SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah District welcomed a Georgia native as its new leader during a formal change of command ceremony on Friday, July 31.
Col. Robert Fairel assumed command from Col. Ron Sturgeon on Friday, July 31, 2026, during a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Telfair Museum in Savannah. Brig. Gen. Zachary Miller, commander of the Corps’ South Atlantic Division, officiated the ceremony, which also doubled as a retirement celebration for Sturgeon.
The Savannah District oversees a multi-million dollar military construction program across 11 Army and Air Force installations in Georgia and North Carolina. It also manages vital water resources throughout coastal Georgia, including maintaining the Savannah and Brunswick harbors, operating three hydroelectric dams, and administering the state’s wetland permitting program.
Meet the New Commander
Col. Fairel, a native of Rockmart, Georgia, commissioned as an Engineer Officer in 2001…