John W. Morris
In the process, Charleston was a district that we tailored. A couple of civilian employees
started the rumor that we were going to close the district. Senator [Ernest]
became
upset and threatened to do something about the Army's budget for the M-l tank. He began
putting a lot of heat on the Chief of Staff.
I had General McGinnis [director of Civil Works] go over and talk to Senator Hollings.
McGinnis came back after a rough session and said, "Don't you ever do that to me again."
Senator Hollings remains a strong supporter of the Corps, but he's also very jealous about
the Charleston District.
In the tailored district concept, we resolved quite a few issues. The nice thing about it was
we didn't have to publicize it too much. The main thing noticed publicly was the fact we put
lieutenant colonels in the districts instead of colonels. Occasionally we had to justify the
change, but the rank didn't make that much difference apparently. We were able then to
resize the districts down gradually, through attrition or other basis, and not cause a great deal
of public reaction.
Of course, once you say you're going to tailor a district and you select out a few to be
tailored and leave the others alone, you risk reaction; but if you do it as part of a logical and
evolving business plan, it seems to work.
Before concluding our discussion of organization, I want to include a few points about the
Huntsville Division. The Huntsville Division is an important element in the Corps' structure,
although I admit to setting up a study group with the charge to determine its possible
dissolution. This step taken early in my tenure as Chief proved convincingly that a separate
division to address special and unique problems made more sense than the alternative
approach to such issues. Huntsville's good work on the missile programs, management,
training, postal program, special procurements, and other activities has substantiated the
value of the division and completely reversed my initial thoughts.
Q ..
The headquarters moved to a different building while you were Chief, didn't it?
A
The move-yes.
One of President Carter's initiatives was to establish the Department of Energy. He selected
Dr. James Schlesinger to be the first Secretary of Energy. Schlesinger had been Secretary of
Defense. In that position he knew about the Forrestal Building. He apparently told President
Carter he wanted the Forrestal Building for the Department of Energy. In any case, President
Carter gave it to him. So then we had to figure out what to do next, and my hope was we
could get a new building. We already acquired the land, some 600 acres at the Humphreys
Engineer Center, and we had a master plan for developing that complex. It was moving along
right about on schedule. We had planned three buildings there plus a museum.
I really wanted a new headquarters at the Humphreys Center, but at that time the Department
of Defense was promoting a group of buildings, one of which was Buzzard's Point. I went
over and looked at that and it wasn't big enough. I advised the Secretary of Defense's office
that we would take that building at Buzzard's Point but I needed 50,000 square feet. There
were only 25,000 available. The fact that I showed some interest in it at least was a plus and
maybe put us in good standing when we asked for something else.
We looked at a lot of places and the only one of those that seemed to suit us was 20
Massachusetts Avenue. One of the minuses was its proximity to the Capitol. We felt the
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