On July 8, 2020, Brigadier General Kirk E. Gibbs became the 34th Commander and Division Engineer of the Pacific Ocean Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His previous assignment was as the Chief of Staff, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. BG Gibbs is a native of Davisville, Missouri, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and was commissioned as an Engineer officer.
As the Division Engineer, he is responsible for a mission that includes engineering design, construction and real estate management for the Army in Hawaii, Army and Air Force in Alaska, and for all Department of Defense Services and Agencies in Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Pacific Ocean Division administers the Corps’ federal water resource development program and waters and wetlands regulatory programs in Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Division program includes the multi-year $10.7 billion Korea Transformation Program and the $15.8 billion U.S.-Japan Defense Policy Review Initiative. Pacific Ocean Division also supports U.S. Pacific Command’s and U.S. Army Pacific’s Theater Security Cooperation strategies, Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Response Program, and Civil-Military Emergency Preparedness with projects throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
His previous assignments include: platoon leader and executive officer in the 91st Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas; assistant operations officer, adjutant, and company commander in the 1st Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Kansas (including deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina for SFOR-6 and to Kuwait for Intrinsic Action 01-03); staff and company trainer for the Sidewinder Team at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California; C7 senior engineer operations officer as part of the 3rd Army CFLCC Staff, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; operations officer and executive officer in the 70th Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Kansas (including a deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom 06-08 in Afghanistan); the secretary of the general staff, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C.; Commander of the 1st Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Kansas; C7 engineer for CJTF-1, 1st Infantry Division, Regional Command-East, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; assistant deputy director for operations on Operations Team 2, National Military Command Center in the Pentagon, and, the 61st Commander of the Los Angeles District of the South Pacific Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
BG Gibbs earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in 1994, a Master of Science in Engineering Management in 1998 from the Missouri Institute of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri, and a master’s in National Security Strategy from the National War College in 2013. He is also a graduate of Air Assault School in 1992, Airborne School in 1994, the Engineer Officer Basic Course in 1995, the Engineer Officer Advanced Course in 1998, and the Command and General Staff College in 2005.
BG Gibbs’ military awards include the Legion of Merit; the Bronze Star Medal; the Defense Meritorious Service Medal; the Army Meritorious Service Medal; the Army Commendation Medal; the Army Achievement Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal; and the NATO Medal.