First Air Force Officer Takes Command of Army Engineer Corps District

Multi-National Force - Iraq ^ | Alicia Embrey

[SandRat]

Gulf Region Division commander, Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre (left), passes the flag to Gulf Region South District commander, Air Force Col. Jeffry Knippel, during the historic July 9 change-of-command ceremony while outgoing commander, Col. John Drolet looks on. Knippel is the first Air Force officer to command a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ district. (GRD photo)

TALLIL — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Gulf Region Division (GRD) in Iraq made history July 9, when Col. Jack Drolet relinquished command of the USACE's Gulf Region South (GRS) district to Col. Jeffry D. Knippel, the first U.S. Air Force officer to ever command an Army Engineer district.

GRD Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Michael R. Eyre, presided over the one-hour ceremony here in the Post Chapel of Contingency Operating Base Adder.

Knippel is the 7th south district commander and is responsible for providing engineering and construction management services for GRD’s largest geographic area. The district currently manages 146 construction projects totaling $688 million throughout the nine southern provinces of Iraq (64,000 square miles).

“Napoleon declared that ‘nothing is so important in war as an undivided command.’ I believe there is an incredible opportunity here for us to strengthen the bonds within our joint command and I am confident that this outstanding leader from one of our sister services is the person for the job,” said Eyre. “Col. Knippel is one of the Air Force’s finest engineer officers and it is our great fortune that he is joining us.”

As he accepted command of GRS, Knippel said, “I pledge to uphold the strongest traditions of the military engineer that are indicative of both of our services. GRS will continue to live up to the proud traditions of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.”

Drolet, the outgoing GRS commander, built a joint organization of nearly 600 people which significantly improved the lives of the Iraqi people and provided an economic foundation for long-term growth, Eyre said during his remarks about the commander who had served since July 14, 2008. “You and your team helped pave the road to democracy for the citizens of Iraq. With your guidance, the GRS team successfully planned and executed more than two hundred projects valued at $3.4 billion,” he said.        

Knippel comes to GRS from the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE), Brooks-City Base, Texas, where he served as the chief, Contingency Construction Division. During his tenure with AFCEE, he was responsible for construction management of the Air Force’s $700 million military construction program in the Central Command area of responsibility and for construction execution of a $1.8 billion joint and host nation construction program also in the CENTCOM AOR.

[SandRat]

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