Engineer Memoirs
the company commander 1 percent of his grade. Since competition for scores was
great, this got the people out in the field.
Q ..
How did you handle administration?
A ..
I tried to get it done on the one free day per week allowed the company
commander. I also rotated administrative duties with my assistant division
commander and had my subordinates rotate with their deputies. My assistant
division commander was just as anxious as I was to supervise training and mainte-
nance. Therefore, I let him get out as much as possible. But when some
administrative chore required my presence at headquarters, I would alternate with
him.
Q ..
What about your officer support? Was it good?
A ..
Yes. It was excellent. I was assigned very good officers. I would say that fully
90 percent of my officers were rated outstanding or excellent. Like all units, I
wound up with a few duds. But after a while I learned that the better officers in
USAREUR were gravitating to my unit. Officers have friends in the personnel
assignment business and could often influence where they were sent. After the
word got around that the 24th Division was scoring high in USAREUR tests, many
of the better officers in Europe began to show up on my rosters.
A similar set of circumstances occurred in reverse. The word got around that
officers who performed poorly were given poor efficiency reports. This caused a
number of the poorer officers to pull strings to avoid being assigned to the 24th
Division.
Q ..
What about Vietnam veterans? Did you have many in your outfit?
A ..
Very few. In 1965 and 1966 there was not a large portion of the Army in
Vietnam. Those who had served in Vietnam for a year would usually be given
two- or three-year tours in the States before being sent overseas again.
Q ..
What about the reverse? Did your division get levied to send officers to Vietnam?
Yes. During my time in command there was a rapid buildup in Vietnam and
A
certain specialties were in critical supply. I was always between 35 and 40 percent
short on officers.
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