inside the castle

The National Hurricane Program is a federal interagency partnership between USACE, FEMA, and NOAA, which provides technical services and studies throughout the hurricane threatened coastal states. The technical assistance is focused on hurricane evacuation and response planning, readiness, and operational decision making. Listen in as we talk with Marco Ciarla and Thomas Laczo about this critical program and the benefits it provides to the nation. To learn more about the program, visit: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hurricanes The HURREVAC program just hit 25,000 registered users! To learn more about the HURREVAC application at: http://www.hurrevac.com/.

Listen in as Inside the Castle talks with Eva Velez, Jacksonville District, about the Everglades Program. Learn how USACE is restoring, preserving and protecting the South Florida ecosystem as well as providing for the other water related needs of region.

In this episode, Inside the Castle talks with Dr. Gerald Galloway about the Principles, Requirements and Guidelines (PR&G) and shares experiences from his career in water resources.

In this episode Inside the Castle spotlights the Denver South Platte Public Private Partnership project (P3). The South Platte River & Tributaries (Adams & Denver Counties), Colorado, Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Risk Management project is the fourth P3 project executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Public private partnerships (P3s) are a tool that can accelerate delivery by providing significant upfront funding, leveraging appropriations while optimizing local participation, and promoting risk sharing in project delivery. Utilizing P3s can streamline delivery, share risk, and provide significant life-cycle cost savings. Listen in to learn how the Corps is working closely with the City and County of Denver to implement a locally led delivery approach for the entire project. This alternative delivery approach is expected to result in a savings of roughly $121-194 million and is anticipated to be delivered two-five years ahead of a traditionally delivered project.

In this episode we discuss the Section 202 Program with Brandon Moore, Huntington District, and Michael Moore, Louisville District. Section 202 was incorporated into the Energy and Water Development Act of 1981 (P.L. 96-367). Section 202 authorized the Corps to design and construct necessary and advisable flood control measures to prevent future flood damages at several named communities, in the Tug and Levisa Forks and Upper Cumberland River Basins. Listen in and learn about the Section 202 Program and specific projects currently being worked on under Section 202, like the Johnson County, KY Flood Risk Managment Project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the Federal government’s largest water resources development and management agency. The Planning Assistance to States allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide states, local governments, other non-Federal entities, and eligible Native American Indian tribes assistance in the preparation of comprehensive plans for the development, utilization, and conversation of water and related land resources. Listen in as Sharon Sartor, the National Program Manager for Planning Assistance to States, talks about the program and how the Corps can use this program to assistance local communities.

Planning plays a vital role in supporting the Corps of Engineers Civil Works water resources development mission. Listen in as Inside the Castle hosts a roundtable discussion with Mr. Eric Bush, Chief of Planning and Policy Division at USACE Headquarters, and his planning staff Joe Redican, Susan Layton, Jeremy LaDart and Karla Roberts to learn more about planning, the future of planning and how these senior leaders are ensuring USACE delivers the mission on time and within budget.

Mr. Michael Connor recently marked his one-year anniversary as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. In this episode, Inside the Castle sits down to talk with Mr. Connor about this milestone and much more. Listen in to hear Mr. Connor's reflections from this past year and his plans for 2023.

In this episode, Inside the Castle talk with Nicole Comisky, Program Manager for Environmental Infrastructure at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters, to learn more about the Corps environmental infrastructure authority. Listen in to hear how this authority for water related infrastructure assists local communities.

Recovering from the Historic 2019 Missouri River Flood: Three Years Later In this episode, Dr. Nadia Mohandessi sits down with Matt Krajewski, USACE Emergency Support Function #3 (ESF #3) Permanent Cadre member and former Omaha District Emergency Management Chief, to discuss the historic 2019 flooding along the Missouri River and tributaries, and how the Corps has worked over the past three years to help the local communities recover by repairing and rehabilitating hundreds of miles of damaged levee systems under Public Law 84-99. Public Law 84-99, Emergency Response to Natural Disasters, is the Corps of Engineers’ basic authority to provide for emergency activities in support of State and Local governments prior to, during, and after a flood event. The Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) appropriation provides funding for PL 84-99 authorized activities. Under PL 84-99, the Corps can provide both emergency technical and direct assistance in response to flood and coastal storms, such as hurricanes and nor’easters.

In this episode, Inside the Castle sits down with Vincent Navarre, USACE Headquarters, to learn how the Corps budgets for civil works projects. Listen in and learn more about the Corps' Civil Works Budget.

