57th Commander of the Philadelphia District
As the 57th Commander of the Philadelphia District, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Becking commands a 500-person District. His responsibilities include dredging waterways for navigation, protecting communities from flooding and coastal storms, responding to natural and declared disasters, regulating construction in the nation’s waters and wetlands, remediating environmental hazards, restoring ecosystems, building facilities for the Army and Air Force, and providing engineering, contracting and project management services for other government agencies upon request.
Established in 1866, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District encompasses the 13,000-square-mile Delaware River Basin and the Atlantic coast from New Jersey’s Manasquan Inlet to the Delaware-Maryland line. Within its boundaries are more than eight million people in eastern Pennsylvania, western and southern New Jersey, most of Delaware, New York’s Catskills region and part of northeastern Maryland. It also includes two state capitals (Trenton, N.J., and Dover, Del.) and the Delaware River ports complex from Philadelphia and Camden (N.J.) to Wilmington (Del.).
Lieutenant Colonel Becking was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in April 1995. Prior to joining the USACE Philadelphia District, LTC Becking served as a NATO engineer operations staff officer at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Mons, Belgium.
His previous assignments include: Battalion Executive Officer, Battalion S3, Brigade S4 & Engineer, 3rd BCT, 10th Mtn Div, in Fort Drum, NY and Afghanistan; Battalion S3 and Senior Observer/Controller, 3rd Bn, 315th Regt, New Cumberland, PA; B Company Commander and Asst Div Engineer LNO, 41st Engineer Battalion, Fort Drum, NY; Battalion Maintenance Officer, 2nd Engineer Battalion, Camp Castle, Korea; and Company Executive Officer, Light Equipment Platoon Leader, and Combat Engineer Platoon Leader, 37th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, NC.
LTC Becking earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University. Among other military schools, he is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, the Infantry Captains’ Career Course, and the Engineer Officer Basic Course. He is a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is a registered PRINCE2 Practitioner.
LTC Becking’s military awards and decorations include: the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Medal, the French National Defense Medal – Silver, the Senior Parachutist Badge, the Ranger and Sapper Tabs, the Air Assault Badge, and the Bronze de Fleury Medal.