Interview with ZAPATA’s Director of Energy Services, Melvin Cline

ZAPATA: How long have you been a member of the ZAPATA team?

Cline: I began work with ZAPATA in August 2003.

ZAPATA: How did you become interested in Energy Services?

Cline: I have worked in the energy and electric utility industry for more than 35 years.  My first job after graduation from UNC Charlotte was with a large investor-owned electric utility.  I spent 27 years with the utility.  Eighteen of the 27 years were in an energy R&D group that was constantly working to develop and evaluate emerging technologies.  The projects were utility scale generally in the 1,000 MW size.

ZAPATA: What projects are you working on currently?

Cline: At the moment I am working on:

1. 30 to 40 MW Waste-to-Energy Biomass Plant for a U.S. Army client
2. Combined Heat and Power and Solar Hot Water Heating Cogeneration at a Central Energy Plant at an Army Installation
3. Parking Lot Solar Lighting Retrofit and Upgrades
4. Microgrid requirement at a large Military Post
5. 9 MW PV Farm Design-Build RFP
6. Energy Efficiency Technologies for Barracks Applications
7. Solar Hot Water Technology Evaluations
8. Solar Wall Concept Design

ZAPATA: What is your favorite project that you have been involved with at ZAPATA?

Cline: My favorite project was a coal reclaim tunnel replacement project at a NC fossil generation plant.  The project began with ZAPATA conducting a structural condition assessment of a failing corrugated metal pipe (CMP) reclaim tunnel.  The project escaladed as the tunnel was determined to be a safety hazard.  Over a period of three years, we performed the initial assessment, conducted quarterly monitoring assessments, prepared a repair design to strengthen the CMP, prepared a design to add a new reclaim tunnel, performed engineering support during construction, commissioning of the new reclaim system, and decommissioned the old CMP tunnel.

ZAPATA: What would you say has been ZAPATA’s Energy Services biggest accomplishment to date?

Cline: The work performed for Fort Bragg has been the most rewarding.  It allows us to continue evaluation of emerging technologies, primarily in the renewable energy arena, as well as provide engineering for new generation or cogeneration plants and development of energy efficiency applications.

ZAPATA: Where do you see Energy Services going in the next 10 years?

Cline: Energy is going to be a primary focus for Department of Defense, as well as in all Government facilities.  DoD is working to implement a Net Zero energy strategy.  DoD facilities must meet Net Zero energy use, Net Zero water use, and Net Zero waste to landfills goals.  This will be accomplished by third party owner/operators.  The Net Zero Initiative is largely unfunded requiring DoD facilities to be creative and innovative in financing of these projects.

Mr. Carlson has previous experience in the design of HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection systems for both the Department of Defense and commercial clients. He has a vast knowledge in the qualifications of LEED platinum, gold, silver, and certified status. He has experience with Trane Trace energy models and calculating water usage reductions. In addition, Mr. Carlson has experience in managing groups of designers.

Mr. Carlson holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In his new position, Mr. Carlson will serve as mechanical engineer in ZAPATA’s Engineering and Construction Division.

ZAPATA is a full-service engineering and field services firm that provides facilities, infrastructure, and energy services as well as environmental engineering and military munitions response services to federal and commercial clients worldwide. ZAPATA has successfully met our clients’ challenges, from Massachusetts to Chile to Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as locations in the Middle East and Africa. No matter how challenging and/or remote the project, ZAPATA can safely and efficiently execute it because of our extensive experience, technical resources, and management capability. We are totally committed to our clients’ success. At ZAPATA, we earn our clients’ Trust by conducting our business with Integrity and providing Quality products and services every day.

Ms. Seifert has previously worked at SFl+a Architects. She is an Associate AIA Member.

Ms. Seifert received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Design in Architecture, Cum Laude and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture, cum laude from North Carolina State University.

In her new position, Ms. Seifert will serve as architect. As architect Ms. Seifert will assist in the designing of projects and work in ZAPATA’s Engineering and Construction Division.

ZAPATA is a full-service engineering and field services firm that provides facilities, infrastructure, and energy services as well as environmental engineering and military munitions response services to federal and commercial clients worldwide. ZAPATA has successfully met our clients’ challenges, from Massachusetts to Chile to Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as locations in the Middle East and Africa. No matter how challenging and/or remote the project, ZAPATA can safely and efficiently execute it because of our extensive experience, technical resources, and management capability. We are totally committed to our clients’ success. At ZAPATA, we earn our clients’ Trust by conducting our business with Integrity and providing Quality products and services every day.

