NewsCastle
Los Angeles District
Vol. 43 No. 7
A monthly publication of the Los Angeles District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
July 2013
Farewell, Colonel Toy
As the district commander transitions to his next post at USACE Headquarters, he speaks about some of the district’s accomplishments and the legacy he hopes will endure beyond his time as commander: ‘Building Strong and Taking Care of People’
NewsCastle Editorial Staff
Colonel Mark Toy, Los Angeles District commander, sat down with the editorial staff of NewsCastle to answer questions about his time in command and his future endeavors. For the past three years, he has led the district, which encompasses about 226,000 square miles in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah, and has a current annual budget of about $352 million for civil works projects, military construction, and interagency and international support. Col. Toy will be relinquishing command of the district July 11. During his command, the district made continuous strides in reducing the risk of flood damage along area waterways, including the modification of Prado Dam in Corona, as well as on environmental restoration projects like the revitalization of the Los Angeles River, on coastal shoreline restoration, and on maintenance of navigation channels at more than a dozen commercial and recreational harbors along the California coast. NewsCastle: What do you feel is the most significant accomplishment you made during your time in command? Col. Toy: I think one of the most significant accomplishments has been inculcating the idea that we are building strong and taking care of people, and making the people of this organization the foundation for everything we do. NewsCastle: How do you feel you’ve done? Col. Toy: Well, when I first came on board in July, 2010, and did my assessment, I saw that we had a pretty tired force that was just coming off the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funding, which might be looked back on as the boom days of the district and involved a lot of great construction for the nation. So, as I looked to see what we needed as a District, I thought we should get back to basics, where we
— see DISTRICT COMMANDER, Page 4 —