the kind of age dem ograph ics the Army is try-ing to recruit.”

Litvak went on to say that the new recruiting

center ’s comm and er, Sgt. Pedro Santiago informed h imthat four d ays into the initial opening, he w as about tosign three n ew recruits. Sant iago believes this is an ex-tremely good sign and shows off the imp ortance of be-ing located in a highly vis ible port ion of theneighborhood.

Santiago’s commanding officer, Capt. KatiaCollette echoed his sentiments.

“This facility is a lot better than the last one,”

said Collette, “because it puts us closer to the target

Article and Photo by Kenneth Wells

pop ulation w e’re seeking to recruit from.”

The recruiting center is equipp ed w ith a testing office for new candidates, state-of-the-art officespaces and is one of the largest single service recruit-ing centers in the city at over 2,000 square feet. It isalso completely accessible for persons with disabili-ties.

Two challenges in getting the facility bu ilt in-

volved th e HVAC climate control system to ma intaincomfortable temp eratures through out the year, in ad-

dition to a mold problem in the basement. New YorkDistrict’s contractors rebuilt the HVAC climate con-trol system from scratch. Litvak worked closely withthe landlord on the mold issue and used a professionalmold removal comp any to take care of it.

“The challenge a realty specialist faces,” he ex-plained, “is to negotiate as mu ch of the initial build-out construction cost into the lease itself and shift

maintenan ce responsibility to the land lord. This waythe government saves money on future spending wh enit comes to m aintenance and material costs and struc

tural rep airs.”

“We’re always looking to increase the Arm y’svisible presence in a neighborhood, as well as select-ing commercial areas that p rovide high tra ffic in th eArmy’s recruiting age d emograp hic,” said Litvak. “Weaim to establish recruiting centers near convenientmeans of available transporta tion such as buses, trains

and major highw ays; select sound stru ctures with longtenancy potential and find amicable landlords thatsupport our effort and are responsive during timeswh en m aintenance issues arise.”

Recruiters get new Brooklyn digs

Pvt. Gregory Parris,

Sgt. 1st Class Pedro

Santiago and Capt.

Kaita Collete, com-

pany commander of

the U.S. Army Recruit-

ing Battalion, New

York City cut the

ceremonial yellow

ribbon signifying the

official opening of the

Army Career Center in

Brownsville, Brooklyn,

N.Y.




Former deputy commander commands Honolulu District

Col. John B. O’Dow d, form er New York District Comm and er and District En-

gineer retired in July following a 28-year career in the U.S. Army. O’Dowd servedfrom 1978 to 2006.

O’Dowd was commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers N ew York District from July 2001 to August 2004. He took comm and of the

Corp s’ Afghan istan District in August 2004. Following his assignm ent in Afghani-stan, he served as chief of staff, U.S. Military Mission at the United Nations in NewYork City.

Former District Engineer retires

Col. Charles H. Klinge, former deputy commander, New York District took

command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District July 21.Photo:BillErwin

U.S. Arm y Corp s of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division Command erBrig. Gen. John W. Peabody (left) passes the ceremonial Honolulu

District colors to Lt. Col. Charles H . Klinge sym bolizing the officialchange of comm and for the Corps’ Hon olulu District. Klinge be-came the 65th H onolulu District Comm and er.

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr. retired a fter more than 26 years of ser-vice. Polo was honored at the change of comm and ceremony in Au-gust for his Army career just p rior to his retiremen t.

Polo was honored with th e Legion of Merit for his outstand ingservice to the nation, the Silver Order of the de Fleurry Medal on be-half of the Engineer Regiment for inspirational leadership in the Corp sof Engineers, and received tr ibutes from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S.Environmental Protection Agency, Region II. He also received lettersof comm endation from Sens. Robert Menend ez and Frank J. Lautenberg(N.J.), and Reps. Timothy Bishop (N.Y.-1), Bob Ferguson (N.J.-7),

Rodney P. Frelingh uysen (N.J.-11), and William J. Pascrell Jr. (N.J.-8) inadd ition to an award from the N ew York Chap ter of the Society of American Military Engineers.

