Leadership
Professor of Military Science
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Justin Toole was born and raised in Georgia, and he attended North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Georgia on an Army ROTC scholarship. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and being named a Distinguished Military Graduate in 2003, he commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and branched into the Corps of Engineers. He began his Active Duty Army career at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where he served as a Sapper Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Company Commander in mechanized, route clearance, and training units. As a combat engineer Platoon Leader in the Fightin’ 5th Engineer Battalion, he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and conducted route clearance operations throughout Baghdad in 2005 to 2006.
In 2010, LTC Toole attended graduate school through the Army’s Advanced Civil Schooling (ACS) Program where he researched atmospheric aerosol particles and developed state-of- the-art instrumentation at the University of Georgia. From 2012 to 2015, he taught chemistry courses and mentored cadets as an Instructor and Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
LTC Toole was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky from 2015 to 2017. He served as the Deputy Division Engineer and multiple Engineer Battalion leadership roles within 3rd Brigade Combat Team (Rakkasans). During that time, he deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom while serving as the Executive Officer (second in command) of a 1,000 Soldier Combined Task Force with the mission of protecting Kandahar Airfield and supporting the Afghan military. His Coalition unit consisted of U.S. Infantry, Cavalry, Field Artillery and Engineer elements along with Romanian and Bulgarian Infantry units and Ugandan security forces.
From 2017 to 2020, LTC Toole served as Deputy District Commander for the Nashville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), with operations spanning 49 field offices and a work force of over 700 federal employees. He assisted in directing USACE water resource activities such as hydroelectric dam rehabilitation, flood risk management, and navigation lock construction throughout the Cumberland and Tennessee River Basins. LTC Toole also supported federal emergency relief operations in response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico’s power grid and developing initial COVID-19 alternate medical care facilities.
In 2020, LTC Toole earned a second graduate degree through the Army’s ACS Program and joined a research laboratory at Colorado State University in Fort Colins, Colorado. LTC Toole’s dissertation focused on ultra-thin semiconductors that can convert sunlight into a fuel or electric power. After earning his PhD in Chemistry in 2023, he returned to West Point as an Assistant and Associate Professor. He has taught cadets General, Inorganic, and Instrumental Chemistry courses and continued to conduct laboratory research with cadets and Army colleagues.
LTC Toole currently serves as the Professor of Military Science of the Army ROTC Blazer Battalion hosted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The Blazer Battalion includes students attending UAB, Jefferson State Community College, Miles College, and Samford University in the Birmingham area.
LTC Toole’s major awards and decorations include the Sapper Tab, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Bronze Star (two awards), Meritorious Service Medal (five awards), Army Commendation Medal (two awards), Army Achievement Medal (three awards), and the NATO medal.
LTC Toole is married to Kathryn Toole, an Early Childhood Educator. LTC and Kathryn Toole’s family (“Team Toole”) reside in Homewood, Alabama and includes children Caroline, Mya, and Ben.