David Rolbiecki, R.P.L.S., L.S.L.S., F.ASCE, a Texas Registered Professional Land Surveyor and Licensed State Land Surveyor for the State of Texas, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Rolbiecki has served as the Chief of Survey of the Texas Military Department at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas, since October 2008. He began his surveying career in 1982 as a geodetic surveyor in the U.S. Army after graduating from the Defense Mapping Agency and was assigned to the 82nd Survey Company, 30th Topographic Engineer Battalion (Topographic-Army), Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
In 1984 he received a commission as a second lieutenant after graduating from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He returned to Fort Belvoir to attend the Engineer Officer Basic Course and was taught civil engineering, horizontal and vertical construction, and explosives demolition. On graduation, Rolbiecki was assigned as a platoon leader Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and served as the Task Force Engineer to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment in the Republic of the Philippines.
Upon fulfilling his active-duty obligation, he transferred to the Army Reserves and moved to Maine to work as a surveyor. In 1987, he returned to Fort Belvoir to attend the Engineer Officer Advanced Course, then worked as the Building Official for the City of The Colony, in Texas. In 1988, he volunteered for the U.S. Army Special Forces and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course, earning the coveted Green Beret. From 1992 to 2007, Rolbiecki’s full-time jobs outside of the Army Reserves consisted of survey technician, field instrument operator, party chief, project manager, and Registered Professional Land Surveyor.
In 1995, Rolbiecki deployed to the Republic of Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy. When the events of 9/11 unfolded, he deployed with Company C, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to combat operations in Afghanistan. Upon his return, he was selected to be a SEAL Advanced Training Instructor and Program Manager of the Navy’s first Advanced Special Operations training program at Coronado, California.
In 2004, he volunteered for a six-month deployment with a Special Missions Unit named Task Force 626 to combat operations in Iraq and returned home to resume his surveying career.
In 2017, after 35 years of service, Rolbiecki retired from the Army as a Green Beret, having served in Special Forces for 30 years. His numerous overseas operations also include Central and South America, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Kingdom of Cambodia, United Kingdom, Germany, and North and Equatorial Africa.
In 2018, he became an L.S.L.S. for the State of Texas and now works in that capacity at the Texas Military Department as Agent for the State.
He is a member of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors and of ASCE, where he serves on the Permanent Board of Editors of the Journal of Surveying Engineering and was awarded ASCE Outstanding Reviewer in 2022, 2016, and 2013.
Rolbiecki graduated with a master of science degree in aquatic biology with thesis from the University of North Texas in 1998.
