Engineering Inc. - January/February 2005 - 8

ACEC INTERVIEW WITH CARL STROCK Lieutenant General In this special report
on the relationship between fed- PHOTOGRAPHY FORREST MacCORMACK eral
agencies and the engineering industry, new Army Corps of Engineers Chief
Lt. General Carl A. Strock, along with the General Services
Administration's Ed Feiner and Naval Facilities Engineering Command's
James Wright, discuss some of the current and future engineering needs at
their agencies, and how ACEC member firms are vital to assuring that those
needs are fulfilled. AC E C C H A I R M A N B I L L which the Corps
contracts with design military facilities to how community is the largest.
HOWARD: As the 51st chief of engineering firms? we operate civil works
projects. Also, the Corps is firmly com- S T R O C K : T h e creation of
We have to design a n d build m i t t e d to Regional Business the Army
Corps of Engineers, projects better, faster, more eco- C e n t e r s . As
we move toward what are the top priorities during Communities of Practice
should nomically and with the environ- fully implementing this concept,
your tenure? improve the manner in which LT. GEN. CARL STROCK: mental
sustainability and public there will be a greater emphasis the Corps
contracts with engi- safety fully considered. on regional-level
contracting as Right now, our number-one pri- neering firms and with how
we Another important priority is opposed to district-level. This ority is
supporting the global war w o r k with our p a r t n e r s by to inform
the decision makers in will allow us to become more on terror at home and
abroad. At improving consistency and bet- the administration and Congress
flexible, to effectively utilize our home, this includes reducing the ter
leveraging our expertise. CoP about the declining state of water people
and support the nation vulnerability to terrorist attacks i s common in
this industry, resources infrastructure so they and Army. of the
infrastructure we manage. where the critical search for com- HOWARD: As
you know, the can make informed decisions and We also will continue to
work petitive advantage has led to new understand the potential conse-
108th Congress was unsuccess- with the Department of Home- methods of
communication and quences of those decisions. With f u l in passing the
Water l a n d Security and the Federal m a n a g i n g knowledge. The t h
e nation at war and with a R e s o u r c e s Development Act Emergency
Management Agency Corps will utilize these lessons as growing budget
deficit we need WRDA bill. The 109th Con- to assist in response and
recovery we transform. CoP is a revolu- to do this in a responsible way, g
r e s s is expected to take up o p e r a t i o n s following terrorist t i
o n a r y change in the way we because there are many demands WRDA early
on, and the debate attacks. In Iraq and Afghanistan, a p p r o a c h our m
i s s i o n . The on our limited national resources. is likely to again
include such we are fully integrated into the engine is learning, and the
CoP ACEC PRESIDENT DAVE issues as independent review of military and
interagency effort in is the history of that learning. R AY M O N D : L a
s t year the feasibility reports and revision of each country and are
supporting CoP has five functions: 1 devel- Corps launched USACE 2012, t h
e Corps' planning process deployed forces and revitalizing oping consistent
policy and doc- an ambitious reorganization plan i.e., Corps reform . ACEC
has infrastructure. trine, 2 maintaining a capable that will place greater
emphasis been urging Congress toward a Other priorities include sup-
workforce, 3 building national on Regional Business Centers. A final
resolution of the Corps p o r t i n g the nation and U.S. a n d
interagency relations and centerpiece of this initiative is the r e f o r
m issue in a common- f o r c e s at home and abroad coalitions, 4
accelerating organi- creation of Communities of Prac- sense fashion to
provide stability through sustainable development, zational communication,
and 5 tice CoP , the largest of which is for our members, who execute the
maintenance and improve- implementing learning organiza- engineering and
construction. p r o j e c t s for the Corps and ment of military and civil
infra- t i o n a l doctrine. There are 25 How do you see this reorganiza- t
h e r e b y benefit Corps' pro- structure. We are re-examining communities
in the Corps, and tion impacting the manner in g r a m s . How critical do
you everything we do, from how we the engineering and construction 8 E N G
I N E E R I N G INC. J a n u a r y l February 2005
Engineering Inc. - January/February 2005

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