The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, will host a change of command 1:30 p.m. July 29 at Chan Auditorium at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama.
Col. John S. Hurley will assume command from Lt. Col. Burlin L. Emery. The Deputy Chief of Engineers and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General Maj. Gen. Richard L. Stevens will preside over the traditional military ceremony.
Hurley comes to Huntsville from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Japan District, where he had been the commander since July 9, 2013.
Prior to his assignment at Japan District, Hurley served as the deputy commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Transatlantic Division, where he was responsible for numerous aspects of the division’s operations as TAD served as the lead design and construction agent for the Department of Defense in the 20 countries in the Middle East from Egypt through Pakistan. The multi-billion dollar program included military construction, contingency construction in Iraq and Afghanistan, and foreign military sales.
Hurley has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and a master’s degree in sociology from Northwestern University. The New York native is a licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri, a registered Project Management Professional and is Ranger, Airborne and Air Assault qualified.
Emery, who took command from the retiring Col. Robert J. Ruch May 13, will return to his position as the Center’s deputy commander.
Huntsville Center is a major element of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that supports Department of Defense and other government agencies worldwide. More than 900 employees from various engineering and support disciplines work at the Huntsville Center headquarters, located at 4820 University Square in Huntsville, and its offices in Omaha, Nebraska, and Alexandria, Virginia. The Center executes more than 6,000 contracts valued at $2.1 billion annually in engineering, construction and technical services in support of strategic national programs such as the design and construction of worldwide chemical weapons demilitarization facilities, Army and Air Force installation facility repair and renewal construction, national energy savings programs, nationwide environmental and ordnance remediation programs, Army medical facilities design oversight, and overseas contingency operations.
Chan Auditorium is located in the UAH Business Administration Building. Click here for the campus map. Media wishing to attend should call 256-895-1694 by close of business July 27.