Lt. Col. Michael D. Sexton became the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Omaha District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on August 15, 2014.
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. Sexton assists the Commander in executing a $1 billion annual workload. The Omaha District manages military construction, civil works, and environmental restoration at more than 1,200 projects. The district also generates hydroelectric power at six major dams along the Missouri River and operates recreation facilities throughout the District’s region, which encompasses more than 700,000 square miles.
Lt. Col. Sexton served with the Omaha District from March 2012 to December 2012 as part of the Omaha District Systems Restoration Team, which initiated $234 million in rehabilitation projects at the six Missouri River Mainstem Dam operating projects following the flooding in 2011 with funding provided by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act signed Dec. 23, 2011, by President Barack Obama. After a one-year assignment with USACE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., he returned to the Omaha District in December 2013 as the lead Military Planner.
Lt. Col. Sexton is an Omaha native having graduated from Westside High School in 1982. He attended Army basic training in 1987 and in 1988 enrolled in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas through the simultaneous membership program as a Cadet with the 257th Transportation Company. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering in 1992 and his commission as a second lieutenant in 1993 from UNLV.
As a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, he served in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Ariz., Fort Des Moines, Iowa, Fort Riley, Kan., and Omaha, Neb. He was promoted to Major in June 2005 while serving in the U.S. Army Reserve with the 16th Facilities Engineer Team in Omaha. He was called to active duty in June 2010 with a deployment as an engineer planner with Detachment 19 of the 416th Theater Engineer Command at U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. He then deployed to Iraq as an engineer with the Office of Security Cooperation until November 2011.
In his civilian career, Sexton has worked as a project engineer, project manager and land development manager for engineering firms including PBS&J in Las Vegas, Nev., and Phoenix, Ariz.; and in Omaha, Neb., with LAN, a division of Leo A. Daly; Kirkham Michael Consulting Engineers, and RD Engineering. He is a registered Professional Civil Engineer in Arizona, Nebraska, Nevada and Kansas.
Lt. Col. Sexton completed his professional military education including Basic Training and Military Police school in 1987 at Fort McClellan, Ala., Engineer Officer Basic Course in 1993 and Engineer Officer Advanced Course in 2003 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and his Intermediate Level Education in 2009 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
His military awards include the Bronze Star, Army Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with 3 bronze oak leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star device, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hourglass “M” device and “2” device, Army Service Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Non Article 5 NATO Medal.