The US Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is the primary agency for major construction programs for the Department of Defense (DOD). And, by extension, they are also the Federal Government’s primary construction agency. Ranging from military bases to hydrologic projects like the infamous Mississippi River levees that failed during Hurricane Katrina, USACE has a vast responsibility for construction, engineering and project management in the United States and around the world. At any given time, USACE maintains a presence in about 130 countries and coordinates directly or jointly with more than 70 federal, state, and international agencies.
Organized into geographic Divisions, and subdivided into Districts, USACE combines military command with civilian engineering expertise to provide exceptional planning, resourcing, and oversight to construction projects exceeding $50 Billion since 2006. Each District has a contracting office, staffed with contracting professionals that manage the thousands of contracts USACE awards and administers each year. A significant and growing field within USACE addresses the environment, through a variety of conservation, preservation, hazard mitigation, and clean-up efforts. USACE has embraced the charge of natural ecological stewardship, adopting environmental sustainability as a guiding principle.
There is a myriad of contracting opportunities with USACE, whether for major construction projects or routine supplies and services. USACE is fairly unique for the federal government, because they not only have the wide range of contracted requirements befitting an organization of 37,000 people around the globe, but they also have contracting elements in all of their operational efforts. These include administering the network of waterways, dams, and hydroelectric projects throughout the continental United States, as well as major construction projects and various military operations throughout the world. USACE also supports other federal, state and local agencies, as well as the international community, will full-spectrum planning, engineering, project management, engineering and design, real estate management, and technical assistance services. The Corps devotes increasing amounts of managerial oversight, policy guidance, and project planning and execution to a wide range of environmental projects, quickly becoming a leading change agent for responsible use and reclamation. USACE also assists the US Army Materiel Command and acquisition community in the design, development and fielding of innovative equipment that helps protect Soldiers in combat. As such, USACE as an entity involves virtually every aspect of contracting and federal acquisition, including research labs and systems development.
To learn about these business opportunities, visit the USACE homepage at www.usace.army.mil. It has a “Business with Us” tab that covers three topic areas: Contracting, MILCON Forecast, and Small Business. The Contracting portion merely directs interested parties to FedBizOpps, the federal gateway for contracting opportunities, and instructs them to register in SAM, the System for Award Management. The MILCON Forecast section gives information and updates on current, planned and proposed major military construction projects supervised by USACE. The third section, Small Business, is the most informative. It features useful tools and tables such as the NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System) size standards that federal contracting activities use. It also shows valuable information on Veteran Businesses, How to Conduct Business with USACE, and the Small Business Administration.
The US Army Corps of Engineers is a unique, vibrant and extremely diverse agency, engaged in worldwide construction, conservation, military operational support, and project management efforts. The contracting arena supporting this vast endeavor covers the gamut of business opportunities and specialties, from IT to non-personal service, from commodities to construction. USACE offers a wealth of business and contracting opportunities for virtually any enterprise, from the smallest startup to the largest corporation. Whatever your company’s key market niche, we encourage you to investigate USACE as a possible customer – chances are, USACE has a requirement you can fill.