Posted on March 4, 2026
By Shawn Davis
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District leadership represented their organization at the joint Society of American Military Engineers and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command small business and industry forum Feb. 27 in San Diego.
The forum is meant to connect private and public experts, business professionals and military personnel in a discussion-panel format coupled with a small business fair that allows attendees to be apprised of the missions of various government logistics and engineering agencies, as well as the capabilities provided by American free enterprise.
“(We are) a big organization with a lot of missions. … For us, civil works is a big deal,” said Col. Andrew Baker, LA District commander. “We also have military construction — a lot of work.”
Baker detailed the capabilities and responsibilities of his district as well as the efforts of his staff in supporting it, going through the various projects and studies his team has been working in across California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.
“We’re keeping our head above water and doing pretty well,” he continued. “Even though (other districts like) Sacramento has a larger (USACE) district in terms of workforce, we represent a larger portion of the American public — in fact, larger than any other district in the country.”
Participating agencies listed for the forum included NAVFAC Southwest, NAVFAC Pacific, Defense Logistics Agency, LA District, NAVFAC Facilities, Engineering and Acquisition Division Teams and NASA.
SAME, the event co-host, consists of uniformed military personnel, retirees, project managers, corporate executives, academic leaders and more devoted to bridging the gap between public professionals and private enterprises. It is a nonprofit organization that has fostered collaboration between USACE in the past and continues to do so today.
The timing of the San Diego forum aligns with the upcoming Nellis Air Force Base Industry Day, taking place 9:30 a.m. March 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USACE relies on its partnership with competitive enterprise to help deliver its projects quickly, safely and efficiently in the interests of the American public. To learn more about the upcoming event, visit go.mil/n36d4sjyk4.
