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  • December

    Director of Programs and Deputy Engineer of the South Pacific Border Task Force Greg Hegge monitors border barrier installation progress at the BMGR-1 project site Nov. 17 near Yuma, Arizona. USACE is replacing permanent border barriers along the southern border of the U.S. at the direction of the U.S. Army by the Secretary of War, in response to the presidential national emergency declaration dated Jan. 20, 2025, authorizing the use of Section 2803 of Title 10, U.S. Code.

    Senior Leaders tour border barrier project

    Senior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Joint Task Force Southern Border leaders toured progress on a border barrier installation at the Barry M. Goldwater Range 1 project site Nov. 17 near Yuma.
  • From left, Gila River Indian Community Councilman Joseph Manuel Jr., joins Tribal Governor Stephen Roe Lewis and Los Angeles District Commander Col. Andrew Baker to cut a ribbon celebrating the completion of the solar-over-canal project during a ceremony Dec. 11 at the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona.

    District celebrates completion of solar-over-canal project at Gila River Indian Community

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, in partnership with the Gila River Indian Community, celebrated the completion of the district’s first solar-over-canal project during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 11 at the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona.
  • U.S. Air Force Col. Bryan Bailey, commander of the 452nd Air Mobility Wing, on stage at left, addresses attendees during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new KC-46 Pegasus hangar and training facility Dec. 16 at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California.

    USACE, Air Force break ground on KC-46 hangar at March ARB

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District joined Air Force officials, community partners, stakeholders and contractors Dec. 16 to mark the start of construction on a new KC-46 Pegasus hangar and training facility at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander Lt. Gen. William “Butch” Graham and Army Chief of Public Affairs Rebecca Hodson discuss the Army’s vital role to the nation’s civil works programs, including protecting critical infrastructure, flood-risk management and disaster response, while touring Painted Rock Dam Nov. 17 in Gila Bend, Arizona.

    Senior leaders tour Painted Rock Dam

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commander, Lt. Gen. William “Butch” Graham, and Army Chief of Public Affairs Rebecca Hodson joined USACE senior leaders Nov. 17 on a tour of Painted Rock Dam, a flood risk-reduction project located on the Gila River in Maricopa County.
  • Brig. Gen. John Lloyd, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division commander, right, speaks with leaders and subject-matter experts with the Port of Long Beach and USACE during a boat tour of the port Dec. 2 in Long Beach, California.

    SPD commander visits Los Angeles District to highlight teamwork, priorities

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division commander visited several key locations in the Los Angeles District’s area of operations Dec. 2–3 in Southern California to receive updates on projects and highlight partnerships and teamwork across the region.
  • Orange County Operations and Maintenance vehicles stage along the pathway at the lower Santa Ana River Marsh during a multi-agency cleanup operation Dec. 10 in Newport Beach, California. More than 60 personnel from federal, county and city agencies supported the half-day effort.

    USACE, partners remove 3 tons of debris from encampments in Santa Ana River Marsh

    A team with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and multiple county and city agencies joined forces Dec. 10 to clear debris from homeless encampments in the lower Santa Ana River Marsh, a sensitive habitat that supports several threatened and endangered species.

  • November

    Col. Andrew Baker, Los Angeles District commander, second from left, delivers remarks during the End of Fiscal Year 2025 Town Hall and Awards Celebration Oct. 16 in downtown LA.

    USACE LA District marks landmark year with annual town hall

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District marked the end of an eventful year with its End-of-Year Town Hall Oct. 16 at its headquarters in downtown LA.

  • September

    Rick Arvey, project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Section 595 Program, left, shakes hands with Pascua Yaqui Tribe Vice Chairman Peter Yucupicio before the Tribe’s Section 595 Project groundbreaking Sept. 16 near Tucson, Arizona.

    Partnership brings water to a dry land

    The Pascua Yaqui Tribe, along with U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, joined U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leaders Sept. 12 near Tucson to break ground on the Pascua Yaqui Wellness Center Water Distribution Project.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Commander Col. Andrew Baker speaks about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' wildfire recovery and debris removal mission during the National Association of Women in Construction Los Angeles Chapter Board of Directors Installation Gala Sept. 16 at the Los Angeles County Fire Museum in Bellflower, California.

    LA District commander underscores wildfire recovery, partnerships at NAWIC gala

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took part in the National Association of Women in Construction Los Angeles Chapter’s Installation Gala, Sept. 16 at the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.
  • Daniel Huff, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager, center, helps San Luis Obispo community members better understand the regulatory process and environmental cleanup being conducted in their community during a public meeting Aug. 25 at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, California.

    Public meeting gives community a chance to learn about remediation at former training site

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosted a public meeting Aug. 25 to share plans for removing old military munitions from the former Camp San Luis Obispo.
  • Col. Andrew Baker, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, right of center, joins local, state and federal leaders Aug. 28 to break ground on Phase 2B of the Murrieta Creek Flood Control, Environmental Restoration and Recreation Project in Temecula, California.

