If Jim Marple ever met Donald Trump, the two might sit down over a steak dinner and find some things in common. Marple, an engineer in Gulf Region Division, manages projects in excess of $325 million, and develops future projects valued above $828 million.
Marple is finishing his second six-month tour in Iraq. In 2007, he served his first six-month deployment as a water project manager overseeing initiatives to bring clean water to Iraqi neighborhoods. He served both tours in Gulf Region South District, and provided reconstruction services in Iraq’s nine southern provinces.
"The local atmosphere seems much improved over the 2007 tour," Marple said. "The indirect fire is much less frequent, and road conditions seem to be much better -- fewer IEDs. Iraqi workers tell me they also believe things have improved."
Marple is an Arkansas native who works for Little Rock District. In recent years he has also deployed twice to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and volunteered as a quality assurance representative on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and East Texas after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In 2003, Marple was tapped to be the chief park ranger responsible for administering one of the Corps’ largest recreation programs. His stateside administrative experience has come in handy in Iraq. He is now the military construction and security and justice project manager for Gulf Region South.
His job involves developing and using project tracking tools, working with USACE resource management personnel to ensure adequate project funding, and providing the leadership, communication, and coordination needed to resolve problems and issues in a timely fashion.
Marple said he likes his job for the satisfaction of seeing the projects take shape and put into use, the interaction with his co-workers, and constantly learning about project manager roles and responsibilities.
Among the many security and justice projects, Marple worked a half dozen courthouse projects. "These are important both practically and symbolically to promote the rule of law, a cornerstone of Iraqi society," he said.
Marple also manages the construction of a $28.8 million prison near Nasiriyah that will house 1,600 inmates. "Security and justice. It’s great to see things are improving in Iraq," he concluded.