MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 6, 2004 – Col. Charles “Charlie” O. Smithers III, assumed command of the
Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a ceremony held in Memphis, Tenn., on July 13. He
succeeded Col. Jack V. Scherer, district commander since July 2001, who retired from the Army and has joined a private engineering firm in Memphis.
Prior to taking command of the Memphis District, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant
Chief of Staff, C7 (Engineer) for the Third U.S. Army, “Patton’s Own,” and Coalition Forces Land
Component Command in Atlanta, Ga. As the C7, he deployed to Kuwait and Iraq from October 2002
through July 2003 for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, where he synchronized Coalition Forces
engineering efforts across the Land Component Commander’s area of operations.
In his present assignment as Memphis District Commander and District Engineer, he is responsible
for flood control, navigation and environmental protection on 355 miles of the Mississippi River and its
tributaries, covering a 25,000 square mile area between Cairo, Ill., and Rosedale, Miss.
Smithers entered the Army in 1979 after graduation from the United States Military Academy at
West Point, N.Y. He also holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of
Technology, and a master’s degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the
Armed Forces, National Defense University. In addition, he is a graduate of the Army Command and
General Staff College.
His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star
Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf
Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Southwest Asia Service
Medal with Bronze Star, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Ranger
Tab/Parachutist Badge, the Joint Meritorious Unit and Army Superior Unit Awards.