    USACE, partners break ground on Murrieta Creek Phase 2B

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District joined local, state and federal partners Aug. 28 to break ground on Phase 2B of the Murrieta Creek Flood Control, Environmental Restoration and Recreation Project.
  • Pictured Aug. 26 in the Los Angeles neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades are remnants of a home devastated by wildfires in January.

    USACE marks final debris removal property in Pacific Palisades Fire recovery

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with local, state and federal partners, marked a major milestone Aug. 26 as crews began debris removal at the last opt-in private property in the Pacific Palisades Fire recovery area.
  • Chris Stanton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Silver Jackets Program manager, prepares written scenarios for a flood-response tabletop exercise in the Navajo Nation’s Birdsprings Chapter’s meeting hall May 30 in Birdsprings, Arizona.

    Planner of the Year: Chris Stanton

    Traveling throughout the Southwest, Christopher Stanton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District lead planner and Silver Jackets program manager, has built a professional reputation for dependability.

  • August

    Marine Veteran Christopher Scott Louie, center, cuts the ribbon during a ceremony celebrating the opening of the VA Long Beach Healthcare System's mental health in-patient and out-patient facilities Aug. 28 in Long Beach, California. Also pictured are, from left to right, Dr. Larry Albers, chief of psychiatry and mental health; Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks; Walt Dannenberg, VA Long Beach Medical Center director; Dr. Sharon De Peralta, chief of Patient Care Services, Mental Health; and Stephanie Young, VISN Interim Network director.

    VA Long Beach celebrates opening of mental health facilities

    Department of Veterans Affairs officials celebrated the opening of two mental health facilities with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 28 at the Tibor Rubin Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus in Long Beach, California. The mental health buildings – constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Los Angeles District and its contractors – include an 80,000-square-foot outpatient facility and a 40-bed, 82,000-square-foot inpatient facility.
  • The Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center modernization project is pictured July 15 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ districts in Los Angeles and Little Rock collaborate on the project, which included an emergency room, an intensive care unit and building additions.

    The LA District commander visits Air Force project sites in Nevada

    Col. Andrew Baker, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, toured several district military construction projects July 15, including site visits to Creech and Nellis Air Force bases in Nevada.
  • Lt. Col. David Weart, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Eaton Area Recovery Field Office commander, speaks to the crowd during an Aug. 14 ceremony in honor of the beginning of the debris removal at the past private property assigned to USACE that was impacted by the Eaton Fires in Altadena, California.

    USACE, partners mark milestone with final private property debris removal in Eaton Fire area

    Homeowners Beverly Outterbridge and her daughter, Tami, arrived early Aug. 14 to their property in Altadena. As U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives and contractors prepared an area in front of the burned-out shell where the Outterbridges’ home once stood, Tami greeted each person with a smile. “Welcome to our home,” she said, handing out a statement she had prepared to read at a ceremony later that day. The ceremony marked the start of debris removal at the Outterbridges’ property — the final private property assigned to USACE in the Eaton Fire recovery area.
  • Capt. Gregory Sacenti, project engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, center, leads a tour of the nearly complete Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center Aug. 7 at the Jennifer Moreno Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego.

    USACE leaders visit San Diego VA Medical Center to rally final push on Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center facility

    Senior leaders with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Veterans Affairs met Aug. 7 at the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus to review progress on the nearly complete Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center.

  • July

    An excavator smooths bedding material May 1 on the slope of a levee in Riverside, California, where the U.S. Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and contractors have started work again for the levee rehabilitation project.

    LA District leads Riverside levee rehabilitation effort

    Local and federal agencies are working together to restore a critical stretch of flood control infrastructure protecting thousands of homes and billions of dollars in property and infrastructure in Riverside. Led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, in partnership with the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, the project is rehabilitating damaged portions of the Riverside levees — two parallel levees originally built in the 1950s to channel floodwaters safely through urban areas. Known formally as Riverside Levee 1 (west levee) and Riverside Levee 2 (east levee), the structures are part of the larger Santa Ana River levee system.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes debris removal from the last FEMA assigned parcel on the Pacific Coast Highway July 8 in Pacific Palisades, California. Under FEMA mission assignment, USACE is leading one of the largest wildfire debris removal operations in California history and supporting safe recovery across Southern California's fire-affected areas.

    USACE completes wildfire debris removal on final parcel along Pacific Coast Highway

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with FEMA, California Office of Emergency Services, Los Angeles County and other local agencies, has completed debris removal on the final FEMA-assigned parcel along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway, as part of ongoing recovery efforts from the 2025 Palisades Fire.
  • From left to right: Jonathan Hallemeier, Alan Wells, Chris Stanton and Joel Pliskin of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Silver Jackets planning team, pose for a picture May 30 in Birdsprings, Arizona. The Birdsprings Chapter of the Navajo Nation hosted the inaugural flood-response tabletop exercise in partnership with the Silver Jackets. The Silver Jackets Program brings together local, tribal, state and federal agencies to collaboratively address flood risk and other natural hazards.

    Navajo Nation hosts USACE Silver Jackets for flood response training

    The Birdsprings Chapter of the Navajo Nation, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Silver Jackets program, hosted its inaugural virtual and in-person flood response tabletop exercise May 30 in Birdsprings, Arizona.