Army Corps modernizes West Point Cyber Center for future leaders

Courtesy Photo | First Lieutenant Anne Schreiner walks the Cyber and Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) construction site at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  

NY, UNITED STATES

07.01.2022

Story by Nayelli Guerrero 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

First Lieutenant Anne Schreiner, a contracting officer’s representative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District, knew early on she wanted to be an engineer.

“I grew up as a military kid,” explains Schreiner. “My dad was an engineer officer, and we moved to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when I was in middle school. That sparked my initial interest in engineering and West Point.”

Years later, she attended West Point as a cadet, graduating in 2019 with an engineering management degree. Upon her graduation, she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the active-duty Army. Her first assignment was as a platoon leader with the 19th Engineer Battalion at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

After completing that assignment, she applied for and was accepted to USACE’s Technical Engineer Competency Development Program, or TEC-DP, a program that places a select group of active-duty lieutenants each year at USACE offices.

“I requested to come back to New York, and thankfully that worked out,” says Schreiner. “I’m grateful to be able to give back to the community that has been my home for the past few years.”

West Point CEAC Project Update

At West Point, Schreiner helps manage the Cyber & Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) construction project, a four-story academic building and two-story parking garage. The project is part of West Point’s academic building upgrade program, which aims to modernize outdated facilities and expand academic learning spaces.

“My job is to ensure that the contractor is building the facility according to our plans and specifications and reviewing their schedule, progress payments, and contract modifications,” says Schreiner.

She walks the site daily to inspect the construction progress, working with a seven-person USACE team - including a project manager, a resident engineer, two project engineers and two quality assurance representatives – to ensure the project is delivered per specifications and on time.

Site Preparation

Over the past two years, more than 300,000 cubic yards of granite have been removed from the project site, which is located near the south entrance of the campus on a mountainside overlooking the Hudson River. The rock was blasted out of the site by drilling a series of holes, filling each hole with an explosive slurry, then setting off a series of controlled detonations. The contractor carefully monitored the vibrations of the rock blasting to ensure that no structural damage occurred to the surrounding buildings.

Not all of the rock will be hauled off site. Some will be crushed and used to support the building’s foundation. One of the larger boulders will become the facility’s cornerstone, inscribed with the date that the structure opens for occupancy in 2025.

With blasting nearly complete, the next phase of the project will be the construction of the foundation and the walls. The contractor is currently installing concrete footings to support the foundation. Excavation for utilities is also progressing, with telecommunications, electricity, and stormwater in place.

Construction Timeline

Construction on the 136,000-square-foot facility began in December 2020 and is on track to be completed by April 2025. The $200 million military construction project is federally funded.

Once completed, the center will consolidate West Point’s computer science and civil, electrical, mechanical and systems engineering departments under one roof. The center’s large, open spaces and interdisciplinary laboratories will increase opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and research.

“The CEAC facility will be a state-of-the-art collaborative workspace to teach and train West Point cadets,” says Schreiner. “I’m proud to contribute to a project that will help develop the Army’s future leaders.”

• Date Taken: 07.01.2022
• Date Posted: 12.30.2022 15:38
• Story ID: 436120
• Location: NY, US