Chief of Engineers thanks St. Louis District personnel for quick actions following Hurricane Sandy

Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, U.S. Army Chief of Engineers
and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (far right), visits with Don Ayres, a member of the
Logistics Prepared Readiness Team from the St. Louis
District (far left), Nov 3 at the North Atlantic
Division Headquarters.

Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, U.S. Army Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visited personnel deployed in response to Hurricane Sandy Nov 3 at the North Atlantic Division Headquarters to express his appreciation for their dedication and quick actions following the storm that devastated the northeast.

Don Ayres, a member of the Logistics Prepared Readiness Team from the St. Louis District, was one of the first St. Louis District staff members to arrive in the area and one Bostick spoke with personally. Ayres’ team is one of five teams that coordinate the supplies, facilities and services needed to support Corps operations throughout the New York District.

Five additional members of the St. Louis team have also deployed in specialized detail assignments to the storm-ravaged region, including the District Commander, Colonel Christopher Hall.

Hall is serving as part of the Corps dewatering task force alongside Maj. Gen. Kendall P. Cox, Deputy Commanding General – Military and International Operations, and Colonel (Retired) Alvin B. Lee, Regional Business Director for the Mississippi Valley Division and the Mississippi River Commission.

The team is aggressively supporting the NYC Unwatering Mission, pumping water out of the transportation systems and other flooded areas of the New York District. Currently, the team, working with local authorities, has concentrated pumping efforts at 14 critical locations. The team has completed pumping operations at seven locations throughout the city

Mel Cundiff and Blaine Napier deployed aboard the St. Louis District’s Emergency Command and Control Vehicle 10 to support Pittsburgh District’s Emergency Power Team. The ECCV is a 47-foot box truck that provides communications and workspace for 11 people for up to 72 hours without additional support.

The power mission Cundiff and Napier is working to support is one of the Corps’ top priorities, providing emergency temporary power missions in New York and New Jersey.

Other St. Louis team members deployed include Mary Markos, public affairs specialist, who is supporting the Joint Information Center, and Greg Bertoglio, a project manager, is working on aerial reconnaissance as a subject matter expert assessing the roofing damage.

Currently, USACE has more than 3000 employees from the North Atlantic Division with an additional 720 people deployed from other USACE divisions across the Nation engaged to support the response mission. USACE currently has more than 38 FEMA Mission Assignments exceeding a total of $151 million.