VICKSBURG, Miss.— October 1, 1998, is etched into the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) history, as it is the day the organization was born. Former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard signed an order 26 years ago to merge USACE’s then-eight research laboratories into one organization.
This week, ERDC held an inaugural event at its headquarters to celebrate the official declaration of the organization’s Unit Day.
One of the Army’s longstanding traditions, Unit Day is a day when an organization convenes to commemorate a significant event in its history. Unit Day is usually celebrated with several ceremonies and special activities. The organization recently received its Unit Day certificate, which sits on the wall on the first floor of the Headquarters Building next to the auditorium.
Attendees joined ERDC Commander Col. Christian Patterson and several of ERDC’s military officers for refreshments and well wishes. Patterson appreciated the special occasion and how it brought joy to the organization’s employees.
“Celebrating Unit Day is one of the Army’s many traditions that boosts morale,” said Patterson. “I believe that the combining of the laboratories and its people was one of the best decisions that this organization has ever made.”
When reflecting on how far the organization has come, Patterson said that merging ERDC’s laboratories laid a path for thriving research and development that led to the organization’s growth.
“That decision has helped us evolve into the innovative and diverse research and development organization that we are today.”
ERDC carried on Unit Day tradition by inviting ERDC’s longest tenured employee, Ernest Lutz, who has been a government employee for 49 years with the last 12 served at ERDC, and ERDC's most recent hire, Alejandra Vega, who has been at ERDC for three months.