PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Col. Kirk Gibbs, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, toured Arizona-Nevada Area Office projects Sept. 6-8.
Gibbs' first day was spent meeting with staff, holding a brown-bag luncheon, and presenting awards. Of note, Troy Olson, resident engineer for the Roadrunner Resident Office, and Larry Triphahn, a supervisory civil engineer in the Arizona-Nevada Area Office, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for their support of emergency flood fighting efforts for the White Mountain Apache community of Cedar Creek.
On his second day, Gibbs and staff got boots on the ground holding several meetings with City of Phoenix officials and then visiting the Santa Cruz Wash near Maricopa, Arizona. Kim Gavigan, chief of the water resources planning section, briefed the colonel on the flood risk management study for the Lower Santa Cruz River. Much of the flood plain is located between two major municipalities, Phoenix and Tucson, and is in Pinal County which, according to the study, was the second fastest growing county in the United States during the past decade.
"What has stuck with me the most from this visit? Simply put, our people and the relationships throughout the state of Arizona," said Gibbs. "Our people in the Arizona office are dedicated to our mission and enjoy what they do. It is such a positive working environment out here and I sincerely believe that it is a team of teams - everyone enjoys supporting each other and working together to get the job done."
The District has a robust military construction program as well, recently awarding a contract for nearly $24 million to construct an F-35A squad operations and maintenance hangar at Luke Air Force Base. On his third day, Gibbs visited base projects and met with staff and stakeholders.
"We will continue to have a very strong military program in the state of Arizona," added Gibbs. "Luke Air Force Base, and the Air Force in general, trusts us, and we do exceptional, quality work for them in many of their key programs. The relationships throughout Arizona are built on trust, and ultimately that leads to results."