Post Best Practices: San Juan Field Chapter Leads IGE in the Caribbean

In 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stood up the Caribbean District under the South Atlantic Division to manage services and response efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Despite being the smallest within the Corps of Engineers with just 160 employees, the district anticipates the issuance of more than $2 billion in contracts over the next two years, to include the scheduled award of the two largest contracts across the South Atlantic Division.

With an increased regional focus comes an even greater need for industry-government engagement. The San Juan Field Chapter, which over the previous few years has been building the scaffolding needed to enhance local industrial readiness, is answering the call—and primed to do more. As its recent 2026 Industry Day demonstrates, the chapter is meeting government partners where they need support the most, while serving as a trusted platform for focused collaboration.

Its emergence epitomizes the opportunity that other geographic areas may have to resurrect or establish an SAME presence in pursuit of addressing the nation’s infrastructure-related challenges. Beginning as a Field Chapter may offer an attainable onramp to sustainable success (see sidebar).

Demand Signal Arrives

SAME’s Post structure allows for tailored, local impact where engineering requirements are the most acute. As priorities shift and landscapes evolve, the presence of Posts naturally may ebb and flow. For Puerto Rico, infrastructure needs had long been deprioritized, and SAME’s presence on the island similarly was minor. Without a Post, longtime members like Lt. Col. Patrick Balcazar, F.SAME, USA (Ret.), stayed involved with the federal A/E/C community by joining other Posts nearby like the Jacksonville Post. He still faced challenges though in working remotely to support his hometown. And as the demand signal would soon grow loud, that lack of institutional experience became a major concern—but also an opportunity.

In 2017, Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico, leaving more than 1 million residents without power. When Hurricane Maria made landfall just two weeks later, the storm proved to be one of the most destructive Atlantic hurricanes to ever strike the island. The historic devastation revealed the full scope of neglect that years of underfunding local infrastructure had wrought. Without an active SAME Post presence on the island, there was little expertise left in federal contracting. “That knowledge was completely absent,” Balcazar said. “Our ability to respond on the emergency response side from industry was very poor. That’s when I really got serious and said, ‘we’ve got to get this chapter going again.’”

Success did not come overnight. Balcazar and his team of volunteers worked quietly and diligently to build the connections that would help revitalize the chapter and strengthen relationships with South Atlantic Division. As government agencies began to look to make substantial investments in the island, interest in SAME grew and the San Juan Field Chapter grew along with it.

Multi-Year Investment

The 2026 Industry Day was a culmination of years of diligent work, supported by a solid foundation of trust, purpose, and commitment. The event attracted over 400 attendees, including professionals from across the A/E/C industry and government officials representing NAVFAC, the U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business Administration and USACE South Atlantic Division among many others.

The three-day event included panel discussions, training sessions, and briefings focused on doing business in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The daily schedule featured in-depth presentations from multiple districts. Social events also were built in each day to provide attendees with opportunities to network, connect with friends and colleagues, and share insights in a more casual environment.

Broad Involvement

Among the most valuable aspects of the Industry Day was the presence of all six districts within the South Atlantic Division; they provided FY2026-2027 priorities updates on coastal resilience, navigation and harbor improvements, environmental restoration, military construction, interagency and international services, and emergency response/disaster recovery missions. The multi-agency involvement gave attendees unprecedented visibility into federal pipelines across the Southeast and Caribbean.

Brig. Gen. Zachary Miller, USA, Commanding General, USACE South Atlantic Division, delivered the keynote. His remarks placed the increasing importance of engineering in Puerto Rico within the broader context of the Caribbean’s growing importance. “Engineering here is not abstract. It is visible in every community; it is urgent after every storm; and it is transforming lives every day,” Miller said. “We are entering a period of historic MILCON investment across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

Col. Charles Decker, USA, Commander, USACE Caribbean District, echoed the sentiment in his comments to open the conference and encouraged attendees to engage with the district through platforms like the San Juan Field Chapter to deliver for the region. “Lean in. Challenge us. Share your ideas. Tell us what’s working and what isn’t,” he said. “The future of infrastructure in the Caribbean, and the future of the communities we serve, depends on all of us pulling in the same direction.”

Prioritizing Presence

Since SAME’s founding in 1920, Posts and Field Chapters have formed around the world. Some have maintained an enduring presence in their locations. Others have shined bright for a shorter period, stood up to address national security needs and U.S. strategic interests. Still others have evolved their value proposition to remain aligned with member concerns and investment priorities.

The Caribbean has been home to a handful of Posts as far back as 1942 with the Fort Read Post in Trinidad. Later, in 1957 a pair of Posts were stood up in Puerto Rico, at Ramey AFB and in San Juan.

Extend the geographic span slightly more and SAME also operated Posts over the years in Bolivia and Panama and recently had a Field Chapter in Honduras at Soto Cano AB.

In addition to the San Juan Field Chapter, the last few years have seen Field Chapters form in Ukraine, Poland and Italy as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Cleveland, as members sought to establish a presence in response to growing demand for engineering collaboration

More Than an Island

The success of San Juan’s Industry Day has contributed to the Field Chapter’s measurable growth in 2026. Membership has nearly doubled since the event, and interest continues to increase among both industry and government.

Leadership is looking at achieving full Post status in 2027, but in the meantime it is focused on sustaining its current growth phase through continued programming and engagement opportunities. The chapter holds fundraising events and networking activities. It has raised funds to send students to SAME’s STEM camps and organized visits to area military/federal project sites. The impact is there. The pacing is working. The future is bright.

“Let us crawl, walk, even run a little bit,” Balcazar says. “But we do have the capability.”

Learn more at https://samejax.org/SanJuanChapter.

Spotlight on Our Members

SAME’s multidisciplined membership spans the uniformed government, government civilian, private industry, academia, nonprofit, and student sectors. Through our uniquely joint environment, Society members collaborate and drive solutions for some of the toughest engineering challenges facing the A/E/C industry and our national security. Learn more about the benefits of SAME membership.