...relationship between the Air Force and the Corps was so bad that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper had made noises about bringing more of the construction back to the Air Force. Flowers, when he was chief of engineers for the Corps, says the head of the military construction committee of the House of Representatives called him in. Flowers was told, "The Air Force would rather work with the devil than work with the Corps." Flowers is now CEO of HNTB Federal Services Corp., Washington, D.C.

One reason for the rift was "the Air Force and the Corps had not gotten together at the headquarters level to compare the projects," Flowers says. Now the top brass at the Air Force, Corps and NAVFAC meet regularly to discuss joint plans. "If they were not engaged, it would not be the first thing on all of our plates," says Col Andy Scrafford, chief of the engineering division of the Office of the Air Force Civil Engineer, Washington, D.C.

Burns and Firman began issuing a report card-like "Agent Scorecard" to the Corps and NAVFAC. "General Fox takes it to all of the divisions now," says Firman. Fox says, "They're pretty sensitive about me giving them a score card….I didn't do it as a poke in the eye; this is a tool." In September, Fox told NAVFAC Commander Adm. Michael K. Loose and Corps Commander Maj. Gen. Carl A. Strock, "I graded myself too and I didn't grade out any better than you did." Brig. Gen. Bo Temple, commander of the Corps' North Atlantic Division, Brooklyn, N.Y., says, "I don't mind. Because of the use of these metrics, our performance will continue to improve."

ACC is taking its scorecard to the private sector in 2005. That shouldn't surprise those providers. "It's a performance-based organization - if you don't perform, you don't work," says Michael Baker Corp.'s Allen.

Burns, along with being demanding, is an energetic, outgoing, ultra competitive mechanical engineer educated at the University of Wyoming and University of Southern California. People describe him as visionary, brilliant, innovative, driven and quirky. "He's astonishing to be around…very, very brilliant," says PBS&J's Kost. "He might be one of the best thinkers I've ever met," adds Parker.

Music is Burns' passion. He plays 1970s songs on his midnight blue Fender Stratocaster that he bought on eBay. He also uses eBay to sell some of his 1,200 antique tools, down from 2,000. Whichever of the 150-plus alphabetized CDs he has playing in his office on any given day - from country to classic rock to Cheyenne Indian flute music - is so loud it rattles the walls of the office above.

Firman is a gritty and talented 30-year construction industry veteran. "He is a great balancing act [for Burns]. His calm demeanor really hides what is a burning fire to leave things much better than he found them," says Parker.

Burns takes competing very seriously, whether it's a game of "Crud," a chaotic Air Force game played on a pool table, or shoulder pressing 225 pounds 10 times at the gym. "He's always testing people. He'll ask our guys to put their arms out, hold glasses of water and see how long they can hold them," says Kost. Burns "is the most competitive person I've ever met in my life," he adds. "I think that's why they're doing so good."