Posted on July 21, 2025
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With Mississippi Valley Division Commander and Mississippi River Commission President Maj. Gen. Kimberly A. Peeples presiding, incoming commander, Col. John L. Morrow, assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, from outgoing commander, Col. Brian D. Sawser, during a change of command ceremony at the Crosstown Concourse Theater in Memphis, Tennessee, July 11, 2025.
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, 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.
Morrow 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 of the 4-306 BEB at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and commander of the 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 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, and the United States Military Academy, in West Point, New York.
The new district commander also served as a Saudi engineer corps advisor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a battalion executive officer for the New England Recruiting Battalion in Kittery, Maine, an engineer operations officer for the U.S. Army Central Engineer Directorate at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina, a battalion executive officer for the 5th Battalion BEB, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, commander of the 4-306 BEB in Fort Stewart, Georgia, commander of the 5th Battalion BEB; and commander of the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Morrow also deployed to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.
Morrow 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.
The Memphis District is one of 41 districts in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We are part of the Mississippi Valley Division. The Memphis District, along with the Vicksburg, New Orleans, St. Paul, Rock Island and St. Louis Districts fall under the division’s jurisdiction. The Division Headquarters is in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The district covers a 25,000 square mile area. We serve customers in portions of Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky. Our customers also include 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.
We are responsible for maintaining and improving 355 miles of the Mississippi River main channel from Cairo, Illinois, to the mouth of the White River. We also maintain over 640 miles of mainline levees along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, 10 inland harbors and 255 miles of navigation channel on the White River in Arkansas.
We are housed in several locations throughout our vast district. The district headquarters is located in the Ordell Horton Federal Building in the heart of downtown Memphis. We also have a marine maintenance, engineering and mooring facility at Ensley Engineer Yard, and field offices in Caruthersville, Missouri., Carlisle, Arkansas., and Wynne, Arkansas.
