FEBRUARY 3, 2026 – In a race to reopen classrooms after Winter Storm Fern, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers power team began assessing critical power needs yesterday at eight Nashville schools. FEMA expanded its original mission assignment with a new task focused on ensuring schools have power and are safe for students to return this week.
The same temporary power team that performed power assessments and installed generatorsfor radio towers last week are taking on the school assessment mission. The team, which includes members from the USACE Tulsa District, the 249th Engineer Battalion, and an advanced contract initiative contractor, is supported by the local USACE Nashville District.
The team is currently conducting pre-installation inspections to multiple schools within Davidson County to evaluate their backup generator systems and commercial power status.
“We were tasked with assessing eight schools in Davidson County to get an idea on condition of backup generator systems and commercial power status before students are welcomed back this week,” said Adam Gaskin, deputy chief for readiness and contingency operations for the USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division and team leader for the mission. “The request came from the State of Tennessee and under Stafford Act authorities supporting Winter Storm Fern, FEMA tasked USACE to execute the request.”
The schools receiving inspections are Dan Mills Elementary, Dupont Tyler Middle, East High, East Middle, Norman Binkley Elementary, Dupont Elementary, Nashville School of Arts, and Pennington Elementary School. Six of the eight assessments were complete as of 10 a.m. Feb. 2.
Lt. Col. Guillermo Guandique, Nashville District commander, emphasized the focus on the community in the wake of snow and ice that affected the power grid.
“As America’s engineers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stands ready, working alongside the State of Tennessee to support communities when they need it most.,” he said. “After ensuring first responders could communicate, our focus immediately pivoted to the next critical need, getting children back to school safely. As the Nashville District, we are proud to support our fellow USACE teams on the ground.”
This local mission is part of a much larger national response. As an enterprise,USACE has deployed three Temporary Emergency Power Planning and Response Teams, Soldiers from the 249th Prime Power Engineer Battalion, and contractors to various locations within the Southeast and East Coast of the United States.
The partnership between USACE and the State of Tennessee leverages federal resources to support local recovery. In emergencies like this,assessments and installations will occur at critical infrastructure such as hospitals, fire stations, schools, communication towers, warming centers, and/or other state-run medical care centers.
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/About/Districts/Nashville-District/, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on X (formerly Twitter) at http://www.x.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.
Story by Noe Gonzalez
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District