John Morrow takes command of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District

In a Change of Command Ceremony held on July 11, at the Crosstown Concourse Theater in Memphis, Col. John L. Morrow assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District. Mississippi Valley Division Commander and Mississippi River Commission President Maj. Gen. Kimberly A. Peeples presided over the ceremony.

The change of command ceremony is a military tradition that formally signifies the transfer of authority and responsibility from one commanding officer to another, symbolized through the passing of the unit’s colors or flag.

In his new role as commander of the Memphis District, Col. Morrow is responsible for flood damage reduction, navigation, environmental stewardship, emergency operations, other authorized civil works, and work for others along 610 miles of the Mississippi and White Rivers, encompassing a 25,000 square mile area in six states: Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He leads the district in serving and managing effective partnerships with 100 flood control districts, water resource and wildlife agencies from six states, four Port Commissions, the Lower Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association, as well as eight Congressional Districts and 12 Senators.

Morrow entered the U.S. Army in 1997 as a Vietnamese Linguist and received his commission as an Engineer Officer from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School in 2001. His previous commands include 5th Battalion BEB, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Commander, 4-306 BEB, Fort Stewart, Georgia, Commander, 5th Battalion BEB, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade.

Morrow’s previous assignments include Vietnamese Linguist, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, Camp Smith, Hawaii; Combat Engineer Platoon Leader, 44th Engineer Battalion, Camp Howze, South Korea; Engineer One Station Unit Training Company Executive Officer and twice a Commander in the 35th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Iraqi Division Engineer Advisor, Military Training Team, Baghdad, Iraq; Instructor and Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York; Saudi Engineer Corps Advisor, United States Military Training Mission, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Battalion Executive Officer, New England Recruiting Battalion, Kittery, Maine; Engineer Operations Officer, Engineer Directorate, U.S. Army Central, Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, South Carolina; Battalion Executive Officer, 5th Battalion BEB, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Commander, 4-306 BEB, Fort Stewart, Georgia, Commander, 5th Battalion BEB, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade.

Morrow served one deployment each in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the Primary Leadership Development Course, Officer Candidate School, Engineer Officer Basic Course, Engineer Captains Career Course, Command and General Staff College, U.S. Army War College, Naval Scuba Diver Course, Airborne School, Air Assault School, the Basic Instructor Training Course, and the Military Advisor Training Academy. Morrow earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Asbury University and a Master of Science degree in Geography from The Pennsylvania State University. He also earned a Master of Military Art and Science degree in Conflict, Security, and Development from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.