ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon visited the Corps’ Albuquerque District, Jan. 24-25, to see project sites and meet with partners at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.
Spellmon, the 55th Chief of Engineers, met with WSMR Commanding General Brig. Gen. Eric Little to discuss possible construction needs at the instillation and how USACE could support those needs.
Following that meeting, Spellmon joined Albuquerque District personnel for tours of several USACE projects at WSMR including the Information Systems Facility, Microgrid site, and a Special Weapons Assembly Facility.
“This gives me an opportunity to reconnect on some civil works projects that I haven’t seen in a couple of years, but really to get centered on the military construction mission out here at White Sands Missile Range that the Albuquerque District assumed last year,” Spellmon said.
As part of his visit, Spellmon was also led by Albuquerque District personnel on a tour of important civil works projects in the El Paso area. The group visited a scenic overlook of the El Paso Flood Risk Management (Central Cebada) Project, the Memphis Dam, and the Keystone Dam.
Representatives with El Paso Water – a key partnership in the region – joined the tour of civil works projects and spoke about each project and the larger systems in the area.
“To be able to see these projects on the ground and understand their importance to the people that we serve, it’s what gives me ability to make our case to the assistant secretary’s office or to the administration and congressional members,” Spellmon said.
“That’s why it’s so great to have the opportunity for things like meeting with the El Paso Water representatives and talking about flood risk management, and to meet the stakeholders and the commander out at White Sands Missile Range,” he said. “So I can have that input from the source and take that forward and make my best argument for the resources that we need.”
Spellmon also participated in a short town hall with a small group of Albuquerque District personnel, where he spoke about USACE’s proficiencies and challenges, and recognized some individuals by presenting them with coins.
“Our people, our people are fantastic. I think that’s what I take away from every time I visit a district, what talented people we have in the Army Corps of Engineers,” he said. “At every level – not just our engineers but our public affairs specialists, our attorneys, our environmental folks – we have amazing talent and we’re blessed to have these folks in our organization.”