BY: Kim Kimzey, kim.kimzey@shj.com

Terry Farmer of Spartanburg has been mere inches away from mines, grenades and other munitions.

As an explosive ordnance disposal technician, his task was to dispose of or capture lethal devices to protect ships and service members.

Those responsibilities would rattle most people’s nerves. Farmer, however, is matter of fact and humble.

“It’s all a skilled trade,” said Farmer, a retired U.S. Navy chief warrant officer 4.

It’s a “trade” he’s done for almost 40 years, and he jokes he still has enough fingers to order five beers with one hand.

As a young man, Farmer did not envision a military career, but he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

“My mother was scared to death that I was going to go over to Vietnam and die in a foxhole,” he said.

Farmer completed basic training but later went into the Navy, where he trained in communications. That did not really “enthuse” him and there was a need for people to safely explode and dispose of bombs, so Farmer volunteered for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training.

Joining the elite group proved physically and mentally rigorous. His training took place in three phases: 10 weeks of underwater swimmer school; four weeks in army chemical munitions; and 26 weeks in EOD school.

His group started out with 17 people. Seven finished.

The diving portion of training was strenuous and tested his muscle, as well as his mind. Service members trained for a couple of hours each morning then spent time in the classroom.

After the second week, they donned scuba gear.

Instructors took the trainees to the ocean, told them to swim to the bottom with a compass and navigate a course. If they resurfaced once to get their bearings, it counted against them. Farmer recalled that you failed if you resurfaced twice.

“There were times when I called home and said, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make it.’ You know, it was tough, and I was young.”

Farmer needed mental rigor to make it through training. Those in charge tried to “psyche” out trainees, Farmer recalled.

“(An) instructor came in whom we had never seen before and said, ‘Here’s the deal. Usually by this point, we don’t have this many of you guys left in a class, and we don’t have enough outfits for all of you, so I’m going to take you out and do physical training tomorrow morning, and we’re going to train until two of you quit.’ ”

Two guys quit soon after training began.

“It really wasn’t any tougher,” he said of that day.

Asleep in the barracks, an instructor woke them, had them assume the push-up position, told them not to move then left.

“Your arms are shaking, and you’re afraid to do anything ’cause you don’t know who’s watching ’til people just finally collapse,” Farmer said.

During trying moments, Farmer thought back to his communications training. Suddenly, talking over a radio and sending teletype messages didn’t seem so bad. During those difficult periods, Farmer saw that others had gone before him and had endured the training.

EOD techs date back to World War II, when they disposed of unexploded Nazi ordnance.

“To make it through training, you have to be convinced that EOD is the only job for you,” he said. “If you are simply looking for a marketable job skill, there are many easier paths to take.”

What did his mother, who feared he might perish in a foxhole, think?

“She didn’t know what it was. The only thing she asked is, ‘Is it dangerous?’ I said, ‘Not if you know what you’re doing,’ which is the truth. I mean, it’s a skilled trade.”

Farmer “always tried to take the road less traveled.” Fewer than 200 EOD technicians were in the Navy when he finished training, Farmer said.

His military career spanned 26 years.

A “man cave” in his Spartanburg home is decorated with memorabilia, awards and decorations, including a Bronze Star with combat “V” device for valor, a Meritorious Service Medal, a Navy Commendation Medal, two Navy Achievement Medals, Combat Action Ribbon, Arctic Service Ribbon and several unit commendation and marksmanship ribbons.

Farmer’s major deployments included Operation Nimbus Moon in 1974, in which he helped clear the Suez Canal of ordnance after the war between Israel and Egypt.

He cleared sea mines in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and was awarded a Bronze Star for his “heroic achievement in connection with combat operations,” for his service as officer in charge of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit. His team disposed of or captured 39 mines in Desert Storm.

Farmer said when the group disposed of a mine, they would go underwater, place an explosive charge on the device, run a detonating cord to the surface, get back on a rubber boat, attach a time fuse, light it, leave the area and “watch it go.”

Most mines in the Persian Gulf were 130 to 140 feet in the water, he said. The depth, salinity, as well as the silt and sand kicked up by EOD techs made seeing difficult.

