The U.S. Army recently honored Reclamation employees Bruce Muller, acting director, Technical Resources, and Cliff A. Pugh, acting chief, Water Resources Services Division, with its Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.

Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, presented Muller and Pugh with their award at a formal U.S. Army ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The Army awarded Muller the medal for his efforts as a co-lead for the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force risk and reliability analysis. He was instrumental in developing a strategy for assessing risks associated with the New Orleans Hurricane Protection System. The team, with Muller as co-lead, developed modeling that was a critical component to understand Hurricane Katrina's impact upon the system and the risk and consequences of a wide range of hurricane events.

As stated in his award, Muller "provided valuable leadership, insights and expertise from the Bureau of Reclamation where risk assessment methods have been developed for Dam Safety."

Pugh received the medal for his commitment and contribution as a member of the ASCE External Review Panel. This panel provided an independent and objective review of the work of the Hurricane Katrina Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force. Pugh served as the primary reviewer of all local hydrodynamics work conducted by the IPET.

As stated in his award, Pugh's "valuable comments and recommendations, along with his perceptive insights on factors affecting levee performance, help the IPET determine creditable and objective scientific and engineering answers that were critically needed to understand the behavior of the Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Protection System in response to Hurricane Katrina."

The Outstanding Civilian Service Award is the third highest honor the U.S. Army can bestow upon a civilian. The Army established the award in January 1959.