October 21, 2021

Role of civilian engineers in US DoD

8th November 2021; 9am-10am PST

Zoom link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/95932568694

Civilian Engineering Professionals serve in vital roles supporting United States Department of Defense (DoD) missions. Engineers perform vital roles in the accomplishment of master planning; environmental stewardship; engineering design and construction; sustainment and modernization of facilities and infrastructure; utilities and energy management; etc. The presentation will provide perspective on the benefits, rewards, challenges, opportunities, etc. associated with a civil service career path and the unique nature of overseas job experiences. I will touch on several rewarding experiences gained from leading and working with diverse teams of DoD civilian engineers within overseas and stateside environments. The discussion will conclude with informational resources for those wishing to explore civil service employment opportunities. A question-and-answer session will take place after the presentation.

Bio: Charles “Bernie” Kruse is a licensed professional engineer and received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Old Dominion University. He has 30 years of experience providing real property support to Army, Air Force, and non-DoD Federal installations overseas and stateside. During his most recent assignment, as U.S. Army Garrison Italy Director of Public Works, he executed a full range of Directorate of Public Works programs on U.S. Army installations in Italy. His responsibilities included execution of a $75 million annual budget and management of a construction program exceeding $500 million.

Other     Installation     Management    Command    (IMCOM) Directorate of Public Works positions he has held include Director of Public Works at Fort Buchanan; Chief of Engineering at USAG Italy, USAG Hohenfels, and Fort Bliss; and Chief of Master Planning at USAG Hohenfels and Fort Bliss. Assignments with other agencies have included Operations and Maintenance Chief for the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission managing critical infrastructure along the

U.S./Mexican border, and management of U.S. Air Force programs to include $370 million in European Theater Base Support Contracts, and a $70 million modernization of mission support infrastructure.