Army Corps of Engineers Riley promoted from civil works director to deputy chief

Maj. Gen. Don T. Riley has been promoted to be the Army's deputy chief of engineers and the Corps of Engineers' deputy commander, the Defense Dept. said Jan. 7. Riley has been the Corps' director of civil works since July 2004.

Riley will succeed Maj. Gen. Ronald Johnson as the Corps' second-ranking officer. A new civil works director has not yet been announced. A Corps spokesman says there also has been no announcement about Johnson's plans.

Riley "is far and away, in my view, the best choice for that job," says John Doyle, Waterways Council Inc. vice president for government relations. Doyle notes that Riley has had experience in both the military and civilian sides of Corps' operations.

Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp Jr. remains the Corps' commander. He assumed the post last May.

The Army also named Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh to lead the Corps' Mississippi Valley Division, based in Vicksburg, Miss., DOD said. Walsh will succeed Brig. Gen. Robert Crear, who is expected to retire. Crear has headed the division since June 2004.

Walsh was commander of the Corps' Gulf Region Division, based in Baghdad, from October 2006 to October 2007. He had led the South Atlantic Division from June 2004 to September 2006.