Lieutenant Colonel Andrew “Drew” Johannes is the Charleston District Engineer and Commander.
Johannes most recently served with NATO at the Allied Joint Force Command Naples in Naples, Italy as a Joint Staff Officer responsible for supporting Joint Targeting. Over the last 18-plus years, he has served in a variety of leadership positions and units in the Army to include the 65th Engineer Battalion, 1-4 Infantry Battalion, 84th Engineer Battalion, and 130th Engineer Brigade.
Johannes has built three forward operating bases in Afghanistan, oversaw the development of numerous troop construction projects in Hawaii, commanded two companies, advised an Iraqi Army brigade, and served as an Observer Controller at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. He has deployed on multiple combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan and served as the senior engineer for the Special Operations Joint Task Force in Afghanistan in 2015.
Johannes worked two summers as a research engineer on the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Labs in Livermore, California in 2002 and 2003 and served as a principle investigator and project manager at the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center (ERDC), Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois in 2014.
Johannes’ education includes a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from United States Military Academy, a master's in engineering management from Missouri University of Science & Technology, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering with a focus on energy storage from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is a certified Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Missouri and Project Management Professional (PMP).
His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Service Defense Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Article Five NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge, Sapper Tab, and Ranger Tab.
Johannes is originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma.