Norfolk District invites public to virtual change of command ceremony July 8

Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published July 2, 2021
The Waterfield Building, located on the grounds of historic Fort Norfolk, opened in 1983 and serves as the headquarters for the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Waterfield Building, located on the grounds of historic Fort Norfolk, opened in 1983 and serves as the headquarters for the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers established a permanent presence in 1879, when Capt. Charles B. Phillips opened the U.S. Engineers Office in the city's Custom House. The Army designated the office "Norfolk District" in 1908 and, in 1923, District operations moved from the Custom House to Fort Norfolk. The Waterfield Building is named in honor of Harold H. Waterfield who began work with the District as a boatman in 1923 and rose through the ranks to become chief of the District's Survey Branch. Waterfield was a pioneer in automatic hydrographic survey systems and is credited with creating the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area, which ushered in a new age of dredged materials management.

Colonel Brian P. Hallberg.

Colonel Brian P. Hallberg.

NORFOLK, Va. – Col. Brian P. Hallberg will assume command of the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a change of command ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. July 8 at the city’s Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center.

The public may view the ceremony live on the District’s YouTube channel and Facebook page

Col. Hallberg, who graduated in 1999 from U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, succeeds Col. Patrick V. Kinsman, who has commanded the district since 2018. 

Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Tickner, commander and Division Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division, will preside over the ceremony. The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition that serves to ensure a unit and its personnel are never without official leadership. 

As commander of Norfolk District, Hallberg will manage USACE’s water resources development and navigable waterways operations for the Rappahannock, York, James and Chowan river basins, and the Chesapeake Bay coastal basin. Hallberg will also be responsible for the Corps’ military design and construction projects for Army, Army Reserve and Air Force military installations throughout Virginia.  He also will manage regulatory, environmental restoration, flood risk reduction (including hurricane and storm damage reduction) and disaster response activities.

Hallberg, a native of San Jacinto, Calif., has a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a Master of Science Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Texas A&M University. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, where he earned a master’s degree in Strategic Studies.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first established a permanent presence in Virginia on July 1, 1879, when Capt. Charles B. Phillips opened the U.S. Engineers Office in the Norfolk Custom House. The Army designated the Norfolk U.S. Engineers Office a “District” in 1908 and, in 1918, assigned its geographic boundaries. In 1923, the 27 employees of the Norfolk District moved into Fort Norfolk, an historic star fort built in 1795 to guard the Elizabeth River approach to the city. 

Today, Norfolk District is comprised of about 400 Department of the Army civilians and a small staff of Army officers who work together at the district's Fort Norfolk headquarters and at numerous field offices throughout Virginia.