Engineer Memoirs _____________________________________________________________________
was division engineer in the Ohio River Division, the operations folks would come up to talk
about the need for maintenance, and I had a first-hand feeling for it.
I was also sent out to be the district's representative on the master planning board down at
the Granite City Army Depot in the St. Louis area. I was sent out not only to show the green-
suit side of the district, but also for my development, to give me some experience in that
arena.
I also spent a month with real estate, working two ways. First, we had a relatively weak Real
Estate Division and the district engineer wanted to get an extra set of eyes and ears down
there to figure out what was wrong. Second, I went down to help them, too, with trying to
come to grips with some of the acquisitions along the CalSag Waterway.
They sent me to the Savannah Army Depot in Illinois on the Missouri River. There was a
housing project over there, and I became the project manager, in the Engineering Division, to
get that design under way. We had a cost limitation and I was--my salary was paid by OMA
[Operations and Maintenance, Army]--I was free to the project. That was a separate
motivation, but for me it was an extra valuable experience.
Because I was going to be the deputy and not have the opportunity now to go out for field
experience the second year, the district engineer put me into each of these experiences so I'd
have a broader feel for district operations.
I should mention that General Rogers was replaced by a person at that time who really
became a long-term mentor for me, a person I greatly respected. That was Brigadier General
Bill Gribble. He came out to be the North Central Division Engineer but spent, I guess, only
several months there and then was pulled back to be the Deputy Chief of Research and
Development for the Army. He certainly was to figure in my successive career numerous
times.
Q:
That's quite an assignment, to be 28 years old, and a captain, to be a deputy in a district of
1,400 people. Pretty unusual.
A:
I had an accelerated learning experience, there's no doubt about it.
Q:
In Chicago?
A:
In Chicago, right.
Q:
Did you learn about Chicago politics as well?
A:
No.
Q:
Not so, hanging around the head office?
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