Thomas P. Bostick was the 53rd Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bostick is the only African American graduate of the academy to serve as Chief of Engineers and commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Bostick was born Sept. 23, 1956, in Fukuoka, Japan, and grew up in an Army family all over the world as one of five children of Master Sergeant Sidney C. Bostick and his wife, Fumiko M. Bostick. He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in June 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Bostick was the captain of the 150-pound soccer team at West Point. He later earned a Master of Science degree in civil and mechanical engineering from Stanford College in 1985.
Bostick served as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at West Point. He also earned a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington College in 2016. Bostick is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advance courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He is registered as a professional engineer in Virginia.
In 1990, Bostick served at U.S. Army Europe Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was responsible for force drawdown planning in Europe. He then served as S3 of the 40th Engineer Battalion and later as S3 of the 1st Armored Division Engineer Brigade and as a command officer for the Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Arthur E. Williams, before assuming command of the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. His battalion fought fires in Idaho in 1994 and was considered one of the most successful performances by an engineer battalion at the National Training Center.
In 2015, Lieutenant General Bostick was awarded the John W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award. This is the highest award given by the White House Fellows Foundation and Association. It is given in recognition of proven leadership, dedicated public service, and sustained support of the White House Fellows Program. Gen. Colin Powell, who also received the Legacy of Leadership Award, presented the award to Lt. Gen. Bostick on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the White House Fellows Program.
Following his military career, Bostick joined Intrexon Corporation, where he served as senior vice president of the environmental division. In this role, Bostick oversaw the company’s strategies and programs to deploy bio-based solutions for environmental protection and remediation. In November 2017, Intrexon announced Bostick’s appointment as chief operating officer.
In 2017, Lt. Gen. Bostick was elected a member of the National Academy of Construction and the George Washington College School of Engineering and Applied Science Hall of Fame for his many contributions to engineering. He was also elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2017 for developing new approaches to hurricane protection and for his leadership role with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In April 2019, Intrexon announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Bostick as President of Intrexon Bioengineering. Intrexon Bioengineering’s mission is to address global food, agriculture, environmental, energy and industrial challenges by developing biological solutions to improve sustainability and efficiency. Bostick left Intrexon in February 2020 after helping lead a major restructuring of the company.
On Feb. 12, 2021, Bostick was appointed to the Congressionally-established Commission on the Designation of Department of Defense Items in Memory of the Confederate States of America or a Person Who Voluntarily Served in the Confederate States of America.
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Mitchell Ellen, “Pentagon, Congress appoint panel members to rename Confederate base names” thehill.com, February 12, 2021, https://thehill.com/policy/defense/538645-pentagon-congress-appoint-panel-members-to-rename-confederate-base-names/
US Army Corps of Engineers, “Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick”, usace.army.mil, https://web.archive.org/web/20120530022902/http://www.usace.army.mil/About/Leadership/BioArticleView/tabid/223/Article/1361/lieutenant-general-thomas-p-bostick.aspx
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