True story - Back in the 1990s we had a job to do on the base in Brunswick, Maine. We (the Navy construction contracting office) were building a new Army National Guard Training Facility. We ran into some unusual problems including a couple of hundred feet of buried asbestos pipeline next to the officer's barracks. We finished on time and just a little over budget (thanks to the asbestos).

At the same time the base Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office wanted to add on to the bowling alley and make it an all-in-one recreation center complete with a movie theater. Their head office gave the job to the Army Corps of Engineers who contracted it out.

It took the contractor two years to finish the job. In the process he left the bowling alleys open to the weather and ruined the wooden lanes. He built a substandard facility and it was way over budget by the time MWR accepted the job and then asked us to fix it for them.

Before then the ACE was given the job of retrofitting a hospital at the old Loring Air Force Base. The building was being used as an office building by the Defense Finance Activity. By the time they finally finished the maintenance officer swore he would resign if ACE ever was given another job at their facility again.

Bottom line - I do not believe the ACE can do it no matter how many politicians insist they can.