Col. Marvin L. Griffin will take command of the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, from Col. Thomas J. Tickner in a formal ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday.
Brig. Gen. C. David Turner, commander of the Corps of Engineers’ South Atlantic Division, will officiate at the formal change-of-command ceremony in the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Griffin comes to Savannah from a Senior Service College Fellowship with the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellowship Program.
Previous assignments including deployments to Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom and to Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo. He has served as an instructor and assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, United States Military Academy at West Point where he also earned his bachelor’s degree and commission.
Griffin previously served in the Corps of Engineers as the deputy commander of the Little Rock District in Arkansas.
Tickner took command of the Savannah district in July 2013. He will next be deployed to Afghanistan.
During his tenure in command, Tickner oversaw completion of Project Partnership Agreement between the state of Georgia and the Corps of Engineers outlining funding for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.
He also oversaw the beginning of construction of the Savannah harbor deepening.
Previous assignments include serving as the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. In addition, Tickner has served in various military assignments including a deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He has served in the Sacramento District and commanded the Philadelphia District in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Savannah District maintains the deep water harbors in Savannah and Brunswick and leads the effort to deepen the Savannah harbor. The district also manages a multi-million dollar military construction program at 11 Army and Air Force installations in Georgia and North Carolina and oversees water resources and development activities in Georgia and portions of South Carolina.
In addition, the district oversees civil projects including dams and lakes Hartwell, Russell and Thurmond on the Georgia-South Carolina border and environmental and regulatory permits for Georgia. The district traces its heritage in Savannah to 1829.