Edward E. Belk, deputy director of regional business and deputy director of programs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division, has been named programs director for the MVD and the Mississippi River Commission, the Corps said in a release.

The appointment follows Belk’s selection to the federal government’s Senior Executive Service, the civilian equivalent to the military rank of general.

As program director, he will serve as principal adviser to the MVD commander and the MRC president on programs, planning and project management in the division’s six district offices spanning the Mississippi River from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Before moving to the MVD, Belk was deputy district engineer for project management in the Memphis District. He completed two tours in Iraq as deputy for project management at Gulf Region North District in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He is a native of Southaven and graduate of Christian Brothers University in Memphis, where he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s in engineering management.

He’s also a 1999 graduate of the UArmy Management Staff College at Fort Belvoir, Va.

He is married and has three children.