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  • July

    Members of the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia participate in a turnover ceremony for the Sainshand kindergarten on Sept. 18, 2020, in the Dornogovi Province of Mongolia.

    Engineers help to improve educational opportunities in Mongolia

    In a country experiencing a shortage of critical educational facilities, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District is overseeing the design and construction of kindergartens to better the lives of children in Mongolia. Over the last three years, the district has partnered with the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to improve educational opportunities for more than 300 students throughout Mongolia.
  • Amy Burke, workforce management specialist, receives a 50-year Army Length of Service Award from Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District, during a ceremony on June 24 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

    USACE employee celebrates 50 years of federal service

    A member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District achieved a unique milestone as a government employee recently. Amy Burke, workforce management specialist, celebrated 50 years of federal service in a ceremony hosted by Col. Damon Delarosa, district commander, at the agency’s headquarters on June 24.

  • May

    Col. Damon Delarosa, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District commander, stands outside district headquarters May 27.

    Alaska District commander embraces heritage, promotes diversity

    Walking into the headquarters building for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District, a wall of portraits featuring former commanders greets employees and visitors alike. Of the 29 men who have led the organization during its distinguished history, Col. Damon Delarosa is the first to represent the Asian American community.
  • View looking down the tramway from the upper camp to the lower camp at the Cape Prominence Formerly Used Defense Site, an award-winning environmental cleanup project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District.

    Alaska District wins Army Environmental Award for Second Consecutive Year

    Climbing up the hillside of a remote Alaskan island, an old tramway rusts into the ground beneath it. With gnarled rails, the 2,400-foot structure is a remanent of an abandoned radar facility that provided early warning of approaching enemy aircraft during World War II. The tramway is part of a formerly used defense site that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District worked to clean up the past two summers.

  • April

    Workers completed the front of the Alaska District’s headquarters at the end of June.

    Army engineers celebrate 75 years on the Last Frontier

    Seventy-five years ago today, the Chief of Engineers ordered the establishment of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District. With the stroke of a pen on General Order No. 6, the agency was born.

  • March

    Maj. Gen. William Graham, deputy commanding general of civil and emergency operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (sixth from left), stands on the control works of the Moose Creek Dam with representatives of the Chena River Lakes Flood Control project on Feb. 19 near North Pole.

    General visits northernmost USACE-run flood control project

    Maj. Gen. William H. Graham, deputy commanding general of civil and emergency operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, visited the Moose Creek Dam on Feb. 19 while touring the organization’s northernmost flood control project. Col. Kirk Gibbs, USACE Pacific Ocean Division commander, and Col. Damon Delarosa, USACE Alaska District commander, accompanied the general.

  • February

    Waves batter the shoreline as crews work to repair the seawall at Cape Lisburne on Aug. 4, 2019.

    Project Manager Reflects on Austere Conditions at Cape Lisburne, Mission Success for Seawall Construction

    Far away, on the northwest tip of Alaska, sits a remote, strategic military site nestled between a small mountain range and the unforgiving Chukchi Sea. Against this desolate backdrop, a few hours after midnight on Aug. 12, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District oversaw the placement of the final rock in a mile-long seawall to cap off a monumental arctic engineering and construction effort at the Cape Lisburne Long Range Radar Site.

  • December

    An individual peers into an abandoned military structure on Annette Island. Starting in 1940, the military and other federal agencies used the island for various purposes, leaving structures and debris behind as the land changed hands.

    Corps moves into 22nd year of cleanup on tribal land in Southeast Alaska

    Nestled 20 miles south of Ketchikan, Alaska, the Metlakatla Indian Community resides on Annette Island.  The tribe opted out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act when Congress passed the legislation in 1971.  Today the Annette Islands Reserve is the only Native American reservation in the state and the tribe lives among the remnants of past military and federal use of the land. Through the Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District and the Metlakatla Indian Community are working together to continue environmental cleanup efforts for the 22nd year.

  • November

    During the 2018 quake, walls inside the building fell and some exterior walls cracked running from the foundation to the roofline. In total, the damages cost about $4 million. The project was completed in October 2020. Shown here, a crack in the middle that stemmed from the building's foundation to the roof was repaired.

    Two years after quake, military repair projects continue as USACE reflects on response efforts

    With the epicenter about 10 miles north of Anchorage, the Cook Inlet Earthquake registered a 7.1 magnitude and rocked most of Alaska’s population during the morning of November 30, 2018. First responders sprang into action, but once the dust settled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District emerged as a reliable military partner inspecting and repairing infrastructure on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

  • October

    A worker installs a blackout shade in a barrack on Fort Wainwright in March 2020.

    Corps project helps improve Soldiers’ sleep

    Almost every night, people close their curtains to go to sleep; but for Soldiers stationed in the Fairbanks area, regular curtains will not suffice. Getting quality sleep in the middle of summer, when daylight is nearly 24 hours a day, is a challenge that can adversely affect mental health. U.S. Army Garrison Alaska is taking a multifaceted approach to address this problem and a small but effective piece of this work is by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District. They worked with Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely to install 2,740 blackout shades in 30 barracks this year to improve sleep quality and in turn, enhance the mental health and well-being of Alaska’s warfighters.