Posted on October 21, 2024
On October 7, 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District celebrated 95 years as a district. As we celebrate our anniversary, check out our Q&A series where we asked some of our retirees about their favorite parts of working at USACE. In this feature, we talked to Steven Freitas, who began working at USACE in 1983.
Note: Some responses were edited for grammar and style.
Steven Freitas
June 13, 1983, to September 30, 2017
Last job title at USACE: General Engineer, lead engineer of the Specifications Unit
What was your favorite part about working at USACE?
From 1983 to about 2000, it was like the wild west between Engineering Division and Information Management, transitioning from typewriters, slide rules, calculators, drawing boards and paper deliverables to computers, programs, printers, plotters, and digital deliverables. Information Management was using a Wang word processor in 1983 but it could not understand engineering symbols and special characters. Engineering Division did not have a standard platform or common word processor program. Many typists had to slow down because they would fill up the computer buffers and must wait for it to catch up. I was recognized for my contributions in improving the organizations processes in some unexpected ways. People at Headquarters knew my name and my involvement in implementing SPECSINTACT across USACE. I was privileged to work on committees with NAVFAC and NASA making decisions on program improvements that saved many days, if not weeks, of effort on construction projects worldwide.
Did you have a favorite project you worked on or one that you found most interesting?
Almost every project I worked on was unique in some way, and a challenge to design to engineering standards. I was the project engineer on the Little Dell Dam in Utah from 1986 through award in 1988, which was the first Civil Works project to use AutoCAD for all design drawings. None of the engineers would agree on a word processor program to complete the specifications so I learned them all to pull the project together. Also, another first for Engineering Division, I was given a program called TimeLine and told to use it to develop the project schedules and labor estimates. Project Management Division was formed in about 1988 and asked me if I wanted to transfer into it, but I declined. Many of the other projects I worked on, from Folsom Lake to Isabella, were projects my father worked on when first built.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers in the field you worked in?
USACE has a great training program that you should take advantage of and develop your plan as soon as possible. The one constant in our field is change so you must keep learning and adjusting to use the new tools to get the job done. The bigger challenges you will face will not be engineering, but in working with people that are set in their ways and unwilling to learn new things. Just remember that you can advance as far as you want, and change things for the better, if you keep learning, have patience and be persistent.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I was fortunate to have worked for Steven Stoner, an amazing and progressive supervisor who was a visionary and an agent of change, not just because, but for the better. He supported Engineering Division efforts to incorporate and be certified under the ISO9000 Quality Management System. So, in conclusion, I just want to say that in my experience and travels to other USACE Districts, Sacramento District is one of the greatest, most diverse, challenging, and progressive organizations in USACE, but there’s always room for future improvement.
