Colonel Seth W. Wacker is the Deputy Commander of the Southwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In his position, Col. Wacker provides guidance and direction to six operating district commands. Four of these districts are within the Continental United States: The Fort Worth and Galveston Districts in Texas, the Little Rock District in Arkansas, and the Tulsa District in Oklahoma. Within the CONUS area of responsibility, the Division’s reach covers all or portions of six states—encompassing approximately 376,300 square miles, or about 10 percent of the nation’s land area—and serving roughly 36.3 million people, about 11 percent of the U.S. population.
Outside the continental United States, the Division also oversees the Middle East District, headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, and the Expeditionary District, its contingency operations asset, headquartered in Kuwait. These elements support America’s warfighters and strengthen defense partnerships across 21 nations throughout the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and the Levant.
Prior to serving at the Southwestern Division, Col. Wacker served as the Chief of Current Operations at Army Futures Command headquartered in Austin, Texas. Previously, Wacker commanded the 1-345 Brigade Engineer Battalion at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, where he trained and certified National Guard and Reserve component battalions and brigades for deployment abroad. Additional assignments include Executive Officer of the 307th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division and Detachment Commander of the 59th Forward Engineer Support Team based in the Los Angeles District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Col. Wacker’s earliest assignments included Chief of Training at the Sapper Leader Course in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Commander of the 23rd Airborne Engineer Company at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Colonel Wacker has served in a variety of foreign Army advisory roles at echelons ranging from battalion to division headquarters. He has also served two combat tours in Iraq and three combat tours in Afghanistan. Awards and decorations include four Bronze Star Medals and five Meritorious Service Medals. He is Ranger, Sapper, Air Assault, and Senior Parachutist qualified. Col. Wacker is a recipient of the Bronze De Fleury Medal for his contributions to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission abroad.
Colonel Wacker commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the Pennsylvania State University ROTC program in 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri – Rolla. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and holds a Project Management Professional Certification.