Col. Jesse T. Curry joined the North Atlantic Division as its 60th commander and division engineer in July 2025 from Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he most recently served in the Pentagon on the Army Staff as the director of the Office of the Chief of Engineers and executive officer to the Chief of Engineers.
The North Atlantic Division is one of nine regions providing engineering and construction services to the nation. It is the USACE headquarters for the Northeastern United States, Europe, and Africa, with offices in Concord, Mass., New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, Va., and Wiesbaden, Germany. As division commander, Curry oversees a regional team of more than 3,700 professionals and an annual program of nearly $6 billion to plan, design and construct projects that support the military, protect America’s water resources, mitigate risk from disasters, and restore and enhance the environment. He is responsible for a mission set that includes a $1.2 billion Civil Works program, the largest Military Construction and International, Interagency and Environmental programs executed within USACE in Fiscal Year 2024, and world-class support teams including Contracting, Small Business, Real Estate, and other essential enablers.
From 2021 to 2024, he served as the commander and district engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, where he was responsible for maintaining inland navigation through 20 locks and dams, flood risk mitigation, environmental protection and restoration, natural disaster emergency response, and other civil works missions across 78,000 square miles of the upper Mississippi River Valley. During his time in command, he served as a part of the Corps of Engineers’ response to the devastating effects of the Maui wildfires.
Prior to that, he served in a variety of military assignments spanning a career of more than 27 years. His command assignments include service as the commander of 5th Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Assistance Brigade; the commander of the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division; and Commander of C Company, 70th Engineer Battalion.
He has also served in a variety of impactful staff positions, including Program Integration Branch chief for the Office of the Chief of Engineers; executive officer to the commander of the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan; executive officer to the Deputy Chief of Engineers, Operations and executive officer for the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division; project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District; team leader of a Forward Engineer Support Team – Advanced; and multiple junior officer positions with the 11th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
Through these many assignments, Curry is a veteran of multiple combat, peacekeeping, strategic deterrence, and emergency response deployments.
Curry is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advance Courses, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, Airborne and Air Assault Schools, Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College, where he earned a master’s in strategic studies.
A native of Southern Illinois, Curry earned his commission in May 1998 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. Along with his undergraduate degree and degree from the Army War College, he also earned a master’s in engineering management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Curry’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, NATO Medal, the Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Valorous Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, the Department of the Army Staff Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.