Engineer Memoirs
A:
I would not want it to be thought that there was anything wrong in this, because I don't
feel that way. She just had a different perspective on the relative stake of everybody in
this outcome, and she was very concerned that the construction people would be driven
to do the following: we'd do it our way and would not give sufficient heed to what
Israel needed or to the fact that it was a bilateral program between two countries. When
you have that kind of a program, each side needs to have an adequate voice.
I think, first and foremost, that she was concerned that the operational needs of the
Israeli Air Force would, therefore, not receive as much attention as they should. That's
the link, because that was the channel through which the Corps would get the
operational requirements.
I think probably Toni Chayes' involvement rippled down into the attitudes of the
people. Hartung felt reinforced in his role by her support, and so forth.
Dave McGiffert felt she was another presidential appointee in the administration. He
felt the need to pay heed to her concerns and not simply turn them aside.
We finally did get the interagency agreement signed. The most important thing that
occurred in the whole business was that I got the Air Force to agree that, if I gave them
the 0 million, they would immediately give it to the Corps of Engineers.
Q:
Whose idea was that?
A:
Mine.
Q:
Why?
A:
Because I knew that if the Corps didn't have the money, the Air Force could badger
them continually. At the end of the project, when it came time to make some
adjustments and the Corps needed a little bit more money, the Air Force used the
withholding of this money to try to force the Corps to do all kinds of things.
But the first 0 million just went over. It took 24 hours. My controller signed the
paper, and 24 hours later, the Air Force controller organization signed the money over
to the Corps. Without that the airfields probably wouldn't have been finished on time.
If the Corps hadn't had that money and been able to move out, the Air Force would
have been after them all over the place for all the nitpicking details, and they never
would have gotten the job done.
Q:
Why did you know to do this? Could you see it coming?
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