Col. Andrew Baker grew up in an Army family and is originally from Portland, Maine. He assumed command of the Los Angeles District July 14, 2023, and leads more than 750 military and civilian personnel, operating in a 226,000-square-mile area of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. He is responsible for a $750-million annual budget for planning, engineering, construction, real estate, regulatory, emergency management, and environmental services for three Army and eight Air Force installations, interagency and international customers, and the nation’s water resources infrastructure in the Southwest, with a current value of assets worth $240 million.
Col. Baker’s previous operational assignments include chief of operations for Joint Task Force-Bravo at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras; commander of the 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy; and operations and executive officer of the 27th Engineer Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He also served in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and in Iraq; and as a company grade officer for the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Cavasos, Texas.
Non-operational assignments include service as the chief of operations at the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, Department of the Army; Mission Assurance Team deputy team chief at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency; aide-de-camp for the chief of engineers and commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; project manager and chief of design for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington District and as the Central America Area commander, managing projects throughout the sub-continent for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mobile District.
Col. Baker’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Action Badge, Ranger Tab, Air Assault Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, and the Army Staff Badge.
Col. Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the United States Military Academy. He holds master's degrees in national resource strategy from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, civil engineering from the University of Virginia, and engineering management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. His military education includes the Army Command and General Staff College and the Engineer Captain’s Career and Officer Basic courses. He is a registered professional engineer.
Col. Baker and his wife have two daughters.