Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 16, 2026)

interview

Major General Jason E. Kelly

By Greg Trauthwein

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:

Modernizing America’s Inland Waterways

For Major General Jason E. Kelly, rebuilding America’s inland waterway infrastructure is not an abstract policy objective. It is a mission grounded in experience, urgency and national consequence.

s Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency opening navigable rivers to commerce and building infrastruc-

Operations at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (US- ture that enabled American industrial growth.

ACE), Kelly sits at the center of the federal government’s Today, the Corps maintains: 12,000 miles of inland water-

Aeffort to modernize locks, dams and navigation channels ways; 13,000 miles of Intracoastal waterways; 700 dams and that underpin the U.S. economy. His portfolio touches virtually 13,500 miles of levees; and the largest hydropower portfolio every state and territory — and nearly every American consumer. in the U.S. USACE-supported waterways move roughly 2.3 “This is one of America’s great strategic advantages,” Kelly billion tons of cargo annually. Nearly half of all U.S. consum- says of the inland waterway system. “But it’s not something er goods and 70% of imported oil rely on navigation channels we can take for granted anymore.” maintained by the Corps. An estimated 98% of overseas trade transits waterways connected to Corps infrastructure.

From Combat Arms to Civil Works Barges moving along these routes reduce highway conges-

Kelly did not begin his Army career expecting to oversee tion, lower emissions and provide one of the most cost-ef