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COL
Vernie L. Reichling Jr.
Commander, Memphis District
Col. Vernie L. Reichling Jr., took command of
the Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, July 9, 2010, following an assignment
at Headquarters, Department of the Army where he
served as the Division Chief for Leader
Development in the G-3/5/7. Col. Reichling
graduated from the Virginia Military Institute
in 1987 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in
Civil Engineering and was commissioned as an
Engineer Officer.
As Memphis District Commander, he is responsible
for flood risk management, navigation,
environmental stewardship, emergency operations,
other authorized civil works, and work for
others along 610 miles of the Mississippi and
White Rivers, encompassing a 25,000 square mile
area in six states — Illinois, Missouri,
Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
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Upon graduating from the Engineer Officer Basic
Course, he was assigned to the 307th Engineer
Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division where he
served as a Platoon Leader and led his platoon
in the initial parachute assault into Panama
during Operation Just Cause. He also served as a
Company Executive Officer, deploying to support
Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in
Southwest Asia.
After completing the Engineer Officer Advance
Course, he was assigned to the 23rd Engineer
Battalion, 1st Armored Division in Friedberg,
Germany where he served as the Battalion
Maintenance Officer and later, Commander of
Company C. He was selected as the Aide-de-Camp
to the Commanding General of the 1st Armored
Division, where he deployed as part of the
Implementation Force (IFOR) for Operation Joint
Endeavor in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
After earning a master of science degree in
Architectural Engineering from the University of
Kansas and graduating from the Army Command and
General Staff College, Col. Reichling was
assigned to the 937th Engineer Group at Fort
Riley, Kan., where he served as the Adjutant. He
then was assigned to the 70th Engineer
Battalion, 1st Armored Division and served as
the Battalion Operations and Executive Officer.
Col. Reichling was next assigned to
Headquarters, United States Army Corps of
Engineers in Washington, D.C., where he served
as the Secretary of the General Staff and as the
Special Assistant to the Commanding General and
Chief of Engineers. He then served as the
Installation Branch Chief, Office of the Chief
of Engineers in the Pentagon.
On May 15, 2006, Col. Reichling assumed command
of the 70th Engineer Battalion "KODIAKS" at Fort
Riley, Kan. After ten months of training, he
deployed the battalion to Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom 06-08. For 15 months,
Task Force Kodiak conducted route and area
clearance missions, cleared more than 100,000
kilometers of roads, located more than 300
Improvised Explosive Devices and cleared more
than 2.7 million square meters in and around
Bagram Airfield. For its service the battalion
earned the Meritorious Unit Citation and Combat
Action Streamer.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze
Star (2nd Award), the Meritorious Service Medal
(5th Award), the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal with Arrowhead Device, the NATO Medal (2nd
Award), the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab
and the Senior Parachutist Badge with Combat
Jump Star.
This page last updated:
02/15/12
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