Supporting Overseas Contingency Operations: District employees answer call to serve abroad
By Brandon Beach
District Public Affairs Office
SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2009 -Robin Liffmann sets her alarm for 4:45 a.m. every morning. By six, she’s in the gym. She’s not training for a 26-mile marathon, but one of another kind. Behind all her motivation is a decision Liffmann made many months ago to deploy to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in support of the Overseas Contingency Operations. “I’ve always enjoyed working out. I just upped it a notch,” said Liffmann, an environmental manager with the Corps’ San Francisco District. “I want to make sure I’m physically fit. I don’t want that ever to be a drawback.”
Though much of her time could be spent behind a desk working on any number of the Corps’ diverse civil works projects in Afghanistan, from constructing roads to installing irrigation systems, Liffmann isn’t taking her preparations lightly. Being fit to deploy doesn’t always translate into arm curls.
“I belong to the World Affairs Council. I go to their talks. I read The Economist,” she said. “I’m very big on reading multiple newspapers.”Not that staying on top of foreign affairs is new to her. Before joining the Corps in 2007, Liffmann, who holds a doctorate degree in environmental science, policy and management, was a full-time lecturer at San Francisco State University. She left the job for something a bit less academic.
“You really want to go out and put what you know to the ground,” she said.Many like her are signing up for just that type of experience. Since 2002, when the Corps began sending members of its civilian workforce to Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 50 San Francisco District employees have answered the call.
Making a tough decision
Before any step is made, the process must begin with family, said Duke Roberts, chief of Operations & Readiness Branch.
“I understand individuals want to support this mission,” he explained, “but they really need to sit down and discuss how their family feels about it.”
Deployments, at a minimum, last six months, sometimes longer. Being away from home for half a year or more can be difficult for both sides. If a person’s family does not back the idea 100 percent, deploying could be a mistake. The responsibilities downrange can pose stressful enough.
The next issue to be considered is service. As Roberts explains, “What are you going to provide? You have to have some idea of exactly what kind of mission you want to perform when you go over there.”
A good place to start researching is with the Corps’ Transatlantic Program Center (TAC) web site at www.tac.usace.army.mil.
The two major deployment areas are to the Afghanistan Engineer District, or AED, and the Gulf Region Division, or GRD, in Baghdad, Iraq. Both organizations maintain Web sites with up-to-date project information found respectively at www.aed.usace.army.mil and www.grd.usace.army.mil.
Getting started
With some idea of how a person might contribute, the next step is to contact Sandra Eudy, the South Pacific Division’s deployment coordination administrator. She may be reached by e-mail at sandra.j.eudy@usace.army.mil or phone at 415-503-6618.
She will ask that an applicant fill out a deployment questionnaire to be sent back to her along with a resume. Eudy then looks for the right fit, matching up a person’s skill set with a specific project.
Once a tasker is identified, a person can start the initial pre-deployment process, referred to as Theater Specific Individual Training Requirement, or TSIRT. A checklist of to-do items may be found at www.tac.usace.army.mil/deploymentcenter/civilian.asp. Applicants are required to obtain a security clearance, passport — both of which must be requested 48 hours after an assignment is given — and a government credit card. By far the lengthiest portions of the checklist are the medical tests and immunizations, which total nine.
Any items that are not done prior to deploying may be completed at TAC, where individuals, once a travel itinerary is completed, go through training, up to a week.
Still interested?
Benefits include, among other things, invaluable experience, career growth incentives and financial perks including hazard pay, which can mean a significant increase in salary. But most people don’t put themselves in harm’s way, explained Roberts, just for a larger paycheck. With so much at stake, it comes down to commitment. “The Chief of Engineers [Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp] has said supporting the Overseas Contingency Operations is our top mission,” said Roberts. “He wants people who are motivated, that are positive and want to serve their country.” Construction workers pump concrete into the foundation of new barracks being built at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. (photo courtesy of www.aed.usace.army.mil)