His w ife received the Com man der ’s Award for Civilian Ser-

vice in recognition of supp ort given to her hu sband and his comm and personnel d uring h is Army career.

In his farewell remark s, Polo said he was p roud to finish his career “in the greatest city in the w orld.” Herecalled a sp eaker at a comman d course advising that “long-serving Civilians take p ride in the Corps…even ifwe [military commanders] screw up, the Civilians will make it all right.” Polo said he had come to think ofCivilian em ployees of the Corps as Soldiers, “only w ith long hair,” w ho are ded icated to their m ission of servingthe nation.

Polo’s first task in retirem ent is to literally ride into the su nset, taking a m otorcycle journey to th e Ameri-can West with fellow Corp s retirees who are members of his motorcycle club .

48th District Commander honored

Maj. Gen. William T. Grisoli, North Atlantic

Division commander at the time, presents

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr. with the Silver Or-

der of the de Fleurry Medal on behalf of the

Engineer Regiment as his wife looks on.

Photo:VinceElia

s




CERB Board Members -- (l-r) Col. Richard B. Jenkins; Brig. Gen. Todd T. Semonite,

Commander, North Atlantic Division; Richard J. Seymour; Maj. Gen. Don Riley Direc-

tor, Civil Works, USACE; Joan Oltman-Shay; Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, Com-

mander, South Atlantic Division; and R. Bruce Taylor.

The 82nd meeting of the Coastal EngineeringResearch Board was held a t the Ocean Place Resort andSpa, Long Branch , N.J. Oct.11-13. The board meets

semi-annu ally at various coastal and Great Lakes loca-tions. The meeting was hosted by the U.S. Arm y Corpsof Engineers, North Atlantic Division, and New York

District.

Over 90 participants at-tended the symposium, whosetheme w as “Challenges in CoastalProtection and Restoration.”

The CERB provides guid-ance to the Corp s for coastal engi-neering research. The CERB is acongressionally authorized advi-sory board that provides policyguidan ce and review of plans and

funding requirements for coastalresearch and development to theChief of Engineer s.

The board is comprised of

four U.S. Army Corp s of Engineerssenior officers and three civilian en -gineers or scientists who are ex-

Coastal engineering panel meets in New Jersey

P h o

t o : D

a n D

e s m

e t

Archaeologist serves as deputydirector on investigation team

Nancy Brighton explains to Maj. Gen. William

H. McCoy Jr., Commander, Gulf Region Division,

and Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, Chief of Engineers, the

set up of the Forensic Analysis Facility and how

it operates as an introduction to entry into the

cultural objects laboratory tent.

Nancy Brighton , an archaeologist with N ew York District,recently d eployed to Iraq as p art of the forensic labs mass gravesteam. Brighton is the d epu ty d irector of the Mass Graves Investiga-tion Team, Regime Cr imes Liaison O ffice.

As dep uty d irector, she w orks with techn ical specialists, whoare contractors, and ensures they carry out the analyses and pre-pare repor ts, as well as reviewing rep orts and technical produ cts.At the team’s forensic ana lysis facility, she briefed Lt. Gen. Strock,Chief of Engineers; Maj. Gen. William H . McCoy Jr., Command er,Gulf Region Division, and Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, the new d i-vision commander for the Gulf region, on the work at the facility,wh ich included taking them on a site visit.

They met w ith the archaeology, cultural objects and anth ro-

pology teams to observe analyses. The mission of the teams, un der the d irection of program d irector Michael K.Trimble, St. Louis District, identifies, excavates and analyzes mass graves and gathers evidence for the IraqiHigh Tribunal for use in the prosecution of crimes.

