|
| ||
| Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Ruch
As the 53rd Philadelphia District Engineer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Ruch commands a 500-person engineering organization that provides national, economic and environmental security in the heart of the Northeast Corridor. His responsibilities include dredging waterways for navigation, protecting communities from flooding and coastal storms, responding to natural and declared disasters, regulating construction in the nation's waters and wetlands, remediating environmental hazards, restoring ecosystems, building facilities for the Army and Air Force, and providing engineering, contracting and project management services for other government agencies upon request. Established in 1866, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District encompasses the 13,000-square-mile Delaware River Basin and the Atlantic coast from New Jersey's Manasquan Inlet to the Delaware-Maryland line. Within its boundaries are more than eight million people in eastern Pennsylvania, western and southern New Jersey, most of Delaware, New York's Catskills region and part of northeastern Maryland. It also includes two state capitals (Trenton, N.J., and Dover, Del.) and the Delaware River ports complex from Philadelphia and Camden (N.J.) to Wilmington (Del.). LTC Ruch came to Philadelphia from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Belgium, where he served as the Senior Staff Officer for NATO Infrastructure in Crisis Response Operations dealing with operations in Afghanistan and in the Balkans. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers in 1986, Ruch began his military career with the 7th Engineer Battalion, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), at Fort Polk, Louisiana as a Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer. Follow-on assignments included Liaison Officer and Company Commander with the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Castle, Republic of Korea, and the Live Fire Engineer Trainer for the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. He then worked as an Operations Officer in the Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, before moving on to Fort Riley, Kansas as S3 of the 1st Engineer Battalion, and then of the 937th Engineer Group (Combat). LTC Ruch holds a Bachelor of Science in Geo-Environmental Science from Shippensburg University and a Master's in Engineering Management from St. Martin's College. He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses and of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His military decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Meritorious Service Medal (four oak leaf clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (three oak leaf clusters), the Army Achievement Medal and the Army Superior Unit Award. |
This is an official US Government information system for authorized use only.
|
