Edward L. Rowny
Q ..
How did you manage with such a shortage of officers?
Every commander had his own solution. My approach was to fill every vacant
A
command slot with a noncommissioned officer. My theory was that training and
maintenance needed leadership and supervision. I would have each noncom in an
officer slot display a tag on his uniform showing his brevetted rank, whether it be
2d or 1st lieutenant. Where captains were missing I would have these spots filled
by lieutenants and would have them, like the noncoms, display their brevetted
ranks. This was not only good training for noncoms and junior officers but was
a big morale booster. I was able to get several noncoms promoted to the officer
ranks, similar to battlefield commissions. Although the Army did not permit many
such promotions, it was a big morale booster.
Q ..
By the time you gave up your command, had the 24th Division responded to your
direction?
A ..
Yes, very much so. I was very pleased with the way the division responded to my
direction. When I took over, the division was definitely on the bottom in all
categories by which VII Corps and USAREUR rated its divisions. They kept score
on such things as training, maintenance, administration, and discipline By the
time I left, the 24th Division was first in maintenance and first in training,
including the tank gunnery competition. I was particularly proud of our tank
gunnery award because we were a mechanized division, which had a relatively
smaller number of tanks than the armored divisions against which we competed.
Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, USAREUR
Q ..
Why did you relinquish command of the 24th Division before your two-year tour
was up?
A
General O'Meara, CG of USAREUR, brought me to Heidelberg to be a member
of his staff. He made me his deputy chief of staff for logistics [DCSLOG] and put
me in charge of FRELOC [fast relocation from France]. Six months prior to my
arrival, General de Gaulle had severed his ties with NATO and ordered the U.S.
troops and equipment out of France. He gave the U.S. one year to completely
evacuate from France.
General O'Meara assigned this job to my predecessor, Major General Alden K .
Sibley. Sibley was a brilliant officer, but very cautious and indecisive. After six
months, at which time O'Meara expected one-half of the job to be finished, Sibley
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