Lieutenant Colonel Donald K. Lew assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District, headquartered in Detroit, MI on July 16, 2026. He comes to the District from Winchester, VA after serving two years as the Deputy District Commander for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District.
LTC Lew commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December 2009 from Purdue University ROTC. His previous assignments include: Platoon Leader of 87th Sapper Company, Executive Officer of 87th Sapper Company, and Assistant S3, 8th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas (2011-2014); Brigade Assistant S4, 20th Engineer Brigade (Airborne) (2014-2016); Company Commander, 57th Sapper Company (Airborne) (Rough Terrain), 27th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (2016-2017); and the Company Commander, Sapper Training Company in charge of Sapper Leader Course, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (2017-2018). His follow-on assignment after company command was Advanced Civil Schooling. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2018-2020) as a graduate student in the System Design and Management (SDM) program. As a Field Grade, he assessed into 75th Ranger Regiment and served as the Regimental Engineer for three years based out of Fort Benning, Georgia (2021-2024).
LTC Lew served two tours in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom as a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, and Assistant S3. He deployed numerous times with 75th Ranger Regiment as the Task Force Engineer in support of operations in multiple countries. While serving with Middle East District he had temporary duties to Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Israel.
LTC Lew’s military training includes Sapper School, Ranger School, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, Joint Engineer Operations Course, Forward Engineer Support Team Contingency Track Course, and U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is O3A Joint Qualified from time serving in 75th Ranger Regiment. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star (2), the Meritorious Service Medal (4), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (2), the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Ranger Tab, and the Sapper Tab. His foreign awards include the Gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (2), the Norwegian Foot March Badge, the Bronze German Jump Wings, and the United Kingdom Jump Wings.
LTC Lew holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, a Master’s in Business Administration from Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri, a Master’s of Science in Engineering and Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Masters of Operational Studies from Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
He is a licensed Professional Engineer from the state of Missouri, a registered Project Management Professional, a certified Facility Management Professional, a certified Sustainability Facility Professional, and earned GEOINT Professional Certification - Fundamentals. He is also Yellow Belt and Green Belt Lean Six Sigma qualified. Notably, LTC Lew is the only active-duty officer in the U.S. Army to have earned all eight-legacy technical engineer Additional Skill Identifiers (ASIs W1 through W8), covering Facilities Planner, Geospatial Leader, Professional Engineer, Degreed Engineer, Construction Project Manager, Construction Quality Assurance Officer, Energy and Environmental Officer, and Facilities Engineer.