Colonel Jesse T. Curry became Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, headquartered on Arsenal Island in Rock Island, Illinois, on July 23, 2021.
Curry earned his commission as an Engineer Officer through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Wheaton College (IL) in 1998. His first active-duty assignment was Platoon Leader of 1st Platoon, B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He also served as a Company Executive Officer, Battalion Maintenance Officer and Battalion Adjutant before attending the Engineer Officer Advanced Course and graduating from Missouri MS&T in 2003.
In late 2003, Curry joined the 70th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and served as the Assistant S3 and Assistant Brigade Engineer before taking command of an Engineer Company. After completing company command in 2006, he served as a Program Manager and Forward Engineer Support Team (FEST-A) Leader for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District.
In 2010, Curry was assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters as the Engineer Current Operations Chief before transitioning to 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne (Air Assault) to serve as the Brigade Engineer Officer and then Battalion S3 and Executive Officer of the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion (BSTB). He was then assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he served as the Current Operations Chief and then Executive Officer to the Deputy Commanding General. In September 2014, Curry served as the Executive Officer to the Commanding General of Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A) and concluded his assignment in Washington, D.C., as the Program Integration Branch Chief in the Office of the Chief of Engineers. From 2016 to 2018, Curry commanded the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion (“BLUEBABE”) at Fort Riley, Kansas, and from 2018 to 2020, he commanded the 5th Brigade Engineer Battalion (“Enabler Battalion”), 3rd SFAB at Fort Hood, Texas. Upon completion of both Battalion Commands, Curry attended and graduated from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Curry is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advance Courses, Airborne and Air Assault Schools, Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Wheaton College, a master’s degree in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is also a member of the Army Engineer Association, Society of American Military Engineers, and the Project Management Institute and has earned certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP).
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLCs), Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLCs), Army Meritorious Service Medal (5 OLCs), Army Commendation Medal (4 OLCs), Army Achievement Medal, NATO Medal, the Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Joint Meritorious Unit Award (2 OLCs), Valorous Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, the Department of the Army Staff Badge and the Combat Action Badge.
A veteran of multiple deployments to eastern Europe, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Curry is supported by his amazing wife of 23 years and five children. He was born and raised in Marissa, Illinois.