San Juan Field Chapter Leads IGE in the Increasingly Important Caribbean Region

San Juan Field Chapter’s 2026 Industry Day brought key stakeholders together in a rapidly changing and increasingly critical region.

On a tropical spring evening at the Conquistador Hotel in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, industry professionals, government representatives, and engineers from across the mainland and the Caribbean danced to salsa music, ate fresh chicharrónes, and connected with colleagues. It was the final evening of the two-day 2026 SAME San Juan Field Chapter Industry Day, which had sold out two weeks before the opening session had even begun. National and multi-national engineering firms had secured their spaces in the exhibit hall, and the commanding general of the South Atlantic Division had spoken to the captivated audience. 

And as the music played late into the night on the final day of the packed event, Lt. Col. Patrick Balcazar, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), knew the conference had been a success. He also knew that it was close to a miracle that the conference even happened at all.

Rebirth of a Post

SAME’s Post structure allows for tailored, local impact where national security needs are the most acute. As priorities shift and landscapes evolve, Posts naturally ebb and flow, appearing where needs arise. For Puerto Rico and the San Juan Field Chapter, infrastructure needs had long been deprioritized. For over 60 years, local residents and federal officials had been at odds over the continued use of the island of Vieques as a bombing range. The eventual departure of the Navy, coupled with a Congressional building moratorium in Puerto Rico, was felt as membership in SAME, as well as many other military-affiliated associations on the island, began to decline. “There was no interest in any sort of participation in SAME,” said Balcazar.

Balcazar is a proud life member of SAME with over 45 years in the Society and is a deep believer in SAME’s mission to bring industry and government together. Without a local chapter on the Puerto Rico, Balcazar stayed involved by joining the Jacksonville Post. Despite the geographic challenges, Balcazar was an active member of the Post, eventually becoming part of its Board of Directors, but he grew frustrated working remotely to support his hometown district. “This is ridiculous that I’m doing this through Jacksonville,” he remembers thinking. “There’s enough activity here in Puerto Rico to start resuscitating the Post.”

Without an active Post on the island, there was little expertise left in federal contracting and engagement. “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 mad and said, we’ve got to get this chapter going again.”

Then in 2017, Hurricane Irma hit, leaving more than one million residents without power. When Hurricane Maria made landfall just two weeks later, it hit the island as one of the most destructive Atlantic hurricanes to ever strike Puerto Rico. The historic devastation of the storm revealed the full scope of neglect that years of deprioritizing IGE efforts had wrought. Without an active Post on the island, there was little expertise left in federal contracting and engagement. “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 mad and said, we’ve got to get this chapter going again.”

Balcazar began to slowly breathe life into the Post. Early IGE events were funded out of pocket, but the modest conferences were well attended, and relationships were strengthened with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) South Atlantic Division leadership. As USACE and other agencies planned to make substantial investments in the island as a direct result of hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean were once again on the radar, and interest in SAME began to grow.

When USACE announced the formation of a dedicated Caribbean District in 2024, Balcazar knew his efforts had paid off. The new Caribbean District was responsible for managing nearly $6 billion in recovery and construction programs.  “We basically got our own District Engineer office in our own region. That’s not saying anything bad about Jacksonville—but Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and the Virgin Islands was a bridge too far for them,” Balcazar said.  “Between the language and the distance, we just weren’t getting the attention we should have been getting.”

IGE Where It’s Needed

The success of the March event was years in the making. Balcazar and his team worked quietly and diligently to build the connections that would help revitalize the chapter. “The IGE fell into the conference,” he said. “We had enough build up with IGE that people from stateside participated to the point that we were sold out two weeks before the conference.”

By all accounts, the 2026 Industry Day was a success. The event attracted over 400 attendees, which included professionals from across the A/E/C industry and government officials representing USACE South Atlantic Division Districts, NAVFAC, SBA, USCG, and many others. The three-day event included professional panels, training, and sessions focused on doing business in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The daily schedule also featured in-depth program briefings from multiple USACE districts, and each day social events were built in to provide opportunities to network and connect with friends and colleagues.

One particular highlight was the keynote, delivered by Brig. Gen. Zachary Miller, USA, Commanding General, USACE South Atlantic Division. Miller’s presentation placed the increasing importance of engineering in Puerto Rico within the broader context of the Caribbean region’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.”  

For Balcazar, the news was welcome, but also a logical and necessary step. “We are American trained engineers, our P.E. is just as good as anywhere else in the United States,” he said, “but we do speak Spanish. That’s a capacity and capability that is sometimes overlooked when we contract in Latin America.”

Balcazar and his team are hesitant to take credit for the regional shift. “I like to think that we played a small role in convincing the commander. And that the conference helped a bit,” he added. “But you’ll have to ask him to know for sure!”

More Than an Island

USACE’s new Caribbean District’s scope covers Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Latin American countries, a feature Balcazar looks forward to highlighting in next year’s conference.

“There are really three dimensions to the district’s operating environment,” Balcazar said. “There’s the Puerto Rican piece, the Virgin Islands piece, and now this Latin American mission, which is brand new for the Caribbean District.”

Since the Industry Day event, chapter membership has nearly doubled. The feedback from Society leadership and attendees has been glowing, and Balcazar anticipates attendees will come back in greater numbers next year. The chapter is looking ahead, with the goal of full Post status by 2027. In the meantime, Balcazar promises an increased presence at JETC and SBC, and even toys with the idea of hosting a national event in Puerto Rico.

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

Read the USACE Caribbean District article about the 2026 SAME San Juan Field Chapter Industry Day event.

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