Lt. Col. Mark T. Martinez became the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Omaha District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on May 1, 2012.
As Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff for the Omaha District, he oversees nearly 1,300 civilian and military personnel with elements in nine states. Lt. Col. Martinez assists the Commander in executing a $1 billion annual workload. The Omaha District manages military construction, civil works, and environmental restoration at over 1,200 projects spread over 700,000 square miles. The district also generates hydroelectric power at six major dams along the Missouri River and operates recreation facilities throughout the region.
Lt. Col. Martinez came to the Omaha District from Kabul, Afghanistan where he served as the Chief Engineer for the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435. He was responsible for the planning, development and oversight of over $240M worth of critical Rule-of-Law and Detention Facility construction projects.
He started his military career as an enlisted man in 1984 with the 5th Battalion 77th Armor, Mannheim, Germany and the 249th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy), in Karlsruhe, Germany. In 1992, after redeploying from Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, he received his Commission in the Army Corps of Engineers through the Officer Candidate School (OCS), Ft. Benning, Ga. Martinez served his Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer time in the 5th Engineer Battalion, Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., and his Company Command time in the 70th Engineer Battalion, Ft. Riley, Kan. His Post-Company Command jobs included AC/RC Advisor for all the Engineer Battalions in Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands, and as a Military Engineer Advisor in Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala. After graduating from Command and General Staff College in 2006, he was assigned as the Battalion S3 (Operations) for the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division through their 15-month deployment from 2007 to 2008 in the Rashid District, Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2009, he was assigned to the Collective Training Directorate, Fort Leavenworth as the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Branch Chief until his deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom–Afghanistan in 2011.
Lt. Col. Martinez received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, Mo., and his Masters degree from Central Michigan University. His military education includes Basic Training, Ft. Dix, N.J.; Advance Individual Training (AIT), Ft. Belvoir, Va.; Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC), Baumholder, Germany; Officer Candidate School, Ft. Benning, Ga.; Engineer Officer Basic and Advance Course, Ft. Leonard Wood, MO; Airborne School, Ft. Benning, Ga.; Sapper School, Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo.; CAS3, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
His military awards include Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with 7 oak leaf clusters, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Southwest Asia Campaign Medal with three campaign stars, NATO Medal, Overseas Ribbon (4), Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal. He is also a recipient of the U.S. Army Engineer Regiment’s Bronze de Fleury Medal.