Water Resources: Hydraulics and Hydrology
much with the public. He didn't have to learn all those communications skills as
thoroughly as the planner did. So he wasn't able to communicate to the district engineer
a lot of times as well as the planner. The planners kind of got the upper hand then over
the chiefs of engineering, I think, for many years.
In all. I guess. they keep changing around. I think they're kind of almost back to where
they were before now where they've got a new chief civilian in district offices who is--
what do they call him now--who follows the projects. What do they call that stuff?
Q ..
Project management?
A ..
Well, it's a project management concept that was introduced a few years ago.
Q ..
Well, it was one of the initiatives of Bob Page when he was Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Civil Works, wasn't it?
A
Well, they follow every project. One guy follows the project from it's inception all the
way through, and they have real limitations on what you can do to change the project once
it was authorized by Congress. So that guy apparently now is the top civilian in the
district office, so now there is one guy who is the top civilian in the district office. We
don't have two or more all trying to get the district engineer's ear, so to speak.
So there are advantages and disadvantages of both concepts. But it's tough for a district
engineer when he gets put in [this situation]. Well, not just a district engineer but the
Director of Civil Works.
For example, the Director of Civil Works, he has tough decisions to make. He has had
different organizations through the years but when he has many divisions and different
points of view, a lot of times he has to end up deciding what is the best technical decision.
Really he shouldn't have to be put in that position because in most cases he really [doesn't]
know for sure what is the best technical answer.
It is pretty hard for him to judge when the Chief of Planning says, "This is the right
answer. The Chief of Engineering says, "No, it isn't, this is the right answer. It's
pretty hard for him even though they both do a good job of explaining their points of view,
why it is still hard for him to make that decision whether he has made the right one or not.
I don't know what the solution is to that part, but how do you avoid him having to make
those kinds of decisions But, it is just the way the Corps of Engineers works. They
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