Lieutenant General Bruce T. Crawford, who was sworn in as the Army Chief Information Officer alongside his family on Aug. 1. 2017, will be awarded the Black Engineer of the Year Award for his outstanding efforts to mentor the next generation of American scientists, technologists, and engineers.

The three-star Army general becomes the third active-duty officer to win the Black Engineer of the Year Award after Captain (retired) Donnie Cochran (1989) and retired Lt. Gen.  Joe N. Ballard (1998).

*** Correction: November 6, 2019

The article yesterday referred incorrectly to the number of active-duty military officers who have received the Black Engineer of the Year Award since 1987. Lieutenant General Albert J. Edmonds, who retired in August 1997, was the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, and manager, National Communications System, when he received the 1996 Black Engineer of the Year Award.

As the Army’s chief information officer and G-6, Lt. Gen. Crawford reports both to the secretary of the Army as CIO, and also to the chief of staff of the Army as G-6.

He sets the strategic direction of the Army network and supervises all command, control, communications, and computers (C4) and Information Technology (IT) functions. He also oversees the Army’s $12.2 billion IT programs, manages enterprise IT architecture, establishes and enforces IT policies, and directs the delivery of C4IT capabilities to support war-fighters and business users.

As the G-6, he advises the Chief of Staff of the Army on the network, communications, signal operations, information security, force structure, and equipping.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he was commissioned through South Carolina State University’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program on May 28, 1986, after graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He also holds a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

During his 33 years of service, LTG Crawford has served in leadership positions at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. In previous assignments, he served as commanding general, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, director of C4/Cyber and Chief Information Officer, U.S. European Command, commanding general, 5th Signal Command (Theater); and G-6, U.S. Army Europe in Wiesbaden, Germany.

The 2014 photo shows Crawford, as commanding general, U.S. Army Communications-Electronic Command, discussing the future for two STEM students during a mentoring session at the 31st annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards conference in Washington, D.C. (Photo Credit: Conrad Johnson)

Lieutenant General Bruce Crawford will receive the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Award February 15, 2020, at a Gala co-hosted by Career Communications Group’s Black Engineer magazine.

The BEYA Conference hosts award ceremonies for people who create innovation and inspiration, opening up opportunities for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Black Engineer of the Year awards is made based on a peer-review of hundreds of nominations submitted by organizations and employers across the country.

Save the Date for the 34th Annual BEYA STEM Global Competitiveness Conference:
February 13-15, 2020
Washington Marriott Wardman Park
Washington, DC