[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E738-E739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




200 YEARS OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE FROM MOBILE DISTRICT, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF 
                               ENGINEERS

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. BRADLEY BYRNE

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 18, 2015

  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, on May 4, 1815, the Chief of Engineers issued 
orders to Lieutenant Hipolite Dumas, which began the long and proud 
history of engineering service to the Gulf Coast and Mobile.
  Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is celebrating 200 
years of exemplary service to the Southeast region, the U.S. military 
and the Nation.
  For its first 70 years in Mobile and along the Gulf Coast, these 
engineers surveyed and fortified the southern coast from St. Marks 
River in Florida to Lake Pontchartrain to the west. Forts were the key 
elements of the coastal defense system, but complementary structures 
such as lighthouses and towers were also constructed. In addition to 
the coastal fortifications, Gulf Coast engineers also began surveys to 
look at connecting the inland waterways with the Tennessee-Coosa River 
canal study.
  Following the Civil War, in 1870, an engineer office was opened in 
Mobile, Alabama. Eighteen years later the Mobile District was 
officially established in a formal reorganization of operations at the 
national level.
  The nation turned toward rebuilding the economy after the Civil War 
and developing the nation's transportation system became a positive, 
tangible means of measuring progress. Major navigation surveys were 
conducted on Southeastern rivers such as the Coosa River, the 
Apalachicola-Chattahoochee Flint, the Black Warrior, Tennessee-
Tombigbee, and the Alabama River between 1870 and 1879.
  When Mobile District was established in 1888, the District's 
boundaries were from the Escambia River westward to the East Pearl 
River. Montgomery District had responsibilities from the Escambia River 
eastward to St. Marks River in Florida. In 1933 the two districts 
merged into one, the Mobile District. The District also was also given 
responsibilities for all military construction for the Army and Army 
Air Corps in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama.
  The 1930's were a busy time for the Motile District. Modernization of 
the Black Warrior River system began, taking the number of locks 
required to transit the waterway from 17 to 5. Construction of Brookley 
Field, the Southeast Army Air Depot and the Mobile Air Service Command 
during World War II began. The Flood Control Act of 1936 set into 
motion a national flood protection plan and gave the Corps jurisdiction 
over federal flood control protection investigation and river 
improvements.
  As busy as the 1930's were, World War II resulted in the largest 
wartime mobilization effort ever for the United States. The magnitude 
of Mobile District's work can be judged by expenditure for 
construction. Between December 1941 and December 1943, nearly $1 
billion was expended in the District on facilities that included 32 
Army airfields, an ordnance training center, two arsenals, three Army 
ground force depots, five harbor defense installations, nine Civil 
Aviation Administration airfields, two Army Air Force supply depots, 
one Army Air Force cantonment, six Ordnance manufacturing plants, nine 
Army ground force cantonments and six special installations.
  In the 1950's construction of Buford Dam in Georgia was initiated, 
Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam was completed, Walter F. George Lock and Dam 
construction began and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency was 
established at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama in 1956.
  In 1959 NASA was established at Redstone Arsenal for the Saturn 
Project. The construction of facilities for the Saturn project, a 
rocket program that was the work of the von Braun team at Redstone, was 
one of Mobile District's biggest projects. The District was responsible 
for the testing facilities at Redstone Arsenal associated with the 
Saturn booster, and eventually one of the major construction projects 
of the post Korean War period, the Mississippi Test Facility.
  In the 1960's, the District continued the legacy of improving and 
developing the Nation's inland waterway transportation system. West 
Point Dam was authorized, Carters Dam on the Coosawattee River and 
Millers Ferry Lock and Dam on the Alabama River began. Construction of 
the Claiborne Lock and Dam and Robert F. Henry Lock and Dam also began 
in the 60's.
  In the 1970's Mobile again took on new responsibilities. Construction 
responsibility for Cape Canaveral District was shifted to Mobile. 
Military construction in Florida, the Panama Canal activities and 
Central/South America programs were also shifted to Mobile. The 1970's 
also saw construction begin on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, at the 
time the largest Civil Works project in Corps history.
  The 70's ended with Hurricane Fredric hitting Mobile on September 12, 
1979. Under Public Law 84-99 the Corps was authorized to provide 
emergency assistance during disasters. The States of Alabama, Florida 
and Mississippi were all declared Federal disaster areas. Mobile 
District has been a national leader in emergency response actions for 
the Corps. Through the District's innovation the Corps developed a 
national-level Detachable Tactical Operations System to provide 
immediate support to disaster stricken areas. This was never more 
evident than after 9/11 when the District supported the New York City 
police and fire departments with these units.
  The 80's saw innovation within the Corps, with Mobile District once 
again leading the way. Life Cycle/Project Management was first tested 
and then established in Mobile District. It has now become the standard 
for Corps management. This decade also saw the opening of the 
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to navigation, creating the transportation 
artery from the Gulf Coast to the Nation's mid-section first envisioned 
in the mid 1800's. Base Realignment and Closure also began in the 80's. 
Mobile District has been involved in all the BRAC National 
Environmental Policy Act requirements for BRAC from 1988 until the 
present.
  The closing decade of the 1900's once again revealed Mobile's 
innovation. In 1994 the Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne 
Lidar Survey, or SHOALS, was first tested. This innovative 3-D 
technology was adapted for underwater mapping. When later combined with 
the U.S. Navy's CHARTS system, the team became a world leader in 
underwater mapping. The 1990s also saw the completion of the J-6 Large 
Rocket Test Facility, the completion of the John J. Sparkman Center 
located at the U.S. Army Arsenal at Redstone, Alabama. The Sparkman 
Center and follow on phases, encompasses more than 1 million square 
feet and is one of the most modern military facilities in the world.
  As the Nation entered the new century Mobile District continued its 
record of excellence. The Von Braun Center at Redstone Arsenal was 
completed in 2014 and is home to the

[[Page E739]]

Space and Missile Defense Command and the Missile Defense Agency. The 
District responded to and assisted in recovery operations when four 
hurricanes struck the State of Florida in 2004. In 2005, Mobile 
District began a comprehensive analysis and design for the Mississippi 
coastal counties to make them more resilient and less susceptible to 
risk from hurricane and storm damage following the devastating landfall 
of Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi coast. From this analysis 
came the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program, an innovative 
approach to achieving the goal of a more resilient coast.
  Since 2000, Mobile has also completed four Headquarters complexes for 
major key commands, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. 
Army Material Command and the U.S. Special Operations Command. They 
also were the design and construction agent for the new cantonment area 
and training ranges for the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) which 
relocated from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Eglin Air Force Base, 
Florida. They are also responsible for the construction of various 
facilities at Eglin Air Force Base to support the Joint Strike Fighter 
program.
  Mobile District continues to serve a variety of programs and missions 
in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Central and 
South America. While I know my colleagues from these States are as 
appreciative as I am for their work, I am especially proud to have the 
District Headquarters in my District and in Mobile.
  It is with pride that I say, Happy Birthday to Mobile District on 
your two hundred years of exemplary, innovative and dedicated service. 
On behalf of a grateful Nation, thank you to all the civilian and 
military members of the Mobile District for all you have done.

                          ____________________