Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Carl Strock briefs reporters in the Pentagon on the progress of Hurricane Katrina relief projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sept. 15, 2005. Strock stated that the Corps is involved in multiple, simultaneous, projects ranging from ice distribution to levee reconstruction. The Corps is pumping the floodwaters out of the City of New Orleans and is beginning to award contracts for the enormous task of debris removal along the entire affected coastal area. Strock reported that all the Gulf Coast ports are operational, though some have not yet been able to resume nighttime operations.