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  • November

    Col. Aaron Reisinger, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District, speaks to community members during a public meeting about the Westminster/East Garden Grove Flood Risk Management Study, as Col. Aaron Barta, the Corps' Los Angeles District commander, looks on Nov. 7 in Westminster, California.

    Corps partners with Orange County on study to reduce flood risk, receive public input

    Close to a half million people within the Westminster watershed could be affected by flood risk. That is the number one reason the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago and Los Angeles districts, in partnership with Orange County Public Works, are collaborating on the Westminster/East Garden Grove Flood Risk Management Study – a proposed project they hope will reduce that risk.
  • Representatives with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District meet with potential business partners during the District’s annual Business Opportunities Open House Nov. 13 at the District’s Headquarters building in downtown Los Angeles. More than 125 business representatives attended the event, seeking opportunities to do work for the Corps.

    Corps hosts open house for potential business partners, contractors

    About 125 business representatives from across the state and beyond attended the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Business Opportunities Open House Nov. 13 in downtown LA. The semi-annual event allows companies to introduce their capabilities to more than two dozen Corps’ staffers and to learn about potential work along the Corps' business lines.
  • Maj. Gen. Mark Toy, commander of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, talks to college students and recent graduates attending the USACE seminar at the Hispanic Engineer Achievement Awards Corporation conference Oct. 19 in Pasadena, California. With the theme, "Travel the world ... make an impact ... build big things," panel members presented information on the Corps, its missions and the opportunities a Corps career provides employees.

    Corps engages college students at STEM conference

    With work in 110 countries around the world, there are vast opportunities for employees to go anywhere in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Maj. Gen. Mark Toy, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division commander, to college students and recent graduates attending the USACE seminar at the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation conference Oct. 19 in Pasadena.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Employees and military members listen as Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, talks about talent management, delivering the program and revolutionizing the Corps during a town hall meeting Oct. 18 at the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference in Pasadena, California.

    Semonite talks talent management, delivering program with employees during HENAAC

    The commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spoke to about 50 employees and military members Oct. 18 during the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference, or HENAAC, in Pasadena.

  • October

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District employees pose for a picture after receiving Year-End Hero awards during the LA District’s End-of-the-Year celebration Oct. 3 at the District’s headquarters office in downtown Los Angeles. The annual event acknowledges employee achievements leading up to the Sept. 30 end-of-the-fiscal-year deadline.

    Corps’ Los Angeles District celebrates end of fiscal year with more than $556M in contract awards

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District awarded about 750 contracts worth more than $556 million in fiscal year 2018. Employees were honored for those achievements during an End-of-the-Year celebration Oct. 3 at the District’s headquarters office in downtown Los Angeles. The District’s area offices in California and Arizona joined the event via video teleconference.

  • September

    A volunteer hauls in trash from the Santa Ana River Marsh Sept. 15 at Newport Beach, California. The event was part of California Coastal Cleanup Day.

    Corps hosts cleanup event at Santa Ana River Marsh

    With a navy pink- and- blue-flowered baseball cap pulled over her forehead, purple boots and a plastic grabbing tool in hand, 4-year-old Amelia Jones set off down the marsh’s dirt road. Her parents, Erin and Chris, both biologists, and her uncle, Andrew Hardison, were not far behind. As Amelia scoured the ground for trash, Erin, who works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, pointed to a plastic water bottle hidden in the brush. Amelia seemed pleased with her find, as she picked up the bottle with her grabber and dropped it into her lime-green bucket.

  • Commander reflects on time as member of 9/11 search-and-rescue team

    The inside of the building was dark, smoky, damp and hot. It was still smoldering from the fires that raged within it just hours before, when Col. Aaron Barta, then a captain and commander of the Military District of Washington Engineer Company, and his team stepped into the battered Pentagon Sept. 11, 2001.
  • Robert Klein, project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, center, discusses the Corps’ San Diego Veterans Affairs project with Col. Aaron Barta, LA District commander, right, while Shaun Frost, area engineer with the Construction Division, Southern California Area Office, LA District, left, looks on during an Aug. 29 site visit to the hospital in San Diego, California.

    LA District commander tours San Diego, Riverside project sites

    As the new commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, Col. Aaron Barta understands the importance of visiting project sites firsthand. “Seeing project sites myself and talking to our team members makes it much easier for me to clearly advocate for the Los Angeles District,” he said.
  • Col. Kim Colloton visits the VA Long Beach project. The $300 million VA Long Beach project consists of five phases. The first phase includes a behavioral/mental health facility and a 40 bed inpatient facility. Colloton was briefed by Project Manager Monica Eichler.

    South Pacific Division Commander visits District projects, people

    Col. Kim Colloton, South Pacific Division commander, went on a whirlwind tour of several Los Angeles District projects during a visit to the area Sept. 4-7.

  • August

    Autin assumes command of Task Force Recovery

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Recovery, held a change of command Aug. 29 where Maj. Scotty Autin assumed command of the Task Force from Lt. Col. John D. Cunningham.
  • Steve Winkleblech, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District realty specialist, discusses properties and parcels included in the upcoming remedial investigation and feasibility study at a former ground-to-ground gunnery range here Aug. 20. The site includes about 284 residential properties and parcels, located on Tommie Drive, East Packard, Lass, East Snavely, East Thompson, East Lum, East Ryan, East Hearne, East Devlin, East Shaeffer, East John L and Northfield avenues.