In ad d ition to working w ith Trimble, she w orks w ith logistics director Wade Ricard , St. Louis District toensure the facility has the equ ipmen t and personnel required to sup port th e technical staff.

per ts in the field of coastal engineering.

Presentations were made by the N ew York and

Philadelphia District Corps of Engineers staff mem-bers, and representatives of sister federal agencies,coastal engineering firms an d New York and New Jer-sey state agencies.






On the d ay of the attack onthe World Trad e Center in Man hat-

tan, it was virtu ally impossible forpeople to get out of Manhattan byany type of ground transportationduring and in the aftermath of thecollapse of the buildings at theWTC complex.

There was a virtual armad aof boats that came together, cross-ing the water of the Hu dson River

to reach stranded people and getthem safely out of the area.

A mo n g t h e b o a t s w ereseven vessels operated by boatcrews from the Corps. These crews

and vessels ferried thousands of stranded p eople, some of who w ereinjured , from Man hattan.

On return journeys, the crews ferried emergency

response w orkers into the smoke-filled area of Manhat-tan. The fleet of NY District vessels consisted of the Hock-

ing, Hatton, Hudson, Hayward, Gelberman, Driftmaster an d

Survey Boat number 1.

Liz Finn w as one of several Corps crewmem berswh o jum ped into action. Finn w as in training at thetime and joined her fellow crewmember classmates onthe pier at N ew York District’s Caven Point facility. Cap-tain Billy Cuthrell, Captain Ray Bleam, and AssistantMaster George Loveless, three Wilmington District Fleet

crewm embers, happened to be attending the same train-ing class.

They assisted throu gh th e night, sup plying fire-boats and fire tru cks with fuel, lube oil, passing it in 5-gal. buckets, along with food and water. Their effortsenabled the fire boats and fire trucks to remain on sta-tion performing their rescue m ission without h aving toleave the area to refuel, thu s saving valuable time.

Finn an d her crew were aboard the Gelberman.Finn’s crew of Edd ie Quirk and Eric Gund ersen of NewYork District and Jim H olcroft and Mitch Tillyard of the

Philadelphia District’s dredge McFarland ferried over 500

Reflecting on America’s darkest day and the Corps’ finest hour

As smoke fills the air in lower Manhattan, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat crews

performed evacuations of people from Manhattan and delivered desperately needed

supplies and personnel to Ground Zero.

peop le from Manhattan and also took supp lies and

medical personnel to disaster assistance centers inthe city.

“Everyone volunteered to help. Without asecond thought, they placed themselves on duty,”

said Joe Meyers of Caven Point. “When w e arrivedpeople on the pier were covered in dust from thecrumbling bu ildings.”

“They were passing five-gallon cans by han dThere was no other way to access the site,” said JoeDaskalakis of Caven Point.

The Hayward crew helped keep firefighterson the job by supp lying them with m ore than 16,000gallons of fuel and water, in addition to flashlightsbatteries, protective gear, food, water, lanterns andshovels, according to Meyers.

The Hocking became the command vessel thatransported the North Atlantic Division command eto the site to assess the situa tion and offer Corp s assistance.

( Editor’s note: Just ine Barati, U.S. Army Corps of Engi

neers contributed to this article).

9/119/119/119/119/11




North Atlantic Divisionchanges commanders

Brig. Gen. Todd Semonite (right) accepts the Corps

flag from Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, Chief of Engineers,

during North Atlantic Division’s change of command

ceremony at Fort Hamilton Sept. 18.

New York District welcomes Brig. Gen. Todd T.Semonite to the region. Semonite took comm and of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division Sept. 18.

He relieved Maj. Gen. William T. Grisoli who moved on to anew assignment at the Pentagon. The ceremony was held atFort H amilton, Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I’m prou d to be joining th e great N orth Atlantic Divi-sion team and am looking forward to the challenge of leadingthe division,” said Semonite.

“It is one of the Corp s’ elite divisions in on e of the mostun ique and visible regions in the w orld, and it has an ou tstanding repu tation of performan ce and achievement

that sets the bar h igh. It’s going to be an exciting tour.”

