diff --git a/ecs/context.go b/ecs/context.go
index 9fbc8fc15..f773cc606 100644
--- a/ecs/context.go
+++ b/ecs/context.go
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ func getEnvVars() ContextParams {
 	}
 	// check REGION env vars
 	region := os.Getenv("AWS_REGION")
-	if region == "" {
+	c.Region = region
+	if c.Region == "" {
 		region = os.Getenv("AWS_DEFAULT_REGION")
 		if region == "" {
 			region = "us-east-1"