Excellence in the Pacific

BY CORTLAND HENDERSON

PACIFIC OCEAN DIVISION Honolulu District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Honolulu District received national recognition in three different categories this year, awarded by USACE Headquarters: USACE Project Delivery Team of the Year – Excellence, Excellence in Contracting Team of the Year, and USACE Program Manager of the Year.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the district’s ability to pull together and you are well deserving of this phenomenal accomplishment,” said Lt. Col. Adrian Biggerstaff, Commander of Honolulu District.

The district won the 2024 USACE Project Delivery Team of the Year Award for its phenomenal performance on the Frederick C. Weyand Command Center Project on Fort Shafter, Hawai’i, which is the new U.S. Army Pacific Headquarters building. It houses a staff of approximately 900 military and civilian personnel.

A USACE contractor places erosion control materials on a cleared property during Phase 2 debris removal operations April 5 in Lahaina, Hawai’i. Erosion control is used for soil stabilization and is the last step in the debris-removal process before right of entry is relinquished back to the County of Maui.

USACE PHOTO BY STACEY REESE, TULSA DISTRICT

The district won the 2024 Excellence in Contracting Team of the Year for its superior efforts during the Maui Wildfire Debris Removal Mission.

As a result of the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires, more than 2,200 residential, commercial, and public structures were destroyed, resulting in approximately 10,000 residents being displaced. Approximately 400,000 to 700,000 tons of fire-damaged debris were estimated to be removed from the upcountry communities of Kula and Olinda in central Maui, and from the former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Lahaina.

Balancing the need for expediency to support community and economic recovery efforts and that the majority of work would occur in an area of significant cultural and historical importance to the Native Hawaiian community, the contracting team created a cultural resources service contract and a cultural oversight team, which was a first-of-its-kind for a USACE debris mission.

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Thanks to their hard work, a cultural Hui (team) of community leaders and cultural practitioners, architects, and archaeology professionals ensured that the eventual debris removal processes respected the cultural significance of the Native Hawaiian community and its history.

Brad Scully was selected as the USACE Program Manager of the Year for his efforts managing a program of nearly 100 active military construction and operation and maintenance, Army-funded projects in design and construction, valued at $2.5 billion for the U.S. Army Garrison Hawai’i on the islands of Oahu and Hawai’i.

Having served USACE for 37 years, his overall military program represents the majority of the Honolulu District’s workload, with record-setting execution over the past two fiscal years.

Over the past year, Scully’s leadership of a critical water infrastructure program across U.S. Army Garrison Hawai’i has been exemplary. The plan he led the USACE team to develop is now being used to target specific utility needs across U.S. Army Garrison Hawai’i. This now includes 51 studies, designs, and construction projects. This plan is a major focus of Installation Management Command-Pacific. AE