The Middle East District has evolved from a long line of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers organizations providing engineering, construction and contracting services in the Middle East, beginning in the early 1950s.
USACE placed an organization in the Winchester, Virginia, area in 1976 to provide rear-echelon support for a forward-based division in Saudi Arabia performing a multi-billion dollar design and construction program. Although there were various organizational names and structures since then, the constant for more than 35 years has been a U.S.-based USACE organization supporting operations in the Middle East.
Today, the Middle East District is a subordinate element of the Transatlantic Division which was established September 29, 2009, also in Winchester. When established, the Transatlantic Division also had contingency districts in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. operations in those countries have necessitated gradual organizational changes for the USACE organizations operating there.
The Middle East District has had a longstanding presence in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, providing engineering and construction services for a wide range of U.S. and foreign customers.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the organization has provided reach-back engineering, project management, contracting, deployment, and other support services for the contingency districts. In June 2011, the Middle East District assumed responsibility for USACE missions in Iraq, after the last remaining district there closed. The District also expanded its operations into Central Asia.
The Middle East District:
· Provides USACE services in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, with projects in 16 of the 20 nations in this region.
· Builds facilities that support U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations personnel in the Middle East and Central Asia during both peacetime and contingency operations in accordance with government-to-government agreements.
· Provides engineering services to foreign government agencies under the USACE Interagency and International Services program. Most of this work is through the Defense Department’s foreign military sales program.
· Supports U.S. Defense Department-funded projects providing humanitarian assistance and counternarcotics projects in the region.
· Awarded a set of Multiple Award Task Order Contracts to 14 firms to support design-build and construction projects throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Task orders are competitively awarded under the MATOCs.
· Has deployed – through the USACE Deployment Center – more than 11,000 people to Iraq and Afghanistan to support OCO missions.
· Awards contracts and provides other services to support USACE operations in Afghanistan.
· Serves as the Technical Center of Expertise for Aircraft Hangar Fire Protection.
· Serves as the Center of Standardization for Contingency Facilities.