Sweeney good as gold for work on Fort Knox project

Published June 23, 2010

Karen Sweeney was presented the 2010 Construction Management Excellence Award April 21 in a ceremony held in front of the sprawling Human Resource Center of Excellence (HRCoE) building on Fort Knox. Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Commander Maj. Gen. John Peabody presented Sweeney with the division-level recognition.

Building officially began on the HRCoE in November 2007, and the facility opened May 27, 2010.

The HRCoE houses the staff and headquarters functions of the U.S. Army Accessions Command—relocating from Fort Monroe, Va.,—and the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which is relocating from three sites—Arlington, Va., Indianapolis, and St. Louis.

The HRCoE was a massive undertaking. Its 883,180 sq. feet would measure 7.5 football fields if the buildings were laid end-to-end. There are 1.5 miles of corridors, 1,330 windows, 1,290 doors and 3,695 tons of structural steel. More than a million man hours were invested. About 4,400 Soldiers and civilians will work in the facility.

As the resident engineer, Sweeney handled all contractual issues with the contractor for the HRCoE project, mainly approving time and cost changes. The HRCoE, like any project, wasn’t without its challenges, but the biggest obstacles were buried underground more than half a century ago.

"Our largest challenge on the project has been the finding of unexploded munitions debris, pre World War II Stokes mortars," Sweeney said. "All were inert training rounds. We found over 100 rounds at various times and ended up suspending construction activities for most of a summer (May through August 2008)."

Unexploded ordnance experts monitored the site until excavation ceased, and Sweeney and her resident office team continued to work with the contractor to get the job done. Despite the delay, the original occupancy didn’t changed. In fact, the customer was granted early access to move in furniture and install computers and phones.

As grand as her success has been on the HRCoE, Sweeney said it was a team effort.

"I didn't win this award alone," she said. "I have the best team in the district, and they deserve as much credit and kudos as I can possibly give them."

Sweeney, who lives in Indiana, with her husband and district employee, Jack, and three children, isn’t new to the Corps. She started with the district in 1980 while studying civil engineering at Purdue University. As a Department of the Army intern, she was groomed to be a Corps leader early on. According to her supervisor, Sweeney hasn’t forgotten the value of mentoring.

"She doesn’t hoard her knowledge and expertise, but willingly shares it, mentoring anyone who requires it," said Fort Knox Area Engineer Thomas McQuary. "Sweeney continually exhibits outstanding ethics and work ethic. Ethics are part of every decision she makes."