USACE North Atlantic Division commander promoted to flag officer

Posted May 12, 2010
By Public Affairs Office
Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

05/12/2010 - BALTIMORE — Army Col. Peter A. DeLuca, commander and division engineer of the North Atlantic Division (NAD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), was promoted to the rank of brigadier general May 11. The promotion ceremony was held at the home of Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp, chief of engineers and commander of USACE, located at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

"A general officer should have vision, leadership and character. DeLuca is an incredible leader in that capacity," said Van Antwerp during his opening remarks. "I want to continue to build our future and we are taking a giant step in that direction with this ceremony today."

During the ceremony, the promotion order was read, the old rank was removed and the new rank was placed on DeLuca's Army combat uniform by his family members, Tracy and Nicholas.

"This opportunity is being offered to me because of the sacrifice of American Soldiers and their families. That sacrifice is huge," said DeLuca. "I accept this on behalf of all the great people I have served with."

DeLuca became commander and division engineer of NAD on April 17, 2009. As commander, DeLuca oversees the planning, design and construction of projects to support the military, protect America's water resources and restore and enhance the environment within an 180,000-square-mile area along the Atlantic coast. This includes more than $7 billion in work to support the Base Realignment and Closure 2005 authorization. He is also responsible for a variety of division engineering and construction activities for international, federal, state and local governments and agencies in the United States and overseas, including in Europe and Africa.

USACE is one of 11 Army direct reporting units and is the world's largest public engineering, design and construction agency. Under the office of the Chief of Engineers in Washington, D.C., USACE is a worldwide network of eight divisions, 41 subordinate districts, two laboratories and one engineer research and development center providing quality, responsive engineering service. North Atlantic Division, headquartered at Fort Hamilton, N.Y., is comprised of six districts – Norfolk, Baltimore, Europe, New England, New York and Philadelphia.