46
U.S. Army Engineers in the Gulf War
Jim Ellis and Ben Wood share space in the Corps' Dhahran Area Office
On 3 September, Miller had a strained meeting with General Starling.
Starling was upset that General Pagonis had unfairly "grabbed" MEAPO(SWA)
to work for him and insisted that it be a theater asset under CENTCOM's
control. Starling directed Miller to position the Corps' people to support
CENTCOM. Starling and others were particularly concerned that Cox's staff
i n Dhahran would only respond to Army needs-specifically to Pagonis.
Pagonis had, in fact, already said that Cox worked for him, and Cox responded
to direct taskings from Pagonis. Miller agreed with Starling that the Corps could
best support all services by operating at the CENTCOM level.20
While in Dhahran on 7 and 8 September, Miller discussed command and
control with Pagonis. During a car ride with the general, Miller explained that
the Corps' mission was to support all services, but he added, supporting the
Army was the primary mission because it had the largest force. Therefore,
Miller was dedicating Cox's office to him. He assured Pagonis that the Dhahran
office would remain in place and provide direct support to him. Yet, Miller
cautioned Pagonis, if necessary, he would pull some of these resources to
support the Navy or Marines.
Pagonis acknowledged that MEAPO(SWA) was a theater asset and as such
should be aligned under CENTCOM. But, he noted, if he felt he was being
slighted, he would complain to Miller. Only once did Pagonis complain that the
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