Pacific Connection - Honolulu District - U.S. Army

4 The Pacific Connection December 2001Employees of the MonthJesse DuarteHometown: Corpus Christi, TexasFamily: Wife, DarlenePosition with Corps and how long: Civil engineer for 13monthsDescribe your job in 50 words or less: My job as theConstruction Services Branch Chief, in a nutshell, is tokeep the projects moving as smoothly as possible administratively,and to assist where appropriate with civil/technicial issues.What do you like best about your job? Part of thesatisfaction comes from resolving problems which otherwisewould impact contract schedules, dissatisfy thecustomer, or add cost to the project. There’s also adistinct sense of accomplishment in seeing a project tofruition.What is the most difficult part of your job? Balancingtime against customer/contractor demands.If I was the DE for a day, I would... consider buying abig morale booster like a jetski, motorboat, or other craftfor occasional island hops. (I know... wishful thinking!)What is the best improvement in the District in the pastsix months? I suppose that for the District that would bethe office furniture.What is the best improvement in your office in the pastsix months? The addition of my wife to our team (I’ve justearned brownie points!), and our new server.Randall KurashigeHometown: Honolulu, HawaiiFamily: Wife, Rae and daughters, Lauren (13) andJodi (4)Position with Corps and how long: Project manager inPrograms and Project Management Division. Twentyyears of federal service, all with the Corps.Describe your job in 50 words or less: I get projectsdesigned and constructed. I need to ensure that the expectationsof my customers are met or exceeded so that theyare satisfied. I do this by trying to ensure quality, controlcosts, and stay on schedule.What do you like best about your job? The opportunityto work with people. I have had a chance to work with verygood folks in this job. I have benefitted greatly from thisinteraction.What is the most difficult part of your job? Havingenough time to accomplish all the things I want to get doneand still have time for family.If I was the DE for a day, I would... I don’t know if I woulddo anything differently.What is the best improvement in the District in thepast six months? Furniture is the most visible improvement.It seems a lot of effort has been put into improvingthe workplace.What is the best improvement in your office in the pastsix months? We’ve gotten a lot of new folks on board, andwe all have nice places to work in, too.Challenges:Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. —Joshua Marine