    Corps hosts open house on former range

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District hosted an open house Aug. 20 to discuss an upcoming remedial investigation and feasibility study of a former ground-to-ground gunnery range.
  • Gary Lee Moore, Los Angeles city engineer, second from left, talks to students and instructors with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Planning Associates Program about plans for ecosystem restoration along the Los Angeles River during the group's July 25 bus tour of Los Angeles County watersheds.

    Planning Associates group learns about California watersheds

    Seven members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Planning Associates program traveled to Los Angeles July 23 to 27 to learn about water resource planning. The program develops emerging leaders in the planning community of practice. In its second year at the South Pacific Division, the Integrated Water Resources Management-Watershed course is an advanced training opportunity in water resources planning. The goal of the program is to broaden planners’ competencies in solving complex water resource challenges and to strengthen their leadership talents.

  • July

    Col. Aaron Barta, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, speaks to the audience after becoming the 62nd District commander during a July 19 Change of Command ceremony at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California.

    New LA District commander brings broad range of experience to position

    As Col. Aaron Barta begins to settle into his new position as the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, he considers himself lucky. “Coming to the Los Angeles District is a dream come true, both professionally and personally,” he said. “I am proud to pass on that every leader I've encountered (has told me) I am walking into a world-class organization filled with the Corps’ best.”
  • Col. Aaron Barta, incoming U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, speaks during a July 19 change of command ceremony at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California.

    Barta becomes 62nd LA District commander

    After three years as the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, Col. Kirk Gibbs relinquished duties to Col. Aaron Barta during a July 19 change of command ceremony. Barta, a native of Texas, became the 62nd commander of the LA District, during the event at Fort MacArthur’s Community Center in San Pedro.
  • Col. Kirk Gibbs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles commander, presents Barron Arakawa, Emergency Management specialist, with a commander’s coin for his participation in Bring a Child to Work Day April 26 at the District headquarters.

    Gibbs reflects on time as leader of the Corps’ Los Angeles District

    If there is any advice Col. Kirk Gibbs can give to his successor, it is this: Lead with honor and humility. As Gibbs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s 61st commander, prepares to relinquish command of the LA District July 19 to Col. Aaron Barta, he offered up some advice and reflected on the past three years as the leader of one of the largest Corps districts in the country.
  • Dr. Emily Allen, dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, California State University, Los Angeles, and Col. Kirk Gibbs, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, sign a partnering agreement July 5 in Los Angeles, California, to foster collaboration in a relationship that stresses the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as officials from the university and the Corps look on. The agreement also provides a road map to employment with the Corps through various programs, including the Pathways internship program.

    Corps, Cal State LA agree to partner for STEM education and careers

    The U.S Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District signed a partnering agreement with the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology at California State University, Los Angeles July 5. The agreement promises to enhance opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, education and career paths.

  • June

    Joe Goldstein, Dam Safety program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, center, works with representatives from Los Angeles County on how the team would respond during a flood-risk tabletop exercise June 21 at the LA County Department of Public Works.

    Corps of Engineers, LA County, state join forces for flood-risk exercise

    El Nino has returned with a vengeance. Over the last week, back-to-back storm systems have hit southern California. The National Weather Service is predicting a third storm in the area, describing it as the “biggest storm of the season.” The already saturated conditions, along with the additional forecasted rainfall, indicate Los Angeles River channels will be flowing at full capacity and may overtop.
  • Travis Bone (right), archeologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District speaks with a delegation from the Colorado River Indian Tribes May 31. The Corps hosted scoping meetings to solicit stakeholder and public comment on changes to the Alamo Dam Water Control Plan.

    Corps hosts scoping meeting for proposed update to water control plan

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District hosted scoping meetings on May 31 to solicit stakeholder and public comment on changes to the Alamo Dam Water Control Plan.

  • May

    Maj. Scotty Autin, deputy district commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and Lt. Col. Peter Stambersky, Los Angeles District contracting officergroup of LA D joined district team members and their families assembled for the two-mile parade route May 19 as participants in the 59th annual City of Torrance Armed Forces Day parade.

    District participates in the City of Torrance Armed Forces Day parade

    The City of Torrance honored the five branches of the military during the Torrance Armed Forces Day Celebration May 18 to 20. This year the honored service was the United States Marine Corps.
  • Eileen Takata, landscape architect, lead water resources planner and public involvement specialist with the LA District’s Planning Division, right, and her son, Seth, left, prepare a native plant during a community tree-planting event May 12 in Norco.

    Community rallies around Corps’ ecosystem restoration project in Norco

    About 120 volunteers came together to help restore an area around the Santa Ana River to its natural habitat. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, along with its contractor, UltraSystems Environmental, partnered with the City of Norco to host a restoration-planting event May 12 on more than one acre of the Corps’ land near the Santa Ana River. About 520 plants and 200 plant cuttings, including California buckwheat, Chemise, Mexican elderberry and arroyo willow were planted.