Parrott Takes Command of Corps of Engineers Huntington District
WBOY
15 October 2013
Col. Leon Parrott took command of the Huntington District of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during a ceremony Oct. 11 at the
Cabell County Public Library in Huntington.
The ceremony was presided over by Brig. Gen. Margaret Burcham,
commanding general of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.
Parrott succeeds Steven McGugan, who was relieved of command in
August.
Parrott has served in a variety of command and staff assignments:
platoon leader and company executive officer, 94th Engineer
Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, in Darmstadt, Germany; platoon
leader with the 249th Engineer Battalion in Operation Desert
Shield/ Desert Storm; battalion construction officer 94th Engineer
Battalion, Operation Provide Comfort; battalion maintenance
officer with the 37th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade,
Fort Bragg, N.C.; assistant construction officer and operations
officer with the 416th Engineering Command in Darien, Ill.;
environmental project manager and district executive officer with
the corps' Europe District, Wiesbaden, Germany; battalion
operations and executive officer, 1st Battalion 395th Regiment
(Training Support) (EN), Fort Hood, Texas; group engineer 5th
Special Forces Group in Iraq; deputy and then chief of the
Emergency Operations Center for the Corps of Engineers in
Washington, D.C.; battalion commander, 326th Engineer Battalion,
Fort Campbell, Ky.; deputy engineer for Installations, Environment
and Civil-Military/Engineering Operations U. S. European Command
in Stuttgart, Germany; chief of engineering at the Defense
Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.; and most recently as corps
engineer of the XVIIIth Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg.
He graduated from The Citadel in 1988 with a bachelor of science
degree in civil engineering. He also holds an MBA from The
University of Phoenix and a master's degree in strategic studies
from the U.S. Army War College. His military education includes
the Engineer Officer's Basic and Advanced Courses; the Combined
Arms Service Staff School; the U.S. Army Command and General Staff
College; the U.S Army War College, the Basic Airborne and
Jumpmaster Schools, Air Assault School and Pathfinder School.
His awards include three awards of the Bronze Star Medal, the
Defense Meritorious Serve Medal, seven awards of the Meritorious
Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, three awards
of the Army Commendation Medal, two awards of the Army Achievement
Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, the
Air Assault Badge and the Pathfinder Badge.
The Huntington District is responsible for 311 miles of the Ohio
River, along with the tributary rivers and drainage basins that
flow into the Ohio River. In all, the district employs nearly 800
people and encompasses 45,000 square miles in parts of five
states, including West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and
North Carolina.
The Huntington District is also the home of two national centers:
the Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise and the
Planning Center of Expertise for Inland Navigation.