________________________________________________________________________Richard S. Kem
So, there really was a suspicion, a feeling that Public Affairs doesn't cut it, they don't
understand the Corps, and why should I spend time making them understand? It was not a
very good atmosphere.
Q:
Although this happened later, what do you think about the change to career public affairs
persons being the Chief of Public Affairs instead of engineer officers. That happened maybe
around the late '70s, I think?
A:
I guess I was always suspicious of that, but I only spent a year there. I guess it's a matter of
how fast a person can learn about the Corps and how receptive are they to understand that
you do have to understand a decentralized organization like the Corps, as opposed to where
the Army has been. We've had some good ones; in particular Bill Garber, I thought, was
superb.
When I was Deputy Chief and working with Bill, he didn't have a qualm about coming up
and saying, "I don't understand this; tell me about it" or "I think we ought to do this." His
aggressiveness and assertiveness and ability was just right for the position--and he had then
all those technical capabilities that I didn't have. I mean, he could set up editorial boards and
he could get things done that I was not trained to do. He had a sense for having a game plan.
That's what we never had before my arrival and what I tried to start--but we couldn't just
have a game plan at the headquarters; we had to have a game plan in each division, in each
district.
Bill Garber came up and had the capability to formulate with his assistants a game plan to
use Chief of Engineers Hank Hatch's strengths to go out and interact, to get him involved
here and there, and to communicate the "Corps." It really depends, to answer your question,
on getting the right person for the job. So, if you get the right public affairs specialist, that's
better than having the right engineer in that position. The right engineer in the position might
be better than having the wrong public affairs specialist.
So, I think it's fine.
Q:
We just have a new one now, the last couple of weeks; who I don't know.
A:
Who is it?
Q:
I haven't met him yet. Colonel Monteverde, but he's called "Monty." He came from the
To follow up on something--I heard you speak to the public affairs officers in Louisville
when they had one of their meetings. I remember one of the things from your remarks, and I
also remember it provoked some discussion in the hallways.
A:
When they tried to throw me out afterwards, you mean?
Q:
I may not even be remembering the right thing, but I remember that you were talking about
placing, I think, and this is my interpretation, less emphasis on command information, less
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