News Release Manager

Belk reassigned to Washington, D.C.

Published Feb. 10, 2015

VICKSBURG, MISS., February 9, 2015 – Mr. Edward E. Belk, Jr., is being reassigned by the Secretary of the Army from the position of director of Programs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division and the Mississippi River Commission in Vicksburg, Miss., to the position of chief of the Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice within the Directorate of Civil Works at Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., effective April 5, 2015.

In this position, Mr. Belk will be charged with oversight of operations and maintenance programs for the nation’s civil works infrastructure portfolio (locks, dams, levees, channels, Corps field facilities, marine fleet, etc). He is also responsible for national Corps operational programs such as hydroelectric power, public recreation, environmental restoration, wildlife management and the regulatory oversight of waterways and wetlands. He was selected by the Secretary of the Army into the Senior Executive Service in 2012. The Senior Executive Service is comprised of the men and women charged with leading the continuing transformation of government.

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Belk was the chief of Regional Business and the deputy director of Programs for the Mississippi Valley Division. Before moving to Vicksburg, he served as the deputy district engineer for Project Management in the Memphis District. He completed two tours in Iraq as the deputy for Project Management at Gulf Region North District in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as the senior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilian in the seven provinces of northern Iraq and senior advisor to the commander of Gulf Region North District, with headquarters initially in Mosul and later in Tikrit. He was also assigned to help stand up the Hurricane Protection Office in New Orleans in support of the overall Corps’ response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Other previous assignments include chief of Project Development Branch, chief of River Engineering and executive assistant to the commander in the Memphis District. Prior to joining the Corps, Belk worked in the private sector with engineering consulting firms in both Memphis, Tenn., and Little Rock, Ark.

Belk is a graduate of Christian Brothers University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1984 and a master’s degree in engineering management in 1991. He is also a 1999 graduate of the Army Management Staff College at Fort Belvoir, Va. He is a native of Desoto County, Miss.
He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Mississippi; a past president and director of the Society of American Military Engineers, Memphis Post; and a member of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honors organization. Honors and awards include the Lieutenant General J.W. Morris Civilian of the Year for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the Bronze Order of the deFleury; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; and two Meritorious Civilian Service Awards.

The Mississippi Valley Division is responsible for water resources engineering solutions in a 370,000-square-mile area, extending from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and encompassing portions of 12 states. Work is carried out by District offices located in St. Paul, Minnesota; Rock Island, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Since 1879, the seven-member presidentially appointed Mississippi River Commission has developed and matured plans for the general improvement of the Mississippi River from the Head of Passes to the Headwaters. The Mississippi River Commission brings critical engineering representation to the drainage basin, which impacts 41% of the United States and includes 1.25 million square miles, over 250 tributaries, 31 states and two Canadian provinces.


Contact
Bob Anderson
601-634-5760
cemvd-pa@usace.army.mil

Release no. 15-003