Joseph L. Zaraszczak assumed responsibilities as the Deputy for Programs and Project Management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District on November 3, 2024. In this position, Mr. Zaraszczak is responsible for the Middle East District’s overall program execution of an approximate $4B program in the Middle East, Central Asia, and other areas as required in support of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). With a workforce of approximately 445 employees, the Middle East District work includes designing and constructing facilities for use by U.S. forces, performing engineering activities for other U.S. government and allied nation partners, and providing operations and maintenance services for various customers throughout the USCENTCOM area of responsibility.
Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Zaraszczak served a 30+ year USACE career having worked for four different Districts in seven different geographic locations with work in 20+ different countries. Districts and positions included New York District as a Technical Manager for a beach restoration program in New York and New Jersey (1994-1998), New York District (East Orange, NJ) as a Project Engineer at a U.S. Radium Superfund Site (1998), Europe District (Ansbach and Stuttgart, Germany) as a Project Engineer working closely with both U.S. Forces and the Host Nation on various military installation projects (1998-2002), Europe District (Ukraine) as a Project Engineer at the Yavoriv Training Center in support of a Partnership for Peace training exercise (2001), Seattle District as Chief of Enforcement Section, Regulatory Branch (2002), Europe District (Stuttgart, Germany) as a Regional Program Manager (2002-2005), Transatlantic Programs Center (Winchester, VA) as a Project Manager responsible for the USACE Military Construction (MILCON) program in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) as well as work in Africa (2005-2009), and the Middle East District (Winchester, VA) as a Branch Chief in Programs and Project Management Division responsible for MILCON, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and State Department work in several countries in the Middle East and Central Asia (2009-2024).
Mr. Zaraszczak became a Project Management Professional (PMP) in 2007. He also has certifications as USACE Level II Project Management (2008), Civilian Education System (CES) Advanced Course status (2009), and Facilities Engineering Level 3 (2018). Mr. Zaraszczak was Middle East District Supervisor of the Year (2019), USACE Program Manager of the Year (2023), and has received several other notes of commendation, challenge coins, award nominations, and honorary awards throughout his career.
Mr. Zaraszczak holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering as well a Master of Science in Civil Engineering both from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. Mr. Zaraszczak is also a graduate of the USACE Emerging Leaders Program (2002), the Department of the Army CP-18 Leadership Development Program (2005), Army Management Staff College Sustaining Base Leadership and Management Program (2005), USACE Transatlantic Programs Center Tier II Leadership Development Program (2007), and the Secretary of the Army’s Leadership Development Seminar (2024).