Lieutenant General Robert L. “Van” Van Antwerp was appointed the U.S Army Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S Army Corps Engineers (USACE) on May 18, 2007. Van Antwerp graduated from the U.S Military Academy at West Point in 1972. He received a Masters of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration degree from Long Island University in New York. Van Antwerp was also commander of the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center and Fort Leonard Wood, Commandant of the U.S Army Engineer School; U.S Army of Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District during the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 and the 326^th Engineer Battalion, 101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Van Antwerp took command of the USACE after serving as Commanding General, where he was responsible for recruiting and training thousands of young initiates.