No matter how steeled the nerves, apprehension always crept in when approaching munitions.

The Persian Gulf is pretty barren, he said, and a mine can become an artificial reef. He once approached a mine fearful the big fish swimming around might set it off.

“The thing that’s got me through a lot of situations is thinking about all the people that have done it before me,” he said.

He laughed when asked how he maintained his composure. “It’s just what you’re trained to do. It’s not difficult.”

Farmer said he also was assigned to Secret Service duty.

When former President Richard Nixon decided he wanted to go out on the presidential yacht, it was searched, and service members swam beneath the hull to make sure there were no charges attached. Farmer said he provided protection to every president from Nixon to Bill Clinton, as well as several vice presidents and other heads of state.

He recalled President George H.W. Bush wanted to fish on New Year’s Day, when it was 22 degrees outside. As the senior guy, Farmer ordered others into the water to search the hull of the boat while he searched inside. No one informed him about the large bass in Barbara Bush’s bait well on the boat, and he felt it when he swished his hand in the well.

“They put that fish in there so they would have something to show the photographers … when they came back in off the lake in case she didn’t catch anything. But she ended up catching more fish than anybody out there,” Farmer said.

Farmer retired from the Navy in 1997 and has worked for several civilian companies and supervised the clearance of unexploded ordnance from former defense sites.

Farmer works for Zapata Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based company that “is a full service environmental, facilities, infrastructure and military munitions response firm,” according to its website. The company is under contract to perform an investigation and feasibility study at Camp Croft, beginning later in the fall. Farmer will take part in the investigation.

Retirement
After his travels around the country and world, Farmer decided to retire to the area of the country he liked best.

The Spartanburg native attended St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School, Jenkins Junior High School and Spartanburg High School. He and his wife, Ginni, have a son and recently welcomed their second granddaughter.

Don Bramblett has known Farmer since they met at Jenkins Junior High School.

“He never backed down from anything,” Bramblett said.

Bramblett considers his friend a “genuine hero” as well as a “very humble person.”

“Terry’s job in the Navy was to disarm these floating IEDs, wherever they popped up, a very dangerous job that requires high skill as well as lots of courage. You don’t hear about this type of heroism in the military, because little is written about this necessary task to keep our worldwide freedom of movement intact,” Bramblett said.

Mr. Lanoue joins ZAPATA after 26 years serving in the U.S. Air Force and 13 years consulting in the private sector. In the Air Force, he served as a bioenvironmental engineer and continued his technical support to the USAF as a highly qualified and sought after consultant.

Mr. Lanoue holds Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Occupational Technology and Bioenvironmental Engineering.

In his new position, Mr. Lanoue will serve as Senior Project Manager for ZAPATA’s Air Force Programs. Mr. Lanoue will be located in San Antonio, TX and will report to Mr. Winston Shaffer, Director of Air Force Programs He will also aide with ZAPATA’s health and safety program due to his impressive knowledge of national and international regulations.

ZAPATA is a full-service engineering and field services firm that provides facilities, infrastructure, and environmental engineering and military munitions response services to federal and commercial clients worldwide. ZAPATA has successfully met our clients’ challenges, from Massachusetts to Chile to Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as locations in the Middle East and Africa. No matter how challenging and/or remote the project, ZAPATA can safely and efficiently execute it because of our extensive experience, technical resources, and management capability. We are totally committed to our clients’ success. At ZAPATA, we earn our clients’ Trust by conducting our business with Integrity and providing Quality products and services every day.

ZAPATA President, Manuel Zapata receives the Lighthouse Beam Safety Award from BB&T Insurance Vice President James Dunville.

ZAPATA is a full-service engineering and field services firm that provides facilities, infrastructure, and environmental engineering and military munitions response services to federal and commercial clients worldwide. ZAPATA has successfully met our clients’ challenges, from Massachusetts to Chile to Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as locations in the Middle East and Africa. No matter how challenging and/or remote the project, ZAPATA can safely and efficiently execute it because of our extensive experience, technical resources, and management capability. We are totally committed to our clients’ success. At ZAPATA, we earn our clients’ Trust by conducting our business with Integrity and providing Quality products and services every day.

You may contact Marty Ray at (704) 358-8240, or mray@zapatainc.com, with any questions or for additional information.