Colonel Kenneth P. Rockwell

Commander and District Engineer

CELRC
Published Sept. 18, 2020

Colonel Kenneth Rockwell serves as the Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Chicago District where he is responsible for water resources development in the Chicago metropolitan area, upper Illinois River watershed, Lake Michigan watershed in Wisconsin and the upper Wabash River watershed In Indiana – an area of about 31,500 square miles.

The District delivers vital engineering services through flood and coastal storm risk management, navigation, aquatic ecosystem restoration, regulatory, emergency management, recreation and interagency support services.

Prior to assuming command of the Chicago District, Colonel Rockwell served as the Command Facilities Engineer for U.S. Army North, and as the Senior Mission Commander’s Engineer on Joint Base San Antonio. Colonel Rockwell’s last command position was as the Battalion Commander of the 27th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), a combat engineer battalion comprised of six companies and over 850 Soldiers.

Colonel Rockwell was commissioned into the United States Army as an engineer lieutenant in 1999 after graduation from Texas A&M University. Throughout his 23-year career, Colonel Rockwell has served at all levels in the Army from platoon to theater Army. Prior to his assignment as the 27th Engineer Battalion Commander, Colonel Rockwell served as the Deputy Corps Engineer at Fort Bragg, NC; as a Battalion Executive Officer and Operations Officer at Fort Belvoir, VA; as a Stability and Transition Team Chief at Fort Carson, CO; as a Company Commander at Fort Hood, TX; and as a Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer at Fort Bragg, NC.

Colonel Rockwell has deployed five times: to Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Watch in 2000; to Iraq in 2003 and in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; to Iraq for a third time in 2010 in support of Operation New Dawn; and to Kuwait in 2016 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Colonel Rockwell has held three broadening assignments. In 2013, he worked at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Commanding General, where he participated in hurricane response and recovery operations following Hurricane Sandy. In 2015, Colonel Rockwell was assigned to the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as an Interagency Fellow, where he was instrumental in shaping inter-departmental policy between the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice. In 2019, Colonel Rockwell served as the Executive Officer to the Commanding General for US Army North.

Colonel Rockwell holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, a Master of Business Administration also from Texas A&M University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is a graduate of the Engineer Officers Basic Course, the Infantry Advance Officers Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.

Colonel Rockwell’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, and three Army Achievement Medals. He also earned the Master Parachutist Badge, the Combat Action Badge, and is the recipient of the Bronze order of the de Fluery Medal.