Merdith W.B. Temple, sometimes called "Bo" Temple, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 military officer who as Major general

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 is currently the Acting Chief of Engineers

Chief of Engineers

The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....

 of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

. Temple is a career military engineer, and previously served as Deputy Commanding General of Civil and Emergency Operations under his predecessor, Robert L. Van Antwerp, Jr.

Robert L. Van Antwerp, Jr.

Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp, Jr. M.Sc. M.B.A. PE was the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers....

.

Early life

Merdeth Temple was born in Virginia, and graduated Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

 as a civil engineer

Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...

. Temple attended Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

, receiving his masters in civil engineering.

Military career

Commissioned in the U.S. Army in 1975, Temple served in operational engineering commands in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, the United States, and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, before commanding the 307th Engineer Battalion (Airborne)

37th Engineer Battalion (United States)

The 37th Engineer Battalion was an airborne combat engineer battalion in the United States Army, and a subordinate unit of the 20th Engineer Brigade and XVIII Airborne Corps, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina....

in the Gulf War.