Brig. Gen. Todd T. Semonite is a na-

tive of Bellows Falls, Vt., and is a registered

professional engineer in Virginia and Vermont.

He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy,

West Point, N.Y. and was commissioned into

the Corps of Engineers in 1979.

As commander North Atlantic Divi-sion, Semonite oversees the planning, design

and construction of projects to support the mili-

tary, protect America’s water resources, and

restore and enhance the environment within

a 180,000-square-mile area along the Atlan-

tic Coast, including 13 states from Maine to

Virginia and the District of Columbia. He is also responsible

for a variety of Division engineering and construction activi-

ties for international, Federal, state and local governments

and agencies in the United States and overseas.

Before becoming the commander, North AtlanticDivision, Semonite served as Commanding General, Ma-

neuver Support Center and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Before

that he served as Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Engi-

neer School and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and in a wide

variety of command and staff positions including: Director,

Office of the Chief of Engineers, HQDA at the Pentagon;

Deputy Commander, Task Force Restore Iraqi Electricity (re-

sponsible for designing and executing a $1.1 billion recon-

struction program); and Executive Officer to the Commanding

General, U.S. Army, Europe, and 7th Army.

About the North Atlantic Division commanderSemonite has also served as Commander

of the 130thEngineer Brigade and the V Corps

Engineer at Hanau, Germany; Chief of Mili-

tary Operations and Topography, and Chief

of International Operations, both with U.S.

Army, Europe; Battalion Commander, 23rd

Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division,

Friedberg, Germany (with a one-year deploy-

ment to Bosnia); Construction and Design Su-

pervisor, 416thENCOM, Chicago, IL; S4, 937th

Engineer Group, and S3 and Executive Of-

ficer, 1st Engineer Battalion, both at Fort Riley,

Kan.; and Operations Officer, Corps of Engi-

neers Office, Fort Drum, N.Y.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil En-

gineering from the U.S. Military Academy, a Master of Sci-

ence in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont,

and a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from Fort

Leavenworth. He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Ba-

sic and Advanced Courses, the Combined Arms Services

Staff School, the Command and General Staff College, and

the Army War College.

His awards include the Legion of Merit (4 Awards),

Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (7 awards), Army

Commendation Medal (3 awards), Army Achievement

Medal, Army Superior Unit Award (2 awards), NATO award,

Ranger tab, and Parachutist Badge.

Photo:MichaelBrennan

Brig. Gen. Todd T. Semonite




Becky Barth, daughter of Bill Barth of Engineering, plays one of the maincharacters of the Wizard of Oz at The Land of Oz theme park in North Carolina. Thecast is from Freehold , N.J., and South Caro lina.

Becky has played the part of the Wicked Witch of the West at the an nu al event,

wh ich is staged at the th eme p ark at Beech Mou ntain, Banner Elk, N.C. The p erfor-man ce is typically on the first weekend of October. She began portraying the charac-ter when she w as invited to work at the park for the weekend.

Lou Benard, executive assistant and physical scientist (center)and a group of participants of East Hamton Town Shellfish Cul-ture Workshop on Long Island, N.Y.(Photo: East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery).

Kevin Smyth, of Planning, David Rackmales, andFernand o Baustista, both of Engineering retu rned to New York District in August following three months of support to theForward Engineer Supp ort Team, or “FEST” in Fort Irwin, Ca-

lif. It was the second time they dep loyed in supp ort of FESToperations to supp ort armed forces units training in a d esertscenario.

