DETROIT, MI — Lt. Col. Brett Boyle recently assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, in a Change of Command ceremony. Boyle comes to Detroit after serving as a Chief Observer, Coach, and Trainer for the Protection Warfighting Function, at the Army’s Mission Command Training Program, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The district is responsible for an area which includes all of Michigan and parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana — with 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. Along with the New Lock at the Soo project, the district maintains 81 federal navigation projects including the channels joining lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair, and Erie. Much of this work is carried out through offices located in Detroit, Duluth, Minnesota, Grand Haven, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Supporting the Great Lakes Navigation System, the Detroit District, established in 1841, investigates, plans, designs, constructs, operates, and maintains congressionally authorized water resource projects related to navigation, flood control, hydropower production, and recreation. The district also provides support to tribal nations, international organizations, and other federal, state, and local government agencies. As a steward of the environment, the Detroit District exercises regulatory authority over wetlands adjacent to navigable waterways and completes ecosystem restoration projects throughout the region.

In addition, Detroit District employees support Overseas Contingency Operations and are poised to provide emergency management and disaster response services in times of crisis.

Boyle accepted command from Lt. Col. Scott Katalenich who served the district for the last two years and will serve as the Civil Engineering Program Director and an Academy Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.