Tracy Horan returns as GHD’s US Federal Operations Leader after deployment with the US Air Force

Tracy Horan is one example of someone on the Federal team who is engaged in the US military. She is a Lieutenant Colonel in  the Maryland Air National Guard and was recently deployed as the Commander of the 577th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force (BEEF) Squadron at Al Udeid  Air Base in Qatar from mid-July 2022 to mid-January of this year. As commander of the squadron, Tracy led a group of 208 Air Force personnel that operated at 12 forward operation sites across nine different countries. The squadron was responsible for the execution of construction projects, while working alongside several specialty teams that worked on assignments such as erection, repair and demolition of tension fabric structures. 

She also managed specialty teams including a team of firefighters who facilitated increased aircraft traffic at airfields. These firefighters were flown in to operate from the sites and would return to the team when they were done. Tracy also had two specialty teams who facilitated rubber removal for airfields and performed airfield painting. Over the course of their time there, they repainted 12 airfields and removed 390 acres of rubber from these airfields to keep airfields fully operational. 

Staying committed to military responsibilities

The Squadron is made up of Air Force civil engineers. We had 208 members of our team that work in all different Air Force Civil Engineer career fields, I had a whole complement of officers and enlisted personnel who were engineers, engineering assistants, pavements and equipment troops, structures troops, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical specialists. We had people that were helping build structures, installing utility lines, repairing airfields and everything in between at multiple locations. Our squadron did not maintain a specific base - we were there to support projects across the entire Air Force Central Command theatre. 

Overcoming vital challenges 

One of the biggest challenges in our rotation was the fact that we were closing our Squadron and Group and had a specific date to close whether the projects were completed or not. In addition, the 557 RED HORSE Squadron was closing halfway through our rotation, so we had to work together to take over their remaining projects to take them to completion.  We developed a squadron concept that integrated the two teams to facilitate a seamless turn over when RED HORSE departed in October. We also had projects that we had to figure out how to close out in a way that they could be turned over to someone else to finish. This required identifying ways to hand off the assignment that would ease the transition, as some projects were not completed on schedule due supply chain issues. The biggest challenge was figuring that out while keeping everyone fully employed while they were still there. It was difficult to find the right  transition point where the project would be complete enough so that the bases would be able to successfully take over and finish the projects with either their engineering unit’s work force or contract the work out to a local contractor that could complete what was remaining.

Working together to accomplish big things

The opportunity to get to work with so many people is one of the most rewarding parts of working for the Air Force for me. It’s so much fun to see all you can accomplish with all the different people you get to work with. We had a team of Active Duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members  from 35 different installations  bases that came together to make up the unit. I had the pleasure of meeting many different people with many different types of backgrounds, experiences and talents, which is the reward of getting to be in command – seeing what we are capable of accomplishing as a team.

Looking ahead to new challenges

We only get deployed every so often. I have a certain period where I now will be guaranteed to be at home with my husband and two kids. I will likely be here for at least 3 times as long as I was away. On average, we come up for deployment every 5 years or so. For now, I am happy to be home, as being away is always a challenge. While it’s good to be back, I am proud of what we do in the Air Force and am excited to see where it will take me next. 

Supporting federal teams and initiatives aligns with our commitment to provide lasting benefits in the communities in which we operate. Our US Federal team proudly serves and supports initiatives from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, U.S Civilian Agencies and U.S. Navy and Marine Corp. We are so proud of Tracy and other like her that show dedication to our country through military service and the work they do on military task orders at GHD.

GHD is rapidly securing US Federal sector work, and we are recruiting across all disciplines to support these projects. If you are looking for a career where you can work on projects that help strengthen national security, apply to one of the many available opportunities here: Search Jobs - Candidate Experience site Careers (oraclecloud.com)