Behind the Steel Curtain: How Pittsburgh District Quietly Powers the Nation's Toughest Disaster Missions
Story by Robert Zebrowski.
First responders, emergency shelters, freshwater wells, and hospitals are all critical to successful natural disaster recovery efforts. They also share another requirement: reliable power.
When disasters knock out electrical systems, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Temporary Emergency Power Program deploys volunteers to impacted areas ahead of storms to enable a rapid response and install of temporary power systems for affected communities.
“It’s critical that our personnel and generators arrive before storms hit,” said Lt. Col. Matthew McGuire, deputy commander of the USACE Pittsburgh District. “There is no way to predict the condition of the infrastructure after a storm, not just power, but roads and airports for access to a region. So, we are in place to restore essential services immediately after an event."
Under the USACE Headquarters All Hazards Plan, the Pittsburgh District (LRP) serves as the lead proponent for the Temporary Emergency Power mission. While power teams work in the field, a greater effort is taking place behind the scenes. Contracting, Readiness, Office of Counsel, and Resource Management personnel work together to provide the funding, contracts, personnel, legal, and operational support needed to keep the mission moving.
“The entire LRP team's sustained commitment has been instrumental in ensuring personnel and resources arrive safely and on time, task orders are managed effectively, and the Temporary Power response remains fully operational from initial deployment through fiscal closeout,” said Dominic Basile, the National Temporary Emergency Power Program Manager for USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.
Typhoon Sinlaku initially made landfall in April 2026, followed by Typhoon Bavi in July. The Temporary Emergency Power Program expects to continue supporting Bavi through October.
Supporting successive response efforts in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) presented unique challenges. The mission required extensive logistical coordination for equipment transportation, funding, and travel support while rotating through four different district Power Planning and Response teams. It also required legal and operational coordination across 14 time zones and 7,700 miles.
On April 14, 2026, Typhoon Sinlaku struck the CNMI as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph. The storm downed power lines, tore off building roofs, and flooded roads across Saipan and Tinian.
“Following the devastation caused by super typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi, this continued coordination has enabled a successful and still-ongoing Temporary Power response in the CNMI, the longest Temporary Power mission since Hurricane Maria,” said Basile.
Fortunately, USACE’s Great Lakes and Ohio River Division (LRD) and the Pittsburgh District worked with the Honolulu District to deploy a Power Planning and Response Team ahead of the storm. Close coordination among Pittsburgh District offices enabled the administrative, funding and contractual work needed to support a rapid, proactive response to the CNMI beginning April 10.
“Having regional support is critical to the LRP/LPD contracting approach to managing missions and utilizing the cadre strategically allowed us to provide coverage contracting officers 24/7,” said Josh Kaufmann, the chief of Contracting at USACE Pittsburgh District.
For the next two and a half months, the power team and Pittsburgh’s supporting staff worked long days, nights and weekends to support the islands and the Honolulu District and Pacific Ocean Division as the supported districts.
While still supporting the response to Typhoon Sinlaku, LRP rapidly supported the deployment of another Power Planning and Response team from Albuquerque to Guam. The team’s arrival augmented the Honolulu District ahead of the Fourth of July weekend and helped prepare for Typhoon Bavi’s Category 5 landfall July 6. The scale of the effort is reflected in the numbers.
More than $82.3 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency mission assignments, coordinated by the Resource Management Office, kept funding flowing for the costly operation. The Contracting Office, with oversight from the Office of Counsel, executed 16 contract modifications, giving employees on the ground flexibility to conduct installations and repairs across multiple islands.
“The Temporary Emergency Power mission is a tremendous example of what can be accomplished when our people come together with a shared purpose,” said Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the USACE Pittsburgh District.
The Readiness offices generated and funded 280 labor codes and EngLink taskers across 19 districts, ensuring responders were paid on time while properly accounting for federal dollars committed to the mission.
The Readiness and Contracting offices jointly tracked more than 210 contractors deployed to Guam and the CNMI during a mission that has continued uninterrupted for 138 days and counting. Their efforts helped uphold financial and contractual requirements and ensure federal funding was spent wisely.
Behind the Power Planning and Response teams in the field, 190 employees supported operations on the ground and through reach-back efforts. Together, they helped conduct 259 critical facility assessments and install 193 generators.
The mission required carefully orchestrated communication among various stakeholders and multiple levels of government spread across thousands of miles.
The adaptability, skill, and resolve of Pittsburgh District’s support staff helped begin the long process of returning some semblance of normalcy to a region battered by successive storms.
While the generators and power teams on the ground are the visible elements of the Temporary Emergency Power mission, they represent only part of the operation.
“While our responders work directly with communities in the aftermath of a storm, teams across the Pittsburgh District work just as hard behind the scenes to ensure they have the resources, contracts, funding, and support they need,” said Col Melin. “This mission has required extraordinary commitment, coordination and adaptability, and our team has delivered.”
They are the backbone of the Temporary Emergency Power mission, working behind the scenes to keep the power on when communities need it most.
“Their work may not always be visible, but it is essential to helping communities restore critical services and begin the long road to recovery,” said Col. Melin.
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