The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a new lieutenant colonel among its ranks. Former Maj. Nathaniel Weander, deputy commander of the USACE New Orleans District, pinned on the rank of lieutenant colonel during a promotion ceremony held Jan. 22, 2024, at the district headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Family and friends alike attended the ceremony officiated by Col. Cullen Jones, USACE New Orleans District commander. The district commander praised Weander for the fine work the new lieutenant colonel has been performing since his assignment to the New Orleans District last year.
“Officiating the promotion of one of our great Army engineers is truly an honor for me,” said Jones. He later said of Weander, “He’s always been assessed and measures himself by the Army values and he will continue to do more so into the future. And we are excited for the Army as they get to accept Lt. Col. Weander to move forward into positions of greater responsibility and complexity leading our Army formations.”
Originally from Nebraska, Weander received his U.S. Army commission in 2008 from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has served in various engineering positions throughout his career, such as airborne sapper platoon leader and company executive officer in the 6th Engineer Battalion (Airborne) and the Headquarter Company, 2d Engineer Brigade at Fort Richardson, Alaska. He then commanded the 40th Mobility Augmentation Company as part of his assignment to the 2d Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Following that he served as a Project Engineer assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Albuquerque District, focusing on civil works and emergency management projects in the Jemez Mountain Range of northern New Mexico. He was also assigned to America’s First Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington where he served as a G-35 lead planner, the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion executive officer, and the 189th Infantry Brigade operations officer.
His deployments throughout his career include Lima, Peru in support of counter-drug operations and serving as a combat engineer advisor with the Military Advisory and Assistance Group (MAAG) Peru, as well as a tour in with USACE in Iraq, where he supported emergency repairs to the Mosul Dam.
Before his current assignment as the New Orleans District deputy commander, Weander worked at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he served as the brigade operations officer for the 189th Infantry Brigade.
Weander thanked his family for all their support during his more than 15 years serving in the Corps of Engineers, as well as the many military and civilian personnel he has worked with who helped him throughout his career.
“When you’ve been in the profession of arms for a little bit of time, you realize no one accomplishes anything by themselves,” said Weander. “Standing here today is extremely humbling, and it’s not a reflect of me – it’s a reflection of the officers, NCOs (non-commissioned officers) that built me over the last 16 years of commissioned service and the previous four years of training prior to that. And it is a representation of the thousands of enlisted men, women and professional and non-commissioned officers and Army civilians that took time to help me be successful and make me a better leader every day.”
He also noted how proud he is to be a part of Team MVN, working with many dedicated professionals at the district to help fulfill its mission.
“I had the opportunity to interview with 22 districts last year, and I wanted to come to one district – I wanted to come to this district because of what you all do every day,” said Weander. “I’m honored to know you, I’m humbled to serve with you, and I look forward to learning from you over the next couple of years.”
