Todd Semonite, RES ‘99
As Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, LTG Todd Semonite is leading the command’s multiple-mission support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) fighting COVID-19. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been in support of FEMA under the national emergency response framework to rapidly push subject matter experts (SMEs) to States while working closely with Public Health Services, Department of Defense (DOD), the U.S. Army, and many other agencies and commands. LTG Semonite has personally been available 24/7 to the President and Vice President of the U.S., the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Governors, and other senior leaders, as well as his own USACE force, to aggressively develop and execute engineering solutions to solve needs in hot spots as they appear or are projected. He and his SMEs provided standard designs to States, territories, and tribes and provided technical support in identifying appropriate locations. Among the first emergencies was the need to increase hospital bed capacity nation-wide. In some cases, States requested through FEMA that USACE complete construction to transition facilities into Alternate Care Facilities. The most visible was the conversion of the Jacob Javitz Center in Manhattan, but USACE conducted over 1126 surveys around the U.S. and awarded the expansion of 32 facilities for a capacity of over 14,500 beds by the third week of April. The support of the Corps of Engineers against COVID-19 is critical, while also maintaining readiness and management of Civil Works, Military Missions, Environment Projects, Research and Development, Emergency Operations, Sustainability, and Safety and Occupational Health. For daily USACE COVID-19 updates: https://www.usace.army.mil/Coronavirus/.
LTG Todd T. Semonite
Resident Class of 1999
54th Chief of Engineers and CG, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
