NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 18, 2023) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River Division recently recognized a Nashville District work leader as the recipient of its prestigious Operations and Maintenance Castle Award.
Greg Cox, Fort Loudoun Lock and Melton Hill Lock work leader, received the prestigious Castle Award from Nashville District Operations Division Chief Tim Fudge on behalf of the division during a site visit July 27 at Fort Loudoun Lock on the Tennessee River in Lenoir City, Tennessee.
“Greg is very much deserving of this recognition. He has had wide-ranging, positive impacts across our region, has served as a teacher and mentor to many, and continues to demonstrate the highest standards and quality in all he does to support operations and maintenance,” Fudge said. “His dedication, strong work ethic, proactive approach to solving complex problems, leadership and professionalism were instrumental in overcoming many significant challenges and keeping facilities open for business and reliable well past their intended life cycle.”
For more than a decade Cox has served in leadership positions supporting navigation projects in the Nashville District and regionally. Known for his extremely high level of technical competence, he leads the operations and maintenance of civil works infrastructure at Fort Loudoun Lock on the Tennessee River and at Melton Hill Lock on the Clinch River.
In the past year, Cox spearheaded the removal and reinstallation of hydraulic cylinders for valves at Melton Hill and managed the rebuilding of strut arms and the removal and replacement of the gate diagonal support on the upper river miter gate at Fort Loudoun Lock. He mentors his maintenance team on tough projects like these, but also keeps up with routine maintenance requirements.
“We just finished with the divers up here a couple weeks back replacing all the grease lines on all of our valves and gates – more preventative maintenance,” Cox said.
Kareem El-Naggar, USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division chief of Operations and Regulatory in Cincinnati, Ohio, said the Corps of Engineers Operations and Maintenance Castle Award has been in existence for many years and is awarded to a civil works non-general schedule employee that has demonstrated exemplary work in support of Corps infrastructure.
“Mr. Greg Cox was an easy selection for the division’s nomination to the National Castle Award due to his work ethic and his drive to continuously rise to the challenges faced by our maintenance staff,” El-Naggar said. “His high performance working in the Nashville District East Tennessee Area exemplifies the standards that every Corps employee should emulate.”
El-Naggar added that he recognizes that Cox is a true leader with a technical skill set that makes him indispensable and a dedicated asset to the Nashville District and the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.
Lockmaster Matt Emmons, who supervises Cox, agreed with that assessment because he said Cox has a creative mind for delivering innovative solutions to the most challenging operations and maintenance problems in the district, division and larger enterprise that is second to none in USACE.
“He has served as a diver, diving supervisor, towboat pilot, crane operator and Nashville District Repair Party and Fleet Maintenance chief,” Emmons said. “He has offered his knowledge and responded to some of the most complex repair issues in the district and the region,” Emmons said.
Cox joined the Nashville District in May 1991 as an entry level junior mechanic, and then went to work as a mechanic deckhand with the Repair Fleet in 1996. He next served as a tugboat captain from 1997 to 2002, then transferred to Fort Loudoun Lock. He worked as a lock dam equipment mechanic and dive team member until 2010 when he became the Repair Fleet’s maintenance chief. When the Repair Fleet reorganized in 2016, he returned to Fort Loudoun Lock to his present position.
With a career spanning more than 32 years with the Nashville District, Cox worked his way up from the very bottom to the highest wage grade position. For eight years he performed as chief of the fleet and repair party while supervising 40 people and $65 million in assets. A career highlight took place during this period when he led Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee District 3, on a tour of the dewatered Chickamauga Lock Aug. 3, 2016, on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It meant a lot to Cox to contribute in a small way by assisting the Congressman to understand the issues with general repairs and condition of the lock, in moving forward to obtain funding at the time for the stalled construction project to replace the lock. As mechanics maintained the deteriorating lock chamber and repaired the components, valves and gates, Cox provided information and responded to his questions.
“I think one of the most memorable things in my career is that day right there when he told me after I showed him all that, that he was going to get funding back for that lock,” Cox said. “I was always kind of proud of that.”
Today, Cox also maintains a great relationship with Tennessee Valley Authority’s engineering group and collaborates with TVA on designs for things like ladders, handrails, and steps to keep the workforce safe and compliant with OSHA standards. He helped develop innovative designs for new storage buildings at Nickajack, Watts Bar and Fort Loudoun Locks, while also providing input into the final design for a new maintenance shop at Pickwick Lock.
Cox said he strives to keep navigation locks open so commercial vessels, tows and barges and recreational craft can move through the Inland Waterway System with as little impact as possible. He said the objective is to keep the waterways open, but, when necessary, he also keeps industry informed whenever a lock is closed for a dewatering and whenever more in-depth repairs and inspections are required.
As for the Castle Award, Cox said the recognition is unexpected. Nonetheless, he acknowledges the entire maintenance team that supports these important repair actions and said they also deserve credit for his achievement supporting these navigation projects.
“I’ve never done anything for an award,” Cox said. “I just do it because I’m proud of my job. But to receive something like that… it was pretty nice.”
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.