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  • October

    Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commanding general and 55th chief of engineers, center, signed a chief’s report Oct. 14 recommending the Port of Long Beach Deep Draft Navigation Plan to Congress at the Corps’ headquarters in Washington, D.C. The plan could be included in the next Water Resources Development Act. A separate bill to appropriate funding to the plan would also have to be passed by Congress for the plan to move forward to construction.

    Corps’ chief signs report to move Port of Long Beach deep-draft navigation project forward

    Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and the Port of Long Beach are one step closer to improving navigation efficiencies and safety for existing and prospective commerce within the port with the signing of a chief’s report for the project. The Port of Long Beach Deep-Draft Navigation Feasibility Report – which aims to improve and modify existing channels in the port by deepening them to accommodate larger cargo ships – was signed Oct. 14 by Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, the Corps’ commanding general and 55th U.S. Army chief of engineers, at the Corps’ headquarters in Washington, D.C.
  • Col. Julie Balten, right, Los Angeles District commander, joins David Van Dorpe, LA District’s deputy district engineer, in leading the district’s virtual town hall and end-of-year celebration Oct. 5, 2021, from the district’s headquarters building.

    LA District command team recognizes people, highlights accomplishments at end-of-year celebration

    The Los Angeles District command team took time out Oct. 5 to recognize district employees and highlight their countless accomplishments throughout the fiscal year during a virtual town hall and end-of-year celebration that was broadcast from the district’s headquarters building.

  • September

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is working with the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Arizona, to repair five levee systems using the Public Law 84-99 Rehabilitation and Inspection Program. Work is currently underway in the New River Dam outlet channel in Peoria. Here, Jim Terstriep (right), an LA District construction representative and Victoria Jurado, a district geologist, discuss the channel subgrade Sept. 28.

    New River Dam outlet channel repair benefits from emergency funding

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is working with the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Arizona, to repair five levee systems using the Public Law 84-99 Rehabilitation and Inspection Program.
  • Adjutant General of the Arizona National Guard Maj. Gen. Kerry Muehlenbeck, center, discusses the importance of emergency response preparedness during a joint flood response exercise at the Arizona Emergency Operations Center Sept. 9 in Phoenix. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, and the Flood Control District of Maricopa County staff conducted a joint exercise to evaluate flood response preparedness. The training featured various flooding scenarios at the Painted Rock Dam located 120 miles southwest of Phoenix.

    Joint exercise based on historic Arizona flood

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Flood Control District of Maricopa County staff joined forces Sept. 9 to host an emergency exercise based on historic flooding in the state.

  • August

    The Army continues to actively promote the iWATCH campaign with a simple theme, "SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING." This program provides our Soldiers, civilians, contractors and the military community the opportunity to report suspicious activity based on observed behaviors and activities.

    Antiterrorism Awareness Month: Corps leaders remind force to keep resources handy, stay vigilant

    It’s been nearly 20 years since this country’s deadliest terrorist attack on 9/11; however, Army leaders at all levels are highlighting Antiterrorism Awareness Month to remind all members of the force that’s no reason to reduce vigilance or become complacent.

  • July

    Richard Rivera, visual information specialist with the Los Angeles District, records Col. Julie Balten, LA District commander, and David Van Dorpe, district deputy engineer, as they host the 246th Engineer Day virtual observance from the district headquarters July 29, 2021.

    LA District leadership recognizes employees during virtual Engineer Day event

    For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s 246th Engineer Day observance, the commander joined the district deputy engineer in a virtual format July 29 via YouTube Live to recognize employees’ accomplishments and provide updates about the District and its projects.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Supervisory Civil Engineer Steve Dwyer and commander Col. Julie Balten discuss projects, June 29, 2021, at Ventura Beach, California. Ventura Harbor District is partnered with the Corps to maintain the busy harbor.

    LA District engineers visit projects in 3 California central coast counties

    Over the course of four long days on the road – June 28 to July 1 – senior leaders with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District met with city and county government representatives of Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties during visits to multiple job sites.
  • City and port officials with the Port of Hueneme, along with representatives with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, begin loading onto a tugboat in the Port of Hueneme – in the shadow of a large cargo vessel – to take a tour of the harbor following a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the deepening of Port Hueneme Harbor June 28 at Port Hueneme, California.

    Corps, Port of Hueneme celebrate completion of harbor-deepening project

    Representatives with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, Port of Hueneme and the U.S. Navy, among other agencies, celebrated June 28 as officials cut the ribbon signifying the completion of the Port of Hueneme’s port-deepening project.

  • June

    Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and contractors gather June 16, 2021, at the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus to break ground on the new Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center.

    Corps of Engineers helps break ground on new Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center

    Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and contractors gathered June 16 at the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus to break ground on the new Spinal Cord Injury/Community Living Center.
  • Partners of the Lake Elsinore Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Study meet virtually June 7, 2021, to commemorate the signing of a Feasibility Cost Sharing Agreement, which kicked off the project. Pictured (left top to right bottom): Top row: Jason Uhley, general manager and chief engineer for the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District; Col. Julie Balten, LA District commander; Daria Mazey, project manager and lead planner with the Regional Continuing Authorities Program Production Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee. Middle Row: Darrell Buxton, chief of the Civil Works Branch for the LA District; (together) General Manager Greg Thomas, Director Phil Williams, and Government Relations Officer Greg Morrison of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District; Elizabeth Fiocchi, chief of Programs and Project Controls with the LA District; and Jason Simpson, Lake Elsinore city manager. Bottom row: Rep. Ken Calvert of the 42nd Congressional District; Michael Luecker, planner with the LA District; and Nicole Dailey, assistant to the city manager of Lake Elsinore.