Their m ission was to gath er d ata from the field, p ro-

cess the same in accordance with building codes, buildingregulations, program requirements, Army requirements, andArmy regulations. They then d elivered the end prod uct to thecustomer with a brand new design with construction docu-ments read y to be built. prototype d esigns are created d ue toFEST-A team has the expertise and flexibility to graphicallyvisualize the custom er ’s needs on site. According to Bautista,

the Fest-A Mission from the su pp orted un it, is the FEST-A teamgathers requiremen ts and accepts m issions for execution. The FEST team w orks d irectly for the sup ported un it,

rath er than just in a limited liaison role. The team’s value is far more than just additional engineer staff. ”Mydirect par ticipa tion had to do w ith the full architectu ral design cycle for new Army facilities,” said Bautista.

Forward Engineer Support Team A returns

Lou Benard, executive assistant and physical sci-

entist, New York District is involved in a var iety of com-mu nity activities and events. Recently she participated

in the first annu al East H amp ton Town shellfish cultureworksh op. The first of a series of workshop s was spon-sored by th e East Hampton town Shellfish Hatchery, LongIsland , N.Y.

The rain-or-shine events consisted of the historyof shellfish enhancement and aquaculture in N ew York,shellfish biology, spawning an d h atchery culture, harvest-ing, field grow out, seeding and experimentation.

Executive assistant participates

in shellfish culture workshop

Corps kids

FEST A members at Fort Irwin, Calif. interviewing acontractor at a bid opening.






Each year , pr imari ly during the summermon ths, hun dred s of visitors, nature enthu siasts, rec-reation seekers, and local residents make a trek to

Vermont’s 850-acre Waterbury Reservoir campsite.They make the journ ey to enjoy the outd oor activitiesavailable along the 19 miles of pr istine shoreline. Theyfind the p opu lar area to be perfect for camp ing, fish-ing, hiking, and w ater sports.

However, during recent years, the slopedbanks along the shoreline had become unstable dueto erosion and p osed a safety hazard .

In response, the Corps u sed trad itional and in-novative engineering techniques to make the banks

of the reservoir safer.The erosion is believed to be due to a

number of factors including the drawdown of the reservoir that is performed every winterwh en the camp ground closes and w ave actionfrom recreational boats impacting the previ-ously exposed shoreline.

In 2000, the State of Vermont loweredthe reservoir due to safety concerns at the

nearby Waterbury Dam and lowered it againin 2002 wh en the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

began construction work on the dam .

The Corps designed and managed the

construction of the dam in 1935 in response toa flooding d isaster and since then h as periodi-cally modified it.

In recent years, the dam has experiencedseepage p roblems and the Corp s’ New York District, with the assistance of other Corp s dis-tricts, has been making repairs that are expected to becompleted this fall.

To perform these repairs the reservoir was low-ered in 2002 to 520 feet, which is norm ally at 590 feet,sum mer pool level. Presently, the water is at 550 feet,and will be back to summ er pool level wh en the work is comp leted.

The sloped banks of the reservoir are veg-etated. When the reservoir w as lowered it exposed the

lower portions of the bank that are not vegetated.

This exposed ban k causes the soil on the u p-per part of the bank to erode and uproot vegetation,

Corps project reduces erosion at recreation areaBy JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D., PPMD

View from the crest of the dam looking out over the reservoir as it

is being refilled.

P h o t o : M a r t y G o

f f

especially du ring ra infall. When th e vegetation is lost,

this leaves upper portions of the bank exposed andsubject to erosion.

When th e ground is exposed it makes it easyfor ground water to p ercolate out of the soil and con-

tribute further to the slope’s erosion and add ing ad-d itional soil to the reservoir.

If this runoff continues the camp ground canloose large portions of land and the w ater quality ofthe reservoir and dow nstream river will be adverselyimpacted.

In ad dition, the flow of sediment into the res-ervoir creates turbidity, muddy water, reduces the

water ’s oxygen level and increases the water ’s tem-peratu re, wh ich can harm w ater habitats.

This summ er, the Corp s in collaboration w iththe State of Vermont constructed a shoreline stabili-zation project for 1,100 feet of reservoir shoreline u s-ing both traditional and bioengineering method s.

