Colonel Eli S. Adams became deputy commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, on July 17, 2025.
The Northwestern Division includes five district commands located in Portland, Oregon; Seattle and Walla Walla, Washington; Kansas City, Missouri; and Omaha, Nebraska, totaling a professional workforce of nearly 5,800. Key missions include managing the nation’s water resources infrastructure for economic growth and environmental sustainability, responding to natural disasters, supporting military installations and civilian communities, and strengthening national security.
Adams hails from Olmsted Falls, Ohio. He received his commission in 2002 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. His Army assignments include leadership and staff positions with the 84th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; U.S. Army Pacific Headquarters in Fort Shafter, Hawaii; 2nd Bn., 9th Infantry Regiment in Camp Casey, Korea; 1st Brigade Special Troops Bn., 1st Brigade Combat Team in Camp Hovey, Korea; and 15th Engineer Bn., 18th Military Police Brigade in Grafenwoehr, Germany.
His operational deployments include two tours with the 84th Engineers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and one tour supporting Operation Inherent Resolve with the Brigade Special Troops Bn., Area Support Group-Kuwait, Army Central Command. His joint assignments include J4 Logistics Directorate, U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany; and J4 Logistics Directorate, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Camp Smith, Hawaii.
He also served twice previously with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 2011 to 2013, he served as a project engineer in USACE’s Omaha District, supporting military customers and construction projects at Fort Carson, Colorado. From 2020 to 2022, he served as commander of the Buffalo District and was responsible for providing civil works and environmental remediation projects across a 38,000-square-mile area of the lower Great Lakes.
Adams holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management from West Point and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, with a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies. He is also a licensed engineer in Colorado and a certified Project Management Professional.
His military awards and decorations include the Combat Action Badge, Air Assault Badge, Bronze Star with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Army Achievement Medal. His unit awards include the Joint Meritorious Unit Award with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Army Superior Unit Award. He also has been awarded the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal.