BUFFALO, N.Y. — With a seven-person crew, a tugboat and a crane barge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District’s Repair Fleet provides an in-house capability to tackle a wide range of maintenance and repair projects across Lake Erie.
From reinforcing breakwaters and placing armor stone to dredging, concrete work and specialized maintenance, the crew and its floating plant support federal navigation infrastructure all across Lake Erie.
“We have a lot of utility. We can do just about anything,” said Jason Lisner, first mate with the Repair Fleet. “We’re very versatile. We are much like a Swiss Army knife.”
That versatility allows the Buffalo District to use its own experienced workforce and equipment for projects that may be smaller, more intricate or require the flexibility to respond to changing needs.
Lisner, a retired U.S. Coast Guardsman who has spent 26 years working on the water, has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 10 years. He said the floating plant currently operates with seven employees, four aboard the tug and three aboard the crane barge, each filling a specialized role.
The crew includes a captain, crane operator, marine engineer and deckhands who work together to move equipment and material and perform projects throughout the region.
One of the repair fleet’s primary missions is maintaining breakwaters and revetments that protect harbors and support safe navigation.
“We take armor stone, rubble mound, underlayment out to the breakwalls and just bolster them up to endure the weather,” Lisner said.
But the crew’s work extends well beyond breakwaters.
The repair fleet has supported concrete projects in Buffalo, cleared culverts, performed dredging at the Black Rock Lock and transported crews conducting core sampling. When Lake Erie conditions become too rough for marine operations during the winter, the team shifts its capabilities to landside projects.
“We can do just about anything that they can come up with,” Lisner said.
Having that capability within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District can also provide an efficient option for work that might otherwise require an outside contract.
“We’re like the ultimate force multiplier because we can do the same functions and perform the same projects that outside contractors do, but we do it in-house,” Lisner said.
That capability is particularly valuable.
“Any smaller or intricate or more detailed jobs, they can send us, and we’ll just take care of it and it’s done,” Lisner said.
Behind that versatility is a small crew accustomed to working in a demanding environment where each member plays a role in completing the mission safely and efficiently.
For Lisner, that work, and the results the team delivers, are a source of pride.
The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war. Learn more at www.lrd.usace.army.mil/buffalo.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2026 09:47 |
| Story ID: | 573152 |
| Location: | BUFFALO, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | CLEVELAND, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of Lake Erie: Inside a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Floating Plant, by Kaylee Wendt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
