The Value of Service & Project Management: A Navy Engineer’s Disaster Response Experience
Sam Carrara has served with NAVFAC Washington for almost 18 months at NAS Pax River. I provide supervisory services on construction projects, such as the $58 million Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) facility and hangar for the MQ-25 Drone program and $57 million airfield taxiway and runway repair contracts. In addition to my Professional Engineer (PE) license, I am also certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional Operations + Maintenance (LEED AP O+M).
Growing up, my parents taught me the value of service. We would serve wherever we were needed at church and in the community, and we were also involved with the Boy Scouts of America. In the Scouts, I learned the slogan, “Do a Good Turn Daily.”
After graduating from Norwich University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and earning a commission in the United States Army, I started my military service as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. My experience serving in Thailand, Kosovo and Washington state as an Army Officer helped develop my international engineering and construction technical expertise and enhanced my understanding of differing construction techniques and materials.
Most recently, I have been working as a supervisory general engineer serving with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Pax River) in Maryland. Service is a core principle for all United States Navy engineers. In addition to supervising the construction and repair of critical facilities at NAS Pax River, I have helped in disaster response expeditions, utilizing my technical engineering expertise to help communities around the world in desperate need.
Disaster in Haiti
In late August 2021, I was dispatched to Haiti to lead a team of engineers in response to back-to-back natural disasters. The …
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"History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme a lot." - Mark Twain |
