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News
Norfolk Army engineer district changes leaders
June 3, 2009
By Jerry Rogers,
Norfolk District Public Affairs Office
NORFOLK, Va.—Colonel Andrew Backus will assume command of Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, from Col. Dionysios Anninos, in a Change of Command ceremony at Norfolk's Chrysler Museum, June 12.
Backus, who recently completed the Army's Leadership and Management National Security Fellow at Harvard University, previously served as a human resources manager in the Senior Leader Development Office, Army Staff, the Pentagon. Anninos leaves to serve as the commander, USACE Gulf Region Central District, located in Baghdad, Iraq.
As Norfolk District Commander, Backus will manage the Corps' water resources development and navigable waterways operations for five river basins in the Commonwealth of Virginia: the Rappahannock, York, James and Chowan rivers and the Chesapeake Bay coastal basin. Backus will also be responsible for the Corps' military design and construction projects for Army, Army Reserve, Air Force and Defense Department military installations throughout the Commonwealth. He also will manage the Corps' regulatory, environmental restoration, flood risk management (including hurricane and storm damage reduction) and disaster response activities, as well as provide engineering support to our nation's overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Backus was born in Cambridge, Mass. and raised in Wilton, Maine. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1988 and, in 1999, earned a Master of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Washington. His other military education includes the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses and the Command and General Staff College. Backus is a registered Professional Engineer.
Backus' key military assignments include three tours of duty, including command, of the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) — the Army's only prime power engineer unit. His unit conducted continuous operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan to support electrical power for coalition base camps. It also responded to numerous disaster events in the United States, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the U.S. Gulf Coast as part of USACE's role in the nation's emergency response plan.
Colonel Backus' other assignments include command of an engineer unit with 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.; service on a joint task force to restore electrical power to Baghdad, following the Iraq invasion in 2003; and duty as executive officer to the USACE Deputy Commanding General in Washington D.C. He commanded companies in the 249th and 14th Engineer Battalions at Fort Lewis, Wash., where he deployed to fight forest fires in the Pacific Northwest.
Backus began his military career with the 6th Engineer Battalion in Alaska, serving as platoon leader and then company executive officer, with deployments to Japan, the Joint Readiness Training Center and the National Training Center.
His military decorations feature the Bronze Star Medal (with oak leaf cluster); Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (with five oak leaf clusters); Army Commendation Medal (with oak leaf cluster); Army Achievement Medal (with two oak leaf clusters); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal (three awards); the Ranger tab; the Sapper tab; and the Parachutist Badge.