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Col. Colloton assumes command of Corps’ Los Angeles District

Published July 11, 2013
Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

LOS ANGELES—Col. Kimberly Colloton assumed responsibilities as the 60th Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District during a formal change of command ceremony held July 11 at the Eagle’s Nest Club House in Cypress, Calif.

Col. Andrew Turner, commander of the Corps’ South Pacific Division, placed the Corps of Engineers flag into Colloton’s hands at the ceremony. In military tradition, passing the flag represents the transfer of command.

“Army changes of command remind us that for every leader, there is a season,” Turner said, “and that every leadership transition reminds us to balance things like continuity, change and renewals. Our chief of engineers charges us on a daily basis to build on enduring and lasting relationships.”

Outgoing commander and district engineer, Col. Mark Toy, participated in the ceremony and was recognized for his many achievements during his three-year tour of duty in Los Angeles.

Established in 1898, the Los Angeles District provides civil works and military engineering support to a 226,000 square mile area of Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. The District has a current annual budget of about $352 million for civil works projects, military construction, and interagency and international support.

In her remarks, Colloton spoke about the priorities on which she will focus as commander.

“I believe it is imperative for us to deliver on our commitments and produce value-added projects and studies for our partners on behalf of the nation which has entrusted us with this responsibility,” she said. “We will complete the work we set out to do and we will always take care of people by maintaining a trained and ready force and an environment that fosters respect, discipline and fiscal stewardship.”

Projects include reducing the risk of flood damage along the Santa Ana River Mainstem, such as the modification of Prado Dam in Corona, and other waterways; environmental restoration projects such as the revitalization of the Los Angeles River; shoreline restoration and protection projects from Morro Bay to the border with Mexico; and maintenance of navigation channels at more than a dozen commercial and recreational harbors along the California coast, among them the massive ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together represent 40 percent of all U.S. trade by volume.

Military construction projects at 11 installations in California, Arizona and Nevada include family housing, barracks and operations facilities. The District also provides engineering design and construction support to agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the International Boundary and Water Commission, among others.

Prior to assuming command of the Los Angeles District, Colloton attended the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, the modern day successor to the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

The colonel, a native of Albany, N.Y., graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Architecture and Building Science then obtained a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. She earned a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School.

During her career, Colloton has been High Desert Area Officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, to include a deployment to Iraq in 2003 with the South Pacific Division Forward Engineer Support Team; Executive Officer and Operations Officer in the 84th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, to include deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom; a fellow with RAND Arroyo Center, the Army’s federally funded research development center in Santa Monica, Calif.; and, commander of the Albuquerque District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 2008 to 2010.