THE TRANSATLANTIC DIVISION: THE "DOOR TO THE CORPS" ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST

BY OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Transatlantic Division

With projects totaling almost $6 billion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Transatlantic Division (TAD) directly supports the warfighter on a daily basis by providing design, construction, and related engineering services in direct support to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and other activities within the CENTCOM area of responsibility to establish the conditions for regional security and stability; and enables the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) global construction program through centralized planning and programming on behalf of the USACE Enterprise.

TAD carries out its mission in a volatile operational area populated by more than 550 million people. It spans more than 4 million square miles and stretches across the intersection of three continents: northeast Africa, the Middle East, and all the way to Central and South Asia. TAD’s area of operations (AO) is one of the least secure and unstable places in the world; however, the work being carried out helps ensure the security and stability of the entire region.

TAD provides services to Department of Defense (DOD) forces and other U.S. government agencies with missions within the AO. The division also manages construction projects for allied-nation mission partners under DOD’s Foreign Military Sales program and constructs myriad governmental facilities in Afghanistan to promote stability.

Nestled in Winchester, Virginia, the Transatlantic Division directly supports the warfighter on a daily basis by providing design, construction, and related engineering services to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, and other federal and partner agencies in a mission space that spans more than 4 million square miles.

Photo Courtesy of Transatlantic Division

“When DOD and allied-nation mission partners in the CENTCOM AO partner with us, they are not only getting our entire team of professionally licensed engineers, architects, program managers, and support personnel, they are getting the entire depth and breadth of USACE enterprise capabilities,” said TAD Commander Col. Christopher G. Beck.

“We have the distinct role of having a direct impact on the warfighters downrange every day. Success for TAD is closing the gap between anticipating our customers’ needs and fulfilling their needs with the right materials in the right places, at the right times,” Beck said.

DISTRICTS AND TASK FORCES

Reliable civil and military infrastructure strengthens partners, enhances stability, and reduces the dependence on U.S. DOD forces to solve regional security challenges. Helping to ensure that stability in Afghanistan is the Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA).

TAA is a contingency district that has existed since 2004. It supports operations Resolute Support and Freedom’s Sentinel by accomplishing construction for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, and for DOD and the Department of State.

Projects include Afghan Air Force modernization, Afghan Special Security Forces development, support to the Afghan National Army and Police, the Women’s Participation Program, and the newly christened infrastructure for the Northern and Southern Electrical Power Systems.

While the Afghanistan District operates in a singular country, the Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) is currently executing $5.4 billion worth of military construction and Foreign Military Sales projects

The Blue Dome in Baghdad’s Green Zone is an example of a “troop labor” project that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars less than it could have, due to the innovation of the Transatlantic Division’s Task Force Essayons (TFE). TFE personnel (pictured) provide agile, responsive, and comprehensive services including project management, technical design, construction and service contract oversight, base camp master planning, geographic information system mapping, environmental compliance, real estate, and operational services for deployed units.

Photo Courtesy of Transatlantic Division

in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq. Additionally, the district is home to several specialized centers: the Aircraft Hangar Fire Protection Center of Expertise, the Center of Standardization for Nonpermanent Facilities, and the USACE Contingency Deployment Center.

The USACE-led, three-year effort to improve Mosul Dam’s stability, rehabilitate the dam’s operational infrastructure, equip the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) team with modern equipment and technology, and strengthen the capabilities of the MoWR is complete. TAD’s Mosul Dam Task Force (MDTF) successfully completed its mission and departed the dam on July 4, 2019.

The Mosul Dam project is an example of TAD leveraging its engineering and technical expertise to assist regional partners in solving their most critical infrastructure challenges. Mosul Dam is Iraq’s most critical piece of water management and flood control infrastructure, enhancing its water security and enabling the country’s economic development.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Matthew H. Tueller said the partnership among the governments of Iraq, Italy, and the United States was the backbone for the overall success of the Mosul Dam stabilization project. “The Mosul Dam will forever stand as an example of what can be accomplished working together with nations of [a] common cause to secure a nation that is independent, sovereign, and committed to improving the lives of all its people,” Tueller said.

In partnership with Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, the Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA) installs post insulators at the Shaheen substation. TAA worked with a local Afghan contractor to construct electrical power infrastructure in Balkh Province, Afghanistan. The project scope involved the expansion of the Naiababad Substation, construction of the Shaheen Substation, and construction of a 220 kilovolt transmission line between the two substations. The project will enable the Afghan National Army to utilize electricity from the national power grid instead of using diesel-generated power on a full-time basis.

Photo Courtesy of Transatlantic Division

With the stand-down of the MDTF, TAD has one remaining task force: Task Force Essayons (TFE). The 11 military and 42 civilian members of TFE stationed at Taji Air Base, in Iraq, serve U.S. Army Central, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, and partner organizations in Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria in order to enable the degradation and defeat of ISIS and the building of partner capacity.

TFE provides agile, responsive, and comprehensive services including project management, technical design, construction and service contract oversight, base camp master planning, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, environmental compliance, real estate, and operational services for deployed units. Its Project Management Branch currently tracks 83 Operations and Maintenance-Army-funded projects totaling $19.7 million, and 41 Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) projects totaling $25.1 million at various phases of development.

“The ability of TFE’s civilian and military professionals to deliver a revolutionary program provides tremendous effects to OIR and other stakeholders,” said Col. James Riely, commander, Task Force Essayons. “Their contributions to the defeat-ISIS and build partner capacity missions are numerous, and their dedicated service highlights the value and responsiveness of USACE and the Transatlantic Division to contingency operations.”