In this episode we sit down with Willem Helms, the Public Law 84-99 Program Manager at Corps Headquarters, to learn more about the Public Law 84-99 and the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Appropriation. Public Law 84-99 is the Corps of Engineers’ basic authority to provide technical and direct assistance for emergencies like floods, coastal storm, and hurricanes. Funding for the Public Law 84-99 comes from the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) appropriation. Listen in and learn more about how the Corps of Engineers assists state and local governments prior to, during and after emergencies.

After 37 years of serving our Nation, Mr. Alvin Lee, Director of Civil Works, has decided to retire. Mr. Lee started his career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Fairbanks Resident Office in Fairbanks, Alaska followed by a stint at one of the research labs within the Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC). From there he served in various capacities at every level of the organization. In this episode we say farewell to the Director of Civil Works, Mr. Alvin Lee. Listen to hear Mr. Lee's lessons learned, accomplishments and future direction. Show notes: 0:25 Episode Introduction 1:33 Alvin Lee Career Background 3:31 Reflections from the past three years 10:15 USACE's current Budget 13:30 Revolutionize Performance Monitoring 18:34 Lessons Learned 26:03 Mr. Lee's proudest moment of his career 34:05 Final Thoughts

In this episode, Inside the Castle celebrates producing over 100 episodes with the Chief of Engineers, Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon. Listen in as we reflect on our favorite episodes, hear about key actions the Corps is taking to become a "Winning" organization, and learn how the Corps is enhancing partnerships with the Chief's Command Partnering Philosophy and Construction Project Partnering Playbook.

Fifteen years ago the 35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed just south of Lock and Dam 1 which is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District. Listen in to hear about the collapse and how USACE staff assisted with the response and recovery mission.

After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico had significant infrastructure damage and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working with locals to reduce flooding and ensure public health and safety for the citizens of Puerto Rico. Funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and emergency supplemental acts have provided a unique opportunity to construct new projects and promote resilience in Puerto Rico. Listen in to learn more about the Corps mission in Puerto Rico. For more information, visit the Jacksonville District website at: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/

In this episode, Dr. Nadia Mohandessi sits down with Chris Klein, USACE Temporary Housing and Critical Public Facilities Program Manager and Tony Hill, Emergency Support Function #3 (ESF #3) Permanent Cadre Member, to learn more about the Temporary Housing mission and the Critical Public Facility mission, and how the Corps has worked over the past several years to deliver these vital missions to disaster survivors. The temporary housing mission, one of the many missions USACE can perform in support of FEMA under ESF #3 and the National Response Framework, involves overseeing the placement of temporary housing units at individual home sites, existing mobile home parks, or newly designed and constructed mobile home parks when an event has rendered existing homes uninhabitable. The Critical Public Facilities mission involves providing and/or constructing temporary critical public facilities such as government office space, police stations, fire stations, medical clinics, and school classrooms, when those permanent facilities have been rendered unusable after a disaster.

Learn about the Internal Career Acceleration Network (I-CAN), a new peer-to-peer knowledge sharing site where anyone in the Corps of Engineers can go to learn—and to teach! I-CAN was built using the milUniversity platform, which is available to all Department of Defense employees at no charge. — The episode also closes the book on Aaron Schlein's temporary detail with the Institute for Water Resources through the New Horizons program, where he was part of the I-CAN development team. — Link to previous New Horizons episode > https://www.dvidshub.net/audio/68133/career-development-road-new-horizons — Link to the Benefit/Cost Updates for Budget Development Course > https://www.milsuite.mil/university/ican-usace/courses/benefit-cost-updates/

In this episode, Inside the Castle spotlights the Rock Island District. The Rock Island District provides vital civil works programs to the Midwest, the Mississippi River Valley and the Nation. Listen in as Colonel Jesse T. Curry and Kim Thomas talk about their mission, key regional and national programs, and how they are ensuring they deliver quality projects on time and within budget, safely. Visit https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil to learn more about the Rock Island District.

Development assignments or details provide Federal employees with some of the best training experiences. Developmental assignments or details are outside the employee's regular department or agency and provide the employee with an opportunity to experience a different type of work or better understand various missions and functions of a specific organization. In this episode, Inside the Castle learn more about Congressional Details with Mackie McIntosh and Lauren Leuck. Listen in as tLeuckjhey share what it was like working with members of Congress on their yearlong detail.