US Army Corps of Engineers ÔÇô Fort Benning

Building for tomorrow's Army ┬áAs part of a sweeping effort to realign Army bases across the country, Fort Benning is seeing some $2 billion worth of infrastructure and facilities construction. Keith Regan learns how the US Army Corps of Engineers is using an all-hands approach to managing the work.  The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program of the Department of Defense is bringing about sweeping changes at bases across the country. At Fort Benning, Georgia, the changes include an ambitious set of infrastructure and building projects that together constitute the largest active construction project in the southeastern United States. The more than $2 billion worth of work, all set to be completed within a six-year time frame, will pave the way for the ArmyÔÇÖs armor school to be moved to Fort Benning from Fort Knox in Kentucky. The result will be more highly integrated training between infantry and armored divisions, says George Condoyiannis, area engineer with the US Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District. Condoyiannis, a professional engineer who leads the Fort Benning team, has been overseeing work there since 2005, when he returned from Iraq. In that time, the construction oversight staff has tripled as the amount of work being done each year has more than quadrupled. ÔÇ£Since infantry and armored divisions fight together and depend on each other in combat situations, the Army realized it made perfect sense to train them in a more integrated way,ÔÇØ Condoyiannis says. The move will bring some 30,000 troops, family members and civilian support personnel to the Georgia installation and create the Maneuver Center of Excellence. That means not only major construction projects to build troop barracks and training facilities, but also upgrades to just about every network supporting the sprawling military post, from roadways to communications networks. Specific projects include a $245 million barracks complex and brigade headquarters, work that is taking place in two parts of the post, all of which is set for completion later this year. The project is being carried out by a joint venture between Clark Construction and Caddell Construction, which have also worked on earlier phases of the build-out. A $76 million Armor Brigade Headquarters Complex is also under way and will be done by summer 2010, as will an $82 million second phase of a sprawling training support bridge barracks complex. With work still building toward its peak, there were more than 30 active construction contracts on the installation early in 2009, much of it done under design-build contracts meant to help keep the overall program on schedule for a 2011 completion, as required by the BRAC legislation. The Corps is utilizing the design-build construction process to help ensure the latest systems are used, with a long-range view of Fort Benning in the future. ÔÇ£We want to recognize the benefits of the newest building technology. We have an inherent responsibility to the military, which will be the owner, to develop the site in a way that can be managed and maintained cost-effectively.ÔÇØTo help the Corps of Engineers keep tabs on all that work, Condoyiannis has been overseeing aggressive hiring of staff. Four resident offices now control all the oversight work, each with a staff of as many as 20 engineers, inspectors and others to support the work. ÔÇ£We knew we needed the talent and experience in the field performing daily quality and safety checks, as well as administrative staff support to keep the construction effort organized and running smoothly.ÔÇØIn addition to direct hiring, the Corps has taken advantage of programs that lure previously retired Department of Defense civilians with experience in the construction trades back to part-time or full-time work. As needed, contractors from the private sector have also been hired when specific expertise was required. For instance, the Corps brought in an outside contractor skilled in Primavera scheduling software, with that personÔÇÖs sole task to keep all construction progress up to date. Military reservists have even been called upon, with three people on the team now having been activated for their reserve roles. ÔÇ£We like to say we stacked the deck for success. ItÔÇÖs clear that a program of this size cannot occur because of the efforts of a single individual or a small group. We have 180,000 acres here, with projects encompassing all areas. You have to spread out the responsibility and give people the authority to make decisions.ÔÇØScheduling and coordination are key, since Fort Benning remains an active and busy installation. A maneuver center relocation and coordination cell works alongside the Corps to help ensure active operations are not disrupted. Working together, they have found ways to minimize disruption. The installation leased land for contractors to set up a temporary concrete batch plant within the gates, limiting the number of trucks pounding the roads. Separate construction access control points were also established as close as possible to the construction sites to reduce cross-post traffic. ÔÇ£When youÔÇÖre in the middle of a two-plus billion dollar construction program, thereÔÇÖs no way youÔÇÖre going to be invisible; however, our job is to remain as inconspicuous as possible.ÔÇØThe ArmyÔÇÖs aggressive building program has benefited from the overall slowdown in the economy, with more firms bidding on the contracts as theyÔÇÖre rolled out. ÔÇ£There was a lot of construction in the greater Columbus area, but now Fort Benning is center stage for the industry, and we know contractors are coming to us with their pencils extra sharp,ÔÇØ Condoyiannis says.┬á Meanwhile, all who get involved in the work quickly develop a sense of pride about it and recognize it as an opportunity to learn and leave a legacy at the same time. ÔÇ£Chances are people will go their entire careers without working on a larger or more ambitious project,ÔÇØ says Condoyiannis. ÔÇ£We tell people who are moving forward with us that theyÔÇÖll have something special on their r├®sum├®s. Very few individuals will ever have the opportunity to participate in something this significant again.ÔÇØ ÔÇô Editorial research by Dan Finn┬á