    Corps partners with multiple agencies to improve long-term health of Lake Elsinore

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, City of Lake Elsinore, and Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District partner to identify restoration projects for Southern California’s largest natural freshwater lake.

  • May

    Representatives of local, county, state and federal agencies gather near the Santa Ana River in Corona, California, May 27, 2021, to mark the official completion of the BSNF Railroad Bridge Pier Protection Project in Corona, California. The purpose of the project is to minimize risk to the bridge in flood conditions and during increased water releases from Prado Dam resulting from periods of heavy rainfall.

    Corps marks completion of $100-million bridge pier protection project near Prado Dam

    Representatives of local, county, state and federal agencies gathered May 27 to celebrate the official completion of the BSNF Railroad Bridge Pier Protection Project in on the Santa Ana River in Corona, California.
  • Staff Sgt. Jacob Wratchford (left) and Sgt. Eduardo Delacruz, Alpha Company, 249th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are testing a San Carlos Irrigation Project's substation grounding May 19 by testing soil conductivity. The 249th is charged with the rapid deployment of U. S. Army generators to support worldwide requirements.

    Prime Power Soldiers assist San Carlos Irrigation Project

    Soldiers with Alpha Company, 249th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, known as Prime Power, have deployed for a unique training mission with the Los Angeles District in Arizona.
  • Park Ranger Annel Monsalvo, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, investigates one of dozens of abandoned campsites below the Santa Fe Dam, May 10, before crews arrive to clear out the debris.

    Corps removes about 250 tons of debris at Santa Fe Dam

    Amid dense vegetation and boulders at the foot of the Santa Fe Dam Spillway, the Operations Division with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is clearing tons of litter and debris from a homeless encampment in Irwindale, California.
  • Leaders, firefighters, project engineers and contractors explore the newly constructed fire station at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, after its official unveiling May 6, 2021, while a firefighter directs a flight-line crash truck into one of the facility’s two drive-through bays. The project was managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.

    Corps joins Air Force to unveil new fire station at March Air Reserve Base

    Leaders, project engineers and firefighters gathered May 6 at March Air Reserve Base to unveil the installation’s newly constructed fire station, which was a project managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.
  • In the burgundy helmet, Contractor Jordan Soto of Rio Jordan Construction conducts an overview and safety briefing about the toe road maintenance project for Corps’ District program manager Lt. Col. Malia Pearson and her team, May 4, on the toe road in the Los Angeles River.

    Corps repairing toe maintenance roads along LA River near Glendale

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is working on a toe repair project along the Los Angeles River near Glendale.
  • Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Milhorn, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy commanding general for Military and International Operations, center left, listens as Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, the Corps' South Pacific Division commander, center right, talks about the Corps' FEMA mission in support of LA-area hospitals during an April 28 tour of Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

    Corps general tours military, DOD, VA projects during weeklong visit to California

    LOS ANGELES – One of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ top generals for military and international operations made his first visit to Southern California during a weeklong tour of some of the agency’s Los Angeles District projects. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Milhorn, the Corps’ deputy commanding general for Military and International Operations, toured several project sites across the desert and the coastline – from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin to Vandenburg Air Force Base – during his visit to California.
  • A team that includes subject-matter experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the California Department of Public Health and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services conduct a final inspection of work at Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights, California, April 16, as part of FEMA’s support to California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Corps completes final inspection of LA-area hospital COVID-19 additions

    LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District led a final inspection of work April 22 at Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, California, as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s support to California in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • April

    VIDEO Prado Basin Ecosystem Restoration, Chief's Report

    On April 22, Earth Day, Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, the 55th Chief of Engineers, signed a Chief’s Report, which recommends a multi-year, multi section plan to tackle loss and/or degradation of aquatic, riparian woodland and floodplain habitats along the Santa Ana River due to numerous issue the waterway has experienced since the 1940s.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander Col. Julie Balten with two members of her team, follow a contractor into the construction zone at the mouth of Oceanside Harbor, April 12. Sand dredged from the harbor will be piped to a section of Oceanside Beach, California. The annual maintenance dredging of Oceanside Harbor is contracted and supervised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District.

    Oceanside Harbor navigational dredging underway

    Oceanside Harbor navigational dredging is an annual project conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District to maintain the federal channel within the harbor at its authorized depth and to provide safe navigation for the recreational, commercial and military vessels that use the channel.

  • March

    Col. Julie Balten, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, right, and Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, commander of the Corps’ South Pacific Division, left, pause for a quick discussion March 19 after viewing construction progress of the Corps and its contractors work on an alternate care facility at Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

    General visits LA-area hospitals, gets updates on construction progress in support of COVID-19 response

    Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division commander, visited two Los Angeles-area hospitals March 19 to view the progress on construction the Corps and its contractors are doing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.