 Contact: Patricia Graesser (206) 764-3760
July 30, 2003
SEATTLE--Col. Debra M. Lewis assumed command today of the Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As district engineer, Lewis oversees military construction in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. She also manages an extensive civil works engineering and construction mission in Washington, Idaho and Montana. Her programs also include Historic Preservation of Historic Structures, and Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste cleanup.
Prior to arriving in Seattle, Lewis attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C., where she earned a master of science in national resource strategy.
Col. Lewis' experience in command and staff positions spans over 23 years. Most recently, Col. Lewis served on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon as the Engineer Senior Requirements Officer in the Deputy Directorate for Antiterrorism and Force Protection, where she supported the JCS Chairman's responsibilities for combating terrorism. Prior to that assignment, Col. Lewis served as Commander of the Philadelphia District, which oversees the Delaware River Basin. Other key jobs have included company command in the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C.; operations officer and executive officer of engineer battalions in Hawaii; Chief, Military Engineering Division, U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC), dealing with nations and U.S. territories throughout the Asia-Pacific region; and staff officer in the Congressional Activities Division of the Office of the Chief of the Staff of the Army.
Col. Lewis comes to the Seattle District uniquely qualified to serve as its first woman commander and District Engineer. A woman of many firsts, Debra Lewis is a member of the first class with women to graduate from West Point. She also was the United States Military Academy's first female captain of its highly successful intercollegiate equestrian team, the 1980 Academy Equestrian of the Year, and as an alumnus in 2000 competed for West Point at Nationals.
Col. Lewis' military education also includes Airborne School, the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, and the Army Command and General Staff College. Her post-graduate education includes an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Following Harvard, she was an original faculty member in the newly created Department of Systems Engineering at West Point, where she taught general problem solving techniques and developed systems engineering approaches to problem solving.
Col. Lewis has been recognized for her significant contributions with a variety of awards, including the Defense and Army Meritorious Service Medals, and the Army Engineer Regiment's de Fleury Medal. She earned special recognition as the Staff Officer of the Year for USARPAC and received the Stephen Girard Maritime Day Award from the Delaware River port community.
Col. Lewis is married to Lt. Col. (Ret.) Douglass Adams, an attorney. They have three children between them.
Col. Lewis took command of the Seattle District after Col. Ralph H. Graves announced his retirement. Col. Graves commanded the district since July 12, 2003.
At the change of command, Northwestern Division Commander, Brig. Gen. William T. Grisoli, presented Col. Graves with the Legion of Merit and, on behalf of the Army Engineer Association, the Silver Order of the deFleury Medal in recognition of his contributions spanning over 29 years.
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