________________________________________________________________________Richard S. Kem
Q:
Well, this exercise was important, then, in setting your agenda for your next several
assignments, at least when you were commandant in the Engineer School.
A:
That's right.
Q:
Highlighting the things that you wanted to concentrate on.
A:
We concentrated on writing a good after-action report, moving it along, and trying to support
that at the Engineer School. I was in contact with Major General Jim Kelly, who was then
commandant at the Engineer School, and Colonel Roger Peterson, who headed Combat
Developments. We were trying to support their initiatives and communicate with them--we
were trying to provide field experience and write-ups to support what the school was trying
to do for us in the TRADOC arena. When I came back and briefed the Engineer Center team
and wrote the after-action report, I asked General Kelly if we couldn't write an entire issue of
Engineer Magazine about Carbon Edge, and we did. There were contributing articles by all
of our battalion commanders on their various experiences. The 79th commander wrote about
Elmer, his big doubletriple Bailey bridge; Ted Vander Els, of the 9th, wrote about the
Felheim fire trap; and so forth. We had people put together articles of interest for
communication throughout the engineer force. It did become a real resource--as
commandant at the Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, I could refer back to "REFORGER
exercises have proven...," and use that Carbon Edge FTX experience as a basis for
justification and rationale for taking certain actions.
Q:
So, you were in this position, then, for--
A:
Two years.
Q:
--for two years. You weren't there for REFORGER '78--was there a '78?
A:
There was a winter REFORGER in early '79.
Q:
You had already moved on since then, probably?
A:
I think the REFORGER exercise was in January or February of '79. I'd moved up to
USAREUR headquarters by that time. I was fortunate that when I arrived, brigade command
was an 18-month tour, but then the Army changed to a two-year tour for commanders. My
request to stay an extra six months was on the Corps commander's desk the next morning
and was approved.
Q:
So, you were there from--
A:
July '76 to July '78.
Q:
Let's talk about your third hat as community commander of the Ludwigsburg
Kornwestheim military community. Before we talk about particular aspects of that, maybe
you could talk, just in general terms, about what are the community commander's
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