Photo By Jordan Raiff | Kelly Thomas, deputy operations manager for the Mississippi River Project Office,...... read more read more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District partners with organizations and programs across a wide range of initiatives. One such partnership, the “We Work the Waterways” program, recently held an outreach and discovery day at Scott Community College in Bettendorf, Iowa. The event introduced area high school students to lesser-known local career opportunities related to the river.
Kelly Thomas, deputy operations manager for the Mississippi River Project Office, brought visual aids of various “hats” to highlight how the Project’s three main missions — navigation, recreation and environmental stewardship — create numerous career pathways for different interests.
“One of the things that people don’t understand about the Corps of Engineers is that we have a recreation mission,” Thomas said as he let students hold a USACE park ranger hat. “Here on the river, we have 26 recreation areas. We have campgrounds, day-use areas, boat launches, a visitor center, those types of things. Annually, we have 1.1 to 1.2 million visitors that come to our recreation areas.”
Thomas also connected the program’s emphasis on environmental stewardship with the Project’s forestry operations, where staff manage 60,000 acres of land with a focus on timber harvest and improvement, cultural resources and endangered species.
One of the unique aspects of USACE work is the constant nature of river operations. As MRPO Plant and Facilities Supervisor Cory Wildermuth emphasized during the presentation, the locks are “managed 24/7, 365 days a year, so you have guys at locks every single day, every hour. All the time.”
Thomas reinforced the point, simply stating, “The locks never close.”
This constant operation creates numerous employment opportunities — from lock and dam operators managing daily boat traffic to maintenance workers ensuring infrastructure remains functional — and many people have no idea that USACE is involved. As Thomas noted, “We respond to national emergencies, so if a hurricane hits or a tornado, we will respond to help clean up that debris, do blue roof missions, those types of things.”
The event underscored the importance of the Rock Island District’s partnership with the “We Work the Waterways” initiative, which helps expose young people to waterway-related industries. Students explored meaningful work that combines technical skills, environmental responsibility and public service — ensuring the Quad Cities region will continue to have a skilled workforce capable of maintaining and protecting the Mississippi River system that has shaped the area’s identity and economy for generations.
| Date Taken: | 12.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.15.2025 12:40 |
| Story ID: | 554200 |
| Location: | BETTENDORF, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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