The Army Corps of Engineers remains dedicated to the needs of the Army and delivering quality projects to the force, said Lt. Gen. William Graham Jr., the corps’ commanding general and the Army’s 56th chief of engineers.

Priorities for the Corps of Engineers are “as simple as safely delivering quality projects on schedule within budget,” Graham said March 4 during a Noon Report webinar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

Graham’s predecessor, retired Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, had that insight, “and we’ve kept it because as a project delivery engineering organization, safely delivering quality projects on schedule and within budget is the most important thing we do,” Graham said.

With about 37,000 uniformed and civilian employees, the Army Corps of Engineers reinforces national security by building and maintaining infrastructure and military facilities for service members, according to the corps’ website.

The corps also responds to emergencies, including the recent Maui and Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

During the AUSA Noon Report, Graham said that proactive partnerships with communities and partners are essential to effective disaster response. “The first [lesson] in emergency management is to make a friend before you need a friend,” he said. “We want to make sure that our engineering districts are working with the local [Federal Emergency Management Agency] regions, the state emergency operation centers and … that these teams all train on blue-sky days so that they know each other” and can quickly come together when disaster strikes.

After Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge was struck by a container ship and partially collapsed on March 26, 2024, for example, the corps swiftly responded to the disaster.

“Our key goal was … to provide closure to the people on the bridge who lost their lives in a terrible tragedy, that was first and foremost,” Graham said. “Working with the full federal team, we were able to work with the Coast Guard and the Port of Baltimore to rapidly get the bridge removed, so that was a tremendous operation.”

The Corps of Engineers supports the Army by leveraging its innovation skills daily, Graham said. “The innovation … that this country is so good at … is the beauty that we’re going to bring to the fight, and I think that’s how we compete against our adversaries,” he said.