At a Ballard District Council meeting in April, Colonel Anthony Wright announced that he'd be retiring soon after serving three years as the commander of the Seattle District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and residing in the Colonel's Residence in the Chittenden Locks park grounds.

As of Friday, July 29, Wright has been replaced by Col Bruce A. Estok.

From the press release:

Estok will oversee military construction in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. He also manages an extensive civil works engineering and construction mission in Washington, Idaho and Montana.  His programs also include Historic Preservation of Historic Structures, and Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste cleanup.  Seattle District manages half a billion dollars worth of work annually with a workforce of more than 900 employees.

Colonel Estok joins the Seattle District after a year as a National Security Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. 

Prior assignments include:  2008-2010 Engineer Plans and Operations Chief for U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii, and Commander and District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District from 2006-2008; 2004 – 2006 Construction Division Chief, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 2003-2004 Operations Officer, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom; 2002-2003 Operations Officer, 44th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Howze, Republic of Korea; 1999-2001 Project Engineer and Military Resident Engineer, Corps of Engineers Louisville District, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; 1994-1997 Assistant Division Engineer Liaison Officer and Company Commander, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 1990-1993 Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer, 3rd Engineer Battalion, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia with deployment for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Colonel Estok earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1989, and a Civil Engineering Master of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998.  He attended Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama and received a Master of Military Arts and Science in 2002.  He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and is a Professional Engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Colonel Estok’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (fifth Oak Leaf Cluster), the Army Commendation Medal (fifth Oak Leaf Cluster), the Army Achievement Medal (first Oak Leaf Cluster), the Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Air Assault and Master Parachutist Badges, the Ranger Tab, the Combat Action Badge, and service awards from Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.

Colonel Estok is married with two children.