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Omaha District welcomes new commander Col. John L. Hudson

Published July 26, 2017
Maj. Gen. Scott Spellmon passes the district colors to Col. John Hudson, officially charging him with the responsibility of the USACE Omaha District Commander.

Maj. Gen. Scott Spellmon passes the district colors to Col. John Hudson, officially charging him with the responsibility of the USACE Omaha District Commander.

Col. John Hudson gives his first speech as the new commander.

Col. John Hudson addresses for the first time the Omaha District as its new commander.

OMAHA, Neb.- Col. John L. Hudson assumed command of the Omaha District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, during a change of command ceremony held in downtown Omaha, this afternoon.  As part of the ceremony, the district recognized and thanked outgoing commander, Col. John W. Henderson.

As District Commander, Hudson oversees an annual program of more than $1 billion spread over 1,200 military construction projects in eight states, civil works projects in nine states, and environmental restoration projects in 41 states.  

Hudson assumes command of the District after completing a graduate degree from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School in National Security and Resource Management.  He comes to the District with USACE experience.  He previously served as the Executive Officer for the Chief of Engineers, USACE and as the Commander of the Nashville District, USACE, where he managed the water resources development and navigable waterways operations for the Cumberland and Tennessee River basins.  

Previous assignments included Lead Engineer, Joint Contingency Acquisition Support Office, Defense Logistics Agency, at Fort Belvoir, VA and Executive Officer in the 9th Engineer Battalion, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Schweinfurt, Germany. While there, he deployed with the battalion to Iraq in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM 08-10.

Hudson’s awards and decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Five Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Five Army Commendation Medals, Two Army Achievement Medals, Combat Action Badge, Ranger Tab and Parachutist Badge.  

Hudson earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri of Science and Technology, and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering (Structural) at the University of Kansas. His military education includes the Army Command and General Staff College, Combined Arms and Staff Services School, and the Engineer Officer Advanced and Basic Courses. He is also a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas.

Henderson retires after 23 years of uniformed service in the United States Army.  He spent the past two years as the Omaha District Commander and has made a strong impact on many of the District’s major projects, to include:  the new U.S. STRATCOM Command and Control Facility, the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, the 4TH Combat Aviation Brigade on Fort Carson, Colorado, and the regulatory and civil works requirements throughout the upper mid-west. 

“Both of these men are strategic thinkers, strategic leaders and both have done a phenomenal job wherever they have served,” said Maj. Gen Scott A. Spellmon, Northwestern Division commander, who hosted the event to more than 500 local employees, family members, invited guests and stakeholders.

The Omaha District, a member of the local community since 1934, is a regular and significant contributor to not only the Omaha area, but the upper Midwest region as well.  In fiscal year 2016 alone, total expenditures on new contracts, support services and leases contributed approximately $1.51 billion regionally, this year’s program is once again on track to finish north of $1.2 billion regionally.  As one of Omaha’s largest government agencies, the District has more than 850 employees with an average annual salary of $75,687, contributing more than $60,000,000 to the local economy.  An additional 425 employees work across 60 offices located throughout the Missouri River Basin.

Omaha is a full-service district delivering a wide array of multidisciplinary services in military construction, civil works and environmental restoration.  Additionally, there are eight centers of excellence unique to the Omaha District including fuels, transportation, access control points, protective design, interior design and military munitions design center supporting agencies and businesses both nationally and internationally.   

Some of the other services offered by the Omaha District are:

  • Federal civil works activities including administration of the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulatory program in the upper Missouri River basin

  • Engineering design and construction for the Army and Air Force in eight Mountain and Upper Midwest states

  • Hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste cleanup: restoring the environment for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Defense at sites throughout the United States

  • Reimbursable program support to a diverse group of Federal partners addressing civil, military, and environmental support arenas

  • Delivery of Real Estate products and services supporting all assigned missions and other Federal agencies

District team members are also active and contributing members in their local communities throughout the region. Locally, district members participated in activities such as Operation Santa, Brush Up! Nebraska Paint-a-Thon, fund raising for the Combined Federal Campaign, Bald Eagle Days, National Engineers Week, and Water Safety education at events such as the Missouri River Expo and World O! Water.  Additionally, the Omaha District is an active sponsor of the National Society of Black Engineers as well as the Society of American Military Engineers Mentoring Program as part of STEM outreach program.

The District has more than 83 years of distinguished service marked by engineering excellence, outstanding technical support, and superb multi-disciplinary services. Some of our ongoing projects date back more than fifty years and contribute to the history of our country.  Cheyenne Mountain, located in Colorado Springs, once held North American Aerospace Defense Command, and is still utilized today for military operations.  Additionally, The Omaha District decommissions missile sites and cold war bases across the U.S. and maintains several dams on the Missouri River.  The district also performs flood risk mitigation throughout the Missouri River Basin to minimize the threat of flooding to those who reside there.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District has earned an exceptional reputation for overall engineering excellence, outstanding technical support, and superb execution across quality engineering solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner, through collaboration with our partners, to secure our Nation, energize our economy, reduce disaster risk, protect our environment, and manage our water. The District is committed to working with small businesses. 


Contact
Thomas A. O'Hara
402-995-2417
dll-cenwo-pao@usace.army.mil

Release no. 17-070