NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 14, 2022) – There are more than 700 employees that support missions at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District. Some of them work alongside family members or are following in the footsteps of their parents because they get job satisfaction from supporting projects that are meaningful and important to the region and nation.
An example of this selfless service involves the Traughber family, which has served in various capacities for more than two decades in support of navigation projects on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.
In the 2000s there were five Traughbers in the Nashville District. Johnny, who has already retired from service, and his brother Jacob Traughber, lock and dam operator at Old Hickory Lock in Old Hickory, Tennessee; and their cousins Joseph, lock and dam operator at Cheatham Lock in Ashland City, Tennessee; and his brother Owen, lead marine information specialist at the Nashville District Headquarters, have more than 80 years of combined federal service. Another cousin John Wayne also worked a few years with the district.
Johnny, Jacob, Owen and Joseph all grew up together working on the family farm in Tennessee with their fathers that instilled the value of hard work, honesty and integrity, character traits that have served them all well over the years in the Corps of Engineers.
“Our families taught us to have a strong work ethic, always be honest, treat others fairly, and always do a honest day’s work for a honest day’s pay,” Joseph said. “And we have always tried to apply that to our careers.”
The three Traughbers currently working for the Nashville District have been serving navigation interests and are making a career of it. Owen came onboard in April 2000, followed by Jacob in May 2001, and Joseph in June 2001.
Owen said the Traughbers have rarely worked together. But they occasionally came together on the same job sites earlier in their careers during dewatering of navigation locks for maintenance. Those were fun experiences, but over the years they have taken on other jobs with increased responsibilities, he noted.
“What made the job turn into a career was the great people and being a part of maintaining our nation’s infrastructure projects. Our grandchildren can pass stories down that we worked on the historical projects that are in the district,” Owen said.
Federal employees currently enjoy work/life enrichments that include flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home, and loved ones. They also enjoy pay and leave allowances, including paid federal holidays, training opportunities, and access to retirement, health, and survivor benefits.
Joseph, who has held positions as a maintenance technician and dam equipment mechanic, said that while pay and benefits are certainly aspects of having job security, he appreciates other aspects of working for the Corps of Engineers, like predictable schedules, and being able to assist and interact with the public and stakeholders.
“When I was on my normal shift, I enjoyed the flexibility of my maintenance days and operating days, and being able to line up with my family life outside of work,” Joseph explained.
Owen said before he joined the Corps of Engineers, he used his degree in electronics engineering as a digital specialist with a local office equipment company in Nashville. He wanted to be a part of something greater and joined the Corps of Engineers as a deck hand with the repair fleet. He then moved over to the Navigation Channels Section and began learning how to survey and map the district’s 1,175 nautical miles of navigable waterways.
“I wanted to experience something different and new,” Owen said. “There’s always something different happening. I get to map all sections of our river systems. Over my career I have been fortunate enough to have worked on every lock in the district and surveyed every commercial navigation nautical mile of our rivers. I also enjoyed being able to help stakeholders, our people in the field, and the general public.”
Nashville District’s Navigation Branch, comprised of the Channels Section, Maintenance Section, and the Locks Section, is responsible for maintaining 14 navigation locks and navigable river channels on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. These waterways are known as the “Twin Rivers” because their paths closely mirror each other. The “Twin Rivers” represent 10 percent of the U.S. Inland Waterway System.
