June 10, 2024
Faces of the Diversion: Capt. Kyle Volk
The FM Area Diversion may be the largest construction project Capt. Kyle Volk has worked on, but he’s no stranger to massive challenges. As an Airborne-qualified combat engineer, he completed tours in Afghanistan and Iraq before returning to his home state of North Dakota. Now, as a resident engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he oversees the rigorous contract administration, quality control, and safety protocols required to safeguard his own community and loved ones.
Transcript: Faces of the Diversion — Capt. Kyle Volk
Click to expand transcript
Capt. Kyle Volk: [00:00:14] My name is Captain Kyle Volk. I work with the Corps of Engineers St. Paul District, and I’m currently located right here in Fargo with the Western Area office. I am a resident engineer, which means that I have a staff of about seven. I’m one of two resident engineers out of our office.
[00:00:31] I joined the military active duty in 2005 as a young combat engineer. I have been all over the world; this is my seventh state that I’ve moved to. I got involved with the Corps of Engineers to broaden myself, to learn more about construction, and the opportunity to come on my home ground here and to build this project that’s going to help not just the local community but my family and friends on a daily basis.
[00:01:07] We administer contract administration for our federal contracts. That can entail reviewing products that the contractor wants to use on our projects. It ensures that we have quality assurance; the contractor is responsible for quality control, and we just assure that we still have those quality standards. Also safety, so safety is a big portion of our job with the Corps of Engineers. We’ll go out on site, make sure all the equipment and everything is up to standard and all activities are being conducted in a safe manner.
[00:01:38] The best part about my job is the people that I work with. The people I work with are from all walks of life. We have 28 staff in our office of the Western area here in Fargo. We have our sponsors that we work with, the various contractors on all of our projects, our designers from St. Paul District to USACE districts across the US… you know, we pull specialties from all over the country and all over the world.
[00:02:07] I would say being able to see projects come to life from the design phase to the plans to then actual construction is remarkable. Knowing that this project will safeguard a city and families of 260,000 people is humbling, it’s honoring, and it’s one of the most important jobs that I’ve done so far.