John W. Morris
repair, et cetera. I suppose a concept for organizing and operating facilities and engineering
will emerge.
I know I'm in a minority there, and it's a program that may never fly. Still, I think it's
sufficiently critical that it should never be allowed to die completely. As the Army gets
smaller, it seems that it's more and more important that the limited moneys and manpower
available to maintain and operate these posts be put to the maximum productivity. I think the
Chief of Engineers could manage such a program, similar to the way we operate and maintain
the facilities in the public works programs.
The money thing could be worked out with the post commander in some way. So that
idea-that egg was laid, but it's never hatched.
I've got one here that may fit in this area. I think it was in 1976 that the Corps of Engineers
was designated a combat arm?
A little before that maybe. [Lieutenant] General Frank Camm, when he was at TRADOC,
was successful in having the engineers designated as a combat arm. That was something he,
as well as a lot of other engineer officers, strived for over many years. He takes a lot of pride
in the fact that this was accomplished-and he should.Later these efforts contributed, to
some extent, to our becoming a separate command, which was a matter of pride among the
Army engineers. It put us in a different reporting category in things like command selection
lists, et cetera. Our commanders are now selected as part of the same command selection list
for the rest of the Army.
Let's return to the subject of international programs. You have some additional information
you would like to discuss.
Yes, I just want to wrap up the international as a general subject and, of course, later on,
under projects, we will become more specific. I want to be sure the record reflects that there
were several peripheral events that influenced my thinking on the need for the Corps of
Engineers' becoming involved in international work. One was PIANC, the Permanent
International Association of Navigation Congresses, and the other one was the International
Committee on Large Dams. The former was made up of countries as opposed to individuals,
and therefore when you went to one of the meetings, you were really speaking with the
counterpart in government about their country's interest in water and water transportation
development.
The International Committee on Large Dams was made up of members of the industry and
also individuals from various national organizations. The important thing is that in each of
these the United States was looked to as a leader in water resources and environmental
programs. I felt that there should be a way that our national engineering potential could be
brought into the international arena.
Even though it wasn't an assigned role of the Corps of Engineers, there was no reason why
we shouldn't use our opportunities to open the doors for the American engineering and
construction industries and also to further relationships of the United States with our friends
throughout the world. So I became pretty solidly convinced that we should do whatever was
possible to transfer American knowledge and technology in the engineering and construction
fields both in the military and in the public works arenas.
As opportunities began to reveal themselves through discussions in the international
organizations, we soon found countries wanting our advice in a variety of subjects. It was my
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