“Trad itional techniques are being used to sta-bilize the bottom of the slope,” said Marty Goff, projectengineer, New York District. “This includes usingstone, or riprap , on the toe, or the bottom, of the slope.

Continued on page 14




District attends Passaic River SymposiumCol. Aniello L. Tortora, Commander, New

York District along w ith Peter Wepp ler and Pau lTumminello participated in the Passaic River Sym-posiu m Oct. 13 at Montclair State Univer sity, N.J.

They spoke to over 200 attendees includingindividuals from academia, the private sector,partn ering agencies, and congressional representa-tives.

They discussed the Corps’ efforts in thePassaic River Basin includ ing the ecosystem resto-ration, federal navigation and flood d amage red uc-tion.

“We are long on the way to restoring thePassaic River as a critical comp onent of a w orld class

estuary,” said Tortora.

“This symposium w as an opp ortunity for theCorps to p resent our on going projects to the pu blic,to communicate and share ideas with project part-ners and stakeholders and to have a forum to learn

from researchers in the field studying the Passaic,”said Megan Grubb, District project manager of theLower Passaic Ecosystem Restoration FeasibilityStudy.

Passaic River Symposium attendees (l-r) Dr. Kirk Barrett, director,

Passaic River Institute, Montclair State University; Alan Steinberg,

Administrator, U.S. EPA Region 2; Lisa Jackson, Commissioner,

NJ DEP; Lisa Baron, project manager NJ DOT and representing

the Hudson-Delaware Chapter, Society of Environmental Toxicol-

ogy ad Chemistry; Col. Aniello L. Tortora, Commander, U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers, New York District; and Mark Stout, assistant

commissioner, planning and development, N.J. DOT.

The weight of the stone p revents wav e actionfrom moving or removing the stone and p revents scor-ing or erosion of the toe of the slope. This par t of theslope must remain stable in order for the upperreaches, wh ich were stabilized using bioengineeringtechniques, to remain in p lace and function prop erly.”

Bioengineering techniques are a variety of method s that use dorm ant plant cuttings from wood yplants to alleviate soil erosion. The plants are placedin specific arrangements in the soil dep end ing up onthe technique. The cuttings come from p lants that rooteasily. The root system of the plan ts helps to hold thesoil together p reventing sedimen t loss.

Only native plants are being u sed. The toe, orbottom, of the slope w ill be planted with w illow, dog-wood and alder species to provide qu ick rooting. Theremaining slope will be planted with a mix of lowgrowing to med ium sized shru b species.

Along the top of the slope w hite pine and east-ern hemlock are being planted to maintain the aes-thetic consistency of the cam ping area.

“The State of Vermont has been a strong pro-ponen t of bioengineering and they encouraged us touse it in this p roject,” said Goff. “The Corp s has u sedbioengineering in the past, but just using grass. Thisis the first time w e used native plants. This is a depar-ture from the more trad itional app roach, wh ich typi-cally involves steel sheet pile and back-filling. Theresult is a more natu ral and sustainable slope.”

Combining traditional and bioengineeringtechniques is beneficial because a stable slope is be-ing achieved without d iminishing the natural app ear-

ance of the area. The project will not have the“engineered” look of many slope stabilization projects

The toe stabilization at the bottom of the slopesis comp leted. Grass seed is now being layed d own onthe tops o f the s lopes fo r immedia te s lopestabililization. This fall a mix of live cuttings and con-tainers of wood y vegetation, such as shrubs an d treesare being planted on the slopes for long-term stabili-zation. Planting in the fall is more condu ctive to p lantsurvival than p lanting d uring the sum mer.

Corps project reduces erosion at recreation area (cont.d from page 13)




In today’s world, the number of peop le who need h elp is rising exponen-

tially and the Combined Federal Cam-paign gives federal employees a chance

to combat these issues by provid ing a fo-cused, cost-efficient opportunity to im-prove the quality of life for all.

The CFC campaign for this year kicked off Sept. 1 and will end Dec. 15.

