U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District

For over a quarter of a century, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, (NAU) has provided both installation and contingency support to U.S. forces throughout the United States European Command area of responsibility. Headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, the district, which is part of the North Atlantic Division, covers a widely dispersed geographic area from Western Europe across Eastern Europe, including Russia, down to Israel and throughout most of the African continent. Work is executed from offices located in Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Romania, Italy, Spain, Kosovo, Israel, and Georgia. In 2007, the district completed $738 million in projects including $468 million in military construction projects. The bulk of this work included the turnover of 130 Family Housing units in Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, and Ramstein; the construction of new operational and Family Housing units in Turkey; the completion of a Temporary Forward Operating Site in Romania; and the completion of the Deployment Processing Center at the Rhein Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern, which plays in a key role in facilitating deployments downrange.

Europe District’s biggest development in 2007 was in sheer geographic size, potentially gaining engineering responsibility for some or all of the 10 African countries in the U.S. military’s newest combatant command – AFRICOM.

These countries – Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Somalia, Seychelles, and Sudan – bring with them one existing U.S. military base – Camp Lemonier in Djibouti – and many new engineering challenges for the District. Historically, the District has executed about $5.6 million each year in support of projects in Africa. In the future, however, the district will be called on to support more exercises, training, and humanitarian assistance efforts, as well as to promote U.S. national security objectives to strengthen regional stability.

The district’s geographic development in 2007 also encompassed new assignments in Eastern Europe, including support for MDA in Poland and the Czech Republic, for Joint Task Force-East in Romania and Bulgaria, and for NATO’s Civil Military Emergency Preparedness program in Bosnia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Financially, Europe District’s overall program is bigger than it has ever been, expanding 22 percent in 2007.

Most illustrative of this development is the district’s construction portfolio, with increases of 86 percent each in the housing and OMA barracks programs, 45 percent in the Efficient Basing-Grafenwoehr program, and 145 percent in the District’s program to support the U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Mission

As the Department of Defense's design and construction agent in most of Europe, NAU executes the U.S. Military Construction (MILCON) programs and provides support to multiple U.S. government agencies as well as international organizations such as NATO. In addition, the district’s 380-person workforce provides professional engineering, construction, environmental, real estate, and master planning and administrative contracting services. The district is also postured to respond rapidly to military contingencies and civil emergencies. The district supplements the installation engineers with the total resources, experience, and expertise of the Corps of Engineers in their efforts to resolve operations & maintenance, host nation engineering, and construction issues. The total fiscal year 2007 program workload was about $738 million, up 22 percent from fiscal year 2006. In addition, the fiscal year 2007 construction program amounted to $468 million, up 20 percent from fiscal year 2006. Within its geographic boundaries, NAU supports the following governmental agencies and foreign governments:

Armed Forces

U.S. European Command
U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR)
U.S. Air Force, Europe (USAFE)
Special Operations Command, Europe

Department of Defense Agencies

Installation Management Agency, Europe
Department of Defense Dependent Schools
Defense Commissary Agency
Defense Logistics Agency
Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Defense Intelligence Agency
U.S. Army Medical Command
Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Command
Missile Defense Agency

Other governmental agencies

U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of State
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Agency
Host Nation Governments (Germany, Belgium, etc.)
Government of Israel (Ministry of Defense)

Programs

1. U.S. Military Construction (MILCON)

The MILCON programs fund much of NAU's engineering and construction program. The programs provide much-needed improvements to both operational and quality-of-life infrastructure. In fiscal year 2008, NAU plans to execute about $400 million in support of U.S. forces and other DoD agencies. Much of this work will be executed in Germany through an indirect process where the district field offices have oversight of work contracted and managed by the German government. This is stipulated by the international agreement known as ABG75, whereby construction is managed through the German construction office "Staatsbauamt" or "Staatliche Hochbauamt". Consequently, NAU shares a portion of each project’s program fees and supervision and administration fees with the German "bauamts".

Current major MILCON programs include:

* Efficient Basing Grafenwoehr (EB-G) –

In Grafenwoehr, Germany, NAU supports Army transformation in Europe through partnership with the U.S. Garrison Grafenwoehr and U.S. Army Europe Deputy Chief of Staff for Engineering. Construction on the $689 million program covers fiscal years 2003-2008 and 2011. NAU has established an EB-G Program Office on site to more effectively integrate with the local Department of Public Works (DPW) office and "bauamt" offices. EB-G provides for the stationing of a Brigade Combat Team (a brigade and six battalions) and its families. EB-G will enhance training readiness, improve force protection, and provide new or renovated facilities and excellent quality-of-life facilities for Soldiers and families.

* Joint Task Force – East (JTF-E)-

U.S. Forward Operating Sites (FOSs) will be built in Romania and Bulgaria. These are basic facilities to support the requirements of rotational training units of about 2,000 Soldiers and will include expeditionary-type billets, operation/administration, and maintenance facilities. Supporting facilities include anti-terrorism measures, roads, walks, and site improvements. Utility infrastructure includes installation of packaged water and sewer treatment plants, and basic electrical, water, and sewer distribution and storage systems. Host nation coordination is proceeding to establish procedures for real estate, utilities, facilities, and environmental issues.

