Admins from across the district came together to celebrate their accomplishments and receive training to make them even better at their jobs. During the event Jacob Whittington and Vista Graham were recognized as the administrative professionals of the year.

This year’s nominees for Ranger of the Year were, Kathryn Champagne – Three Rivers Region, Josh Houghtaling- Capitol Region, Ami Watkins - Trinity Region, and Stacey Coester - Piney Woods Region. And the awardee was Kathryn Champagne!

Images of the retirement ceremony for Debra Hildreth, April 28, 2025, at the Fort Worth District headquarters, Fort Worth, Texas. It's the end of an era, as Debra joins Lynn Chapman in retirement. (US Army photo by Richard Bumgardner, SWF Public Affairs)

Buried in April 1990, the district's time capsule was opened as part of the 75th anniversary festivities. Some of the items within the capsule were various brochures, patches, buttons, and emergency operations materials. There were also photographs of the office of counsel, the Lavon Lake staff, Lavon Lake flood gates, district engineers, the executive staff, and the engineering staff (Military Branch)

Unaccompanied enlisted personnel housing facility groundbreaking ceremony.

Tony Mendolia and Col. Calvin Kroeger brief Congressman Brandon Gill on the ongoing improvements to the Lewisville Lake dam safety modifications. The work is meant to provide safety measures and valuable upgrades to the spillway. Pictured left to right is Tony Mendolia, program manager for the project, Congressman Brandon Gill (TX-26), Marcos Gaitan, supervisory civil engineer for the project, and Fort Worth District Commander, Col. Calvin Kroeger.

Fort Worth District Commander Col. Calvin Kroeger joined Red River Army Depot Commander Col. Denis Fajardo on Jan. 30, 2025, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for two updated military vehicle maintenance facilities at the Red River Army Depot.

Stanly “Easy” Frerich, in red, is recognized as the 2024 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Volunteer of the Year. Easy, who volunteers at Lake Georgetown, is the first volunteer from Fort Worth District in more than 10 years to be named the USACE volunteer of the year. In 2024 USACE had more than 37,900 volunteers across the command supporting natural resource management. In total, the volunteers served 1,751,141 hours, equivalent to 842 full-time employes. The total estimated value of volunteer hours is $58.6 million. Pictured from left to right are Scott Blank, lake manager at Lake Georgetown, Easy, Josh Houghtaling, a park ranger at Lake Georgetown, Madeline Karickhoff, a park ranger at Lake Georgetown, Col. Calvin Kroeger, Commander of the Fort Worth District.

Maj. Timothy Nelson presents Clay Church, Fort Worth District public affairs deputy chief, with the Bronze de Fleury Medal as part of his retirement ceremony. The de Fleury Medal is the highest award for professional excellence in the Engineer Regiment. Presiding over the ceremony is Rob Newman, the district's deputy district engineer.

Members of the Fort Worth District executive staff come together to bid a fond farewell to Lynn Chapman as she retires from federal service with more than 43 years of service, 19 with the district. From Left to right, Tom Gresback, Col. Calvin Kroeger, Lynn Chapman, Debra Hildreth, Rob Newman, And Matt Hays.

Members of the Fort Worth District public affairs office come together to film the annual holiday video with the executive staff. In front of the tree, delivering the message, are Rob Newman - Deputy District Engineer, Col. Calvin Kroeger - Commander, and Lt. Col. Joshua Haynes - Deputy Commander.

An exterior view of the newly renovated building 1093 on Fort Bliss, Texas. The building once housed two Nike Hercules surface-to-air missile laboratories and has been a part of the Army’s Air Defense Artillery since before the branch’s inception on June 20, 1968. It is now the U.S. Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Academy. The THAAD academy is a partnership between the Department of Defense and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to train Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces soldiers on how to operate and maintain the THAAD battery.

Col. Calvin Kroeger, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Fort Worth District commander, presents Bob Morris with the Civil Service Commendation Medal during his retirement ceremony.

A view of the control structure, 1950’s and today, from Overlook Park at Lake O’ the Pines. The outlet works has two gates that control the amount of water that is discharged from the lake. The discharge controls the level of the lake while providing proper flow to the river below the dam. The lake’s mission is to provide water to the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District and flood risk mitigation to communities along the Red River. (Illustration by Pat Adelmann)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District Park Rangers Ryley Rosenbusch, left, and Alex Klepac rescued a teenager at Stillhouse Hollow Lake after the teen attempted to swim to an island 1,000 yards from the shore without a life jacket. They found the teen clinging to a semi-submerged piece of driftwood. The teen was badly sunburned and completely exhausted from his ordeal. But overall, the teen was none the worse for wear.

A large group of potential candidates made their way through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Southwestern Division recruiting space during a first-of-its-kind whole Army career fair. Each of the division’s four districts had personnel on hand to speak to those that may be interested in a career with USACE. The event was the brainchild of the Army’s Civilian Human Resources Agency. By combining active duty, reserve, and guard components, as well as civilian employment opportunities, the total Army recruitment and outreach event was meant to highlight the Army as the employer of choice in the metroplex.

The path of totality for 2024 solar eclipse passed over U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District's Bardwell Lake. Located in Ennis, Texas, the lake afforded a favorable location to view the eclipse from. With more than four minutes of totality duration, it gave photographers and enthusiasts ample time to enjoy the bucket list event. The max eclipse occurred at 1:42 p.m. While sometimes blocked by cloud cover, much of the event was readily viewable. The "diamond ring" during the eclipse is when a single bright spot remains and the sun's atmosphere forms the ring's band. The green flash occurs as the suns light refracts or separates as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere.

Instructors from the Air Force’s Special Warfare Training Wing act as safety spotters during a demonstration following a ceremony dedicating the Maltz Special Warfare Aquatic Training Center, located on Joint Base San Antonio-Chapman Training Annex, April 2, 2024. Dedicated in honor of Master Sgt. Michael Maltz, a former U.S. Air Force Pararescue Indoctrination Course instructor at Lackland AFB, this state-of-the-art facility - the first of its kind for the Army Corps of Engineers - was authorized in fiscal year 2020 and awarded as a design-bid-build project on June 25, 2021. (US Army photo by Richard Bumgardner)

As a project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vanessa Pellegrino-Badell is proud of her involvement to provide a safe training environment for future Air Force trainees. (US Army photo by Brittany Scruggs)

Retired nurses and former medical staff of Willford Hall, located at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, attend a community engagement event to receive a piece of history before final phases of demolition are complete, October 20, 2023.

2023 Fort Worth District, USACE, recruiting video. To watch the full video, visit https://dvidshub.net/r/rm3djv

Shane Iverson, a volunteer with the Piney Woods Service Association (PWSA) and Andy Gray, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District volunteer, look on as U.S. Marine Corps veterans Brian Aft, left, and Aaron Brittain attempt to land an estimated 11-foot alligator during the PWSA annual alligator hunt on B.A. Steinhagen Lake. Unfortunately for the veterans, this alligator was the one that got away. PWSA has been hosting the hunt in cooperation with USACE and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department since 2012.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Collin County Sheriff's Office, Wylie Fire-Rescue, Lucas Fire-Rescue and Princeton Fire Department to create a water safety PSA. To view the video visit https://www.dvidshub.net/video/895723/water-safety-psa.

Fort Worth District deputy for Small Business Programs, Ali Marshall addresses a group of small business representatives on potential business opportunities during a January small business roadshow at Dyess Air Force Base, near Abiline, Texas.