Engineer Memoirs
But I think it's a valid concept that the Corps must be prepared to do a much bigger job
in war than it does in peace.
Q:
Plus the only time the Corps gets the opportunity to exercise this mobilizing capacity
or capability is in civil emergencies.
A:
Yes, and that's a very valuable asset. The Corps, because of its organization and its
adaptive ability, has always been the most valuable organization in these emergencies.
They've maintained a pretty good relationship with the emergency group--whatever
it was--FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] today, but it's had a lot of
precursors. There's a certain amount of politics in this, but in the end, what has paid off
has been the fact that the Corps could organize and get the work done.
Q:
You went to the Deputy's job in July of '77.
A:
Right.
Q:
Were you involved in your choice of successor in civil works?
A:
To a limited extent. I think I talked it over with Jack Morris some. When Jack became
Chief, I think there had been an assumption that I would go up to be Deputy Chief right
away. I didn't want to leave because I had been in civil works less than a year. I
suggested to Jack that it might be a good idea to get somebody else to be Deputy Chief
and let me stay on as the Director of Civil Works. And, of course, that's what
happened.
[Major General Robert C.] Bob Marshall was over in the Pentagon in the ballistic
missile operation--Safeguard. I suggested to Jack that we ought to get Bob back into
the Corps. Of course, he was quite a bit senior to me. I suggested that we should bring
him in and let him be the Deputy Chief of Engineers and then he could go down and be
the Lower Mississippi Valley division engineer. That's what Jack and I finally agreed
on. Jack thought that was an excellent idea, and he did that. It worked out very well.
It allowed me another year.
So I stayed on in civil works for a year longer than I otherwise would have, and then
I moved. Bob became the deputy chief, he stayed for a year, and then he went to be the
Lower Mississippi Valley division engineer. When that happened, I moved up. So I was
very much involved in choosing Jack's successor as deputy. When it came time for me
to move up, Chuck McGinnis was the logical person to take my place.
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