Employees are given quite a bit of freedomwh en it comes to choosing w hich charities they w ishto supp ort, providing a personal touch should th at al-lows them to focus their d onations on areas of inter-est such as cancer research, helping the homeless orcombating world hunger.

CFC isn’t a program that requ ires major cashdon ations in order for someone to make an imp act.

For instance, contributing $1 per pay period

New York District kicks off Combined Federal Campaign

for an entire year can help p rovide in-novative, patient-focused cancer re-

search or hot nutritious meals everyday for a week for a senior citizen w ho

otherw ise might go to bed h un gry. Fig-uring out h ow to give is also easy.

A volunteer from each office will en-sure th at all employees receive a catalogue listing theinternational, national and local charities that are eli-gible for the CFC.

The volunteer will also provide a pledge cardthat asks that you specify the amou nt of your gift andthe organization to receive his or her su pp ort. The CFCcatalogue includes a brief statement written by eachparticipating group describing its work, a p hone nu m-ber, web site ad dress to learn m ore about the charity

and a percentage figure stating what portion of thegroup’s total income is spent on management andfundraising activity.

Mary Gauker, deputy for the program and

project managem ent comm un ity of practice facilitatedan information session at New York District in Julyfor project managers. It was held to increase aware-ness of the program an d th e importan ce of becomingcertified, an d to p rovide information resources avail-able throu gh the PPM CoP. Also covered w ere the his-tory, functions and activities of the PPM CoP.

Gauker has been performing the “PPM CoPRoad Show,” as she refers to it, since last year, and hergoal it to take the road show to every Corps d ivisionand district.

She gave an up date of initiatives with an em-phasis on career development and efforts to profes-sionalize the USACE project manager disciplinethrough a formalized certification process.

PMP certification show s that the p roject man-

ager is comm itted to their profession, and the creden-tial lends credibility to the discipline of projectmanagement.

“Project managers who are interested in be-

coming certified now have clear priorities for their

Mary Gauker, P.E.

CoP Road Show paves path for PM successBy JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D., PPMD

By Kenneth Wells

New York District contributed

over $2.8 million in 2005-2006.

Photo:JoAnne

Castagna

training and developm ent. By

following the new career de-velopment plan they will be-come more effective projectmanagers and their w ork willenhance the effectiveness of the Corps as an organization,”said Gau ker.

“PM certification is a clear demonstration ofan individuals’ professional competency that is rec-ognized not only in the project management arena,but a lso the entire ind ustry,” said Anthony Levesanos,

Depu ty Chief, Programs and Project Management.“I found out the pu rpose of the PPM CoP and

how it can ben efit us – it’s a large netw ork ou t therefor u s to obtain an d share information. I learned aboutthe Army Corps Career Development Program andthat the Corps is encouraging project managers toenhance their careers and obtain PM Certification,”said att end ee Rifat Salim, project manager, PPMD.

Corps project managers seeking additional information

should visit: https://eko.usace.army.mil/usacecop/ppm




A reminder for all employees

Personnel accountability procedures in the event of an emergency:

In the event of an emergency, New York District personnel should first make every effort to contact theirsupervisor in accordance with locally established plans.

For some reason, if personnel are unable to follow local personnel accountability procedures, employ-ees should then use the USACE toll-free phone number or alternatively use the e-mail address within 72hours of an emergency or an evacuation. Toll free phone number: 1-877-HI-USACE 1-877-448-7223

E-mail address: [email protected]

Stork Club

Jamal Sulayman, EN and Rifat Salim of PPMD are the proud

parents of daughter Zahra Reem Sulayman born Oct. 13.

Vital stats: 6 lbs., 4 oz.

Town Hall Meeting

Thurs. Dec. 14U.S. Court of International Trade

Holiday PartyThurs. Dec. 14

Albella’s 10 Reade Street

Manhattan 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

$25 per person

Documents

US Army: fall06