Mr. Edward J. Hecker serves as Chief, Office of Contingency Operations and Preparedness (provisional) that integrates elements of the Corps’ offices of Military Programs G-3 and Civil Works Homeland Security into a single organization responsible for worldwide USACE missions in response to disaster events and military contingencies.
He is responsible for providing leadership in USACE efforts to assist military combatant commands, along with federal, state and local emergency management and emergency response organizations with mitigation, planning, training, and exercises necessary to build and sustain capabilities to protect from and respond to any emergency or disaster, including terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction as well as other natural or manmade hazards. His scope of responsibility also includes leadership of the Corps’ Homeland Security, emergency management community of practice and overseeing the Corps’ protection of our nation’s critical water resources infrastructure.
Mr. Hecker began his government service in the Corps’ Baltimore District office in civil project management. He then transferred to Headquarters, before moving to South Pacific Division offices in San Francisco, Calif., where he was Chief, Emergency Management for an area encompassing Calif., Nev., Ariz., Utah, and portions of Ida., Colo., and Wyo.
In October 1991, Mr. Hecker assumed the position of Chief, Readiness Branch of the Operations, Construction and Readiness Division, having responsibility for overall management of Corps disaster preparedness and response missions.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from John Hopkins University, and has earned national recognition and awards for his performance and leadership in the Corps’ response to major disasters: Tropical Storm Agnes (1972), Hurricane Hugo and the Loma Prieta earthquake (1989), Hurricane Andrew (1992), Midwest floods (1993), Sept 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina (2005).