* Military Construction Air Force (MCAF) -

The District is currently involved in the design and construction of all USAFE MILCON in Germany and Turkey. In fiscal year 2008, NAU will managed about $71 million in mission MILCON, including a control tower at Spangdahlem and a C130 hangar at Ramstein Air Base, and about $85 million in housing MILCON, including new townhouses throughout USAFE's footprint at Ramstein Air Base and renovation of housing units at Incirlik Air Base. The Turkey Resident Office executes its design and construction through Indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) design services and direct (standard) contracting for construction services. MILCON design and construction for USAFE, especially family housing at Ramstein, Spangdahlem and Incirlik, will remain a significant portion of the district’s workload over the next few years.

* Army and Air Force Family Housing (AFH/AAFH) -

Since 2003, NAU has been executing a large construction program to improve the infrastructure, safety and appearance of both Army and Air Force Family Housing dwellings. Improvements for many units include new kitchens and bathrooms, laundry facilities in the dwelling versus in the basements, built-in closets, and details such as 110-volt outlets and telephone and cable television hookups. Others include expanding the number and size of rooms to suit today’s family expectations. The family housing program between fiscal year 2006 and 2009 is estimated to be $444 million.

* Non-Appropriated Funds (NAF) -

The NAF Army Lodging program, worth about $113 million in total, includes six new Army lodge projects. In fiscal year 2007, contracts were awarded for three new lodges to be built in Wiesbaden, Germany; Chievres, Belgium; and the [http://www.hohenfels.army.mil/sites/community/lodging.asp Hohenfels Training Area] in Hohenfels, Germany. Three others to be awarded in fiscal year 2008 include projects in Stuttgart, Germany; Grafenwoehr, Germany; and Ansbach, Germany.

* Contingency support to OIF/OEF:

OIF – Iraq - Support to Iraqi Freedom in fiscal year 2007 included design and procurement reach back of projects worth about $37 million.
OEF – Afghanistan – Support to Enduring Freedom in fiscal year 2007 included design and procurement reach back of projects worth about $42 million.

* Department of Defense Dependent Schools, Europe DoDDS:

At the beginning of fiscal year 2008, the DoDDS-E MILCON program had four projects in design worth about $31.8 million. The district is also finalizing construction for four projects totaling $55.4M, including the school complex at Grafenwoehr that alone is $33 million.

2. NAU's Installation Support (ISB) Program

ISB offers the full range of technical expertise and project management services on a reimbursable basis to supplement installation-engineering capabilities. The 24 employees in ISB contribute about $50 million worth in programs per year. Among the services available are:

• Project scope development
• Installation and Base Camp Master Planning, including comprehensive master plans, stationing and area development plans, and facility utilization surveys
• Project programming (DD 1391s) and Planning Charrettes
• Geographic Information Systems, including data collection, GIS map maintenance and conversion, and training
• Project Design, including full design for small projects with Life Cycle Project Management
• Job Order contracts which provide pre-priced maintenance and repair (M&R) work items and delivery orders
• Indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Task Order (MATOC) contracts; allows flexibility for scope of work, design and funding/task orders.
• Energy Saving Performance Contract (ESPC)
• USACE Access Control Point Equipment Program (ACPEP)

3. Environmental Support -

NAU's Environmental Team includes a broad range of disciplines to bring expert solutions to challenges like conducting environmental baseline surveys, environmental reviews, identifying and disposing of contaminated materials and soils, providing expert remediation design, execution and management services, and natural and cultural resource management. Differing from most stateside environmental programs that involve large expense remediation or Base Realignment and Closure projects, NAU manages an approximately $25 million environmental program encompassing anywhere between 250-300 new and ongoing projects. The environmental program supports the garrisons with their environmental operational, remediation, and base closure activities (~ $10 million) and provides support to 7th Army Training Command’s Integrated Training Area Management Program (~$2.5 million) and the Defense Energy Support Center ($5 million) Program throughout Europe.

4. The U.S. Operations and Maintenance (OMA)

O&M programs fund about a quarter of Europe District’s engineering and construction team. These programs supplement the installation engineers with the total resources, experience, and expertise of the Corps of Engineers in their efforts to resolve O&M and host nation engineering and construction issues. In fiscal year 2007, the District executed programs in the amount of $138 million in support of U.S. Forces. Europe District has made the district's services more accessible to its DPW customers by collocating Regional Program Managers (RPM) with seven USAREUR/USAFE Installation Engineers. RPM’s provide responsive support: from serving as an adjunct member of the DPW staff to helping coordinate with the District, to helping prepare forms to justify major construction projects.

5. Defense Commissary Agency and Army Air Force Exchange Service Projects –

The Defense Commissary Agency program has two projects in design with a PA of $39 million. There are no projects under construction right now. The latest constructed project was a joint DeCA/AAFES Shopping Center in Grafenwoehr which was opened in September 2007. Future commissary construction is planned for the Ramstein, Ansbach, Wiesbaden, and Spangdahlem. With the exception of Ramstein, these will be joint shopping center projects with AAFES.

6. Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Command (FMWR) Programs and Projects: –

Other than the six NAF-funded Army lodges to be built throughout Europe, NAF is funding the design of an $8 million bowling facility in Wiesbaden.

7. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) –

Israel: - Israel is currently the District’s southern most location with 18 employees managing the placement of about $60 million per year in construction. Since fiscal year 2000, projects have included the Northern & Southern Infantry Training Bases; Nachshonim Storage Base (NSB); Intelligence Facility; Air Force - F-16i & Blackhawk Simulators, Hydrant Fuel Systems, a 400-building desert training facility, several civil and military renovations, and multiple F16i Squadron Command Centers. In 2007, the district saw the completion of nearly all of the Wye River projects, which were part of the 1998 political agreement negotiated between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to bring stability to the region. It also completed a $14 million modernization of a shipyard used by the Israeli Navy and the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet.

8. International Engineering –

In Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Republics and Warsaw Pact nations, and in African countries in the AFRICOM AOR, Europe District’s International Engineering Center (IEC) is helping to shaping the peace. The IEC’s multi-faceted program supports U.S. military and government agencies in the region. The work ranges from traditional military engineering construction of facilities, roads and bridges, to renovating orphanages and building customs and border crossing stations. The following are a few of the programs supported by the District:

• Under NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, the IEC conducts infrastructure assessments for NATO-aspirant nations and facilitates technical information exchanges for all PfP nations.
• The IEC supports EUCOM’s Theater Engagement Plan by coordinating and managing Exercise Related Construction throughout Eastern Europe and Africa. Countries have included: Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Armenia, Senegal, Niger, Mali, and Gabon.
• In addition, through coordination with Headquarters DA, the IEC coordinates the Civil-Military Emergency Preparedness (CMEP) Program that promotes cooperation among Eastern European and Central Asian nations through regional multinational crisis management workshops and exercises.
• U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Customs Service – The District’s work centers around assistance to the establishment of the Georgia Border Security and Law Enforcement Program. Primary end users are the Georgia Border Guard and the Georgia Customs Department. Recent projects include the design of a police academy and a forensics lab for the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs program; the construction and renovation of a hospital, a school, and an orphanage as part of the U.S. European Command’s humanitarian assistance program; and the design and construction of an airfield and several border crossing stations, one of which led to the thwarting of an attempt to bring a dangerous mixture of plutonium and beryllium into the country.
• Department of State International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) – The IEC continues to assist INL with design/renovation of facilities for a police academy, a forensics laboratory, and a pistol range in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia and the design/renovation of a facility to house a forensics lab in Armenia.
• Humanitarian Assistance – As of early fiscal year 2008, NAU is working on six projects in the Republic of Georgia totaling $1.5 million. The projects include water line and heating upgrades, hospital, school, and orphanage renovations.
• Missile Defense Agency (MDA) – MDA requested that NAU provide them geotechnical and environmental support as part of their missile defense sites in Eastern Europe. The district continues to provide site survey work in two Eastern European countries in support of the design and construction of this new missile field.
• Counter-Narcotics Program Design and Construction – The district is currently working on awarding a contract for a $200,000 CID facility in Ghana.
• Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative (formerly Pan-Sahel Initiative) - The Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Initiative (TSCTI) is a U.S. government program designed to help develop the internal security forces necessary to control borders and combat terrorism and other illegal activity. The initiative increases assistance with detection and response and will also help these nations maintain security by building the capacity to prevent conflict at its inception. Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara (OEF-TS) is the U.S. military component of TSCTI. AFRICOM executes OEF-TS through a series of military-to-military engagements and exercises designed to strengthen the ability of regional governments to police the large expanses of remote terrain in the trans-Sahara. NAU is engaged with Special Operations Command-Europe in support of several facilities in Mali, Niger, and Chad. The IEC is utilizing the newly awarded Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) which provides the flexibility and responsiveness required by customers to meet late emerging requirements in a more timely manner.

9. Contingency Support: -

As North Atlantic Division’s forward deployed district, NAU is heavily involved with Field Force Engineering doctrine development and on the leading edge for FFE training and implementation. FFE is the means by which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leverages its technical engineering capabilities to support maneuver commanders in combat or contingencies. NAU has a manned Forward Engineer Support Team to support contingency operations worldwide and serve as the lead support for EUCOM and AFRICOM. This has further improved the district's responsiveness and integration into operations plan development and has led to increased participation in warfighter exercises.

The district continues to improve its capacity to provide rapid response to operations by conducting regular training for volunteer FFE staff from both Europe District and other North Atlantic Division districts.

- DPW Support – Providing 4 DAC and 4 LNs supporting Base Camp DPWs. - USAREUR Support Contract (USC) – on Sept. 1, 2005, NAU took on all responsibilities to perform contract administration support for this contract in Bosnia and Kosovo (DCMA performs corporate level ACO duties of KBR in Houston). TAC remains the PCO for this contract. NAU fields 11 civilians and 6 local nationals in the Balkans. This contract, more expansive than its predecessor, the Balkans Support Contract, will provide life support services to future USAREUR contingencies throughout the EUCOM region.