Engineer Memoirs _____________________________________________________________________
Since then, I've returned and feel rather good about what has happened in Ludwigsburg
Kornwestheim. They now have rebuilt the auditorium at the elementary school and they have
built a new middle school on the same grounds, which provides extra community
capabilities. They have also built a bowling alley in the community, which provides another
outlet for people's energies, improved the branch post exchange, and renovated the theater.
So, some things have improved over time.
Q:
What about facilities engineering support? I think by the time you got there in 1976--prior to
'74 I think the facilities engineers had reported to the Engineer Command. That had been
disestablished in '74 and the facilities engineers made responsible to the community
commanders--in this case it would be the community commander at the level above you. I
know that was a pretty difficult transition. What did you see as the quality or the problems
with facilities engineering support while you were there?
A:
Well, most of it had to do with money. Funding was still, as I mentioned before, austere. So,
you couldn't do everything you wanted to do. The facilities engineer worked at the greater
Stuttgart military community. I had no feeling for how it'd been before, when it was under
the Engineer Command, so I had nothing to compare it with. There was no reflection back. I
just don't recall it being said, "We used to do it this way; now we have to do it this way." So,
I just lived with what we had, which was a normal relationship like you'd find in any post,
camp, or station in the United States.
The maintenance folks were mostly German nationals and they worked the work orders we
submitted. We had many more things that needed to be done than could be done by those
folks--there was always a backlog. I can't really make a judgment that that was due to the
organization or management. I think it was primarily a resourcing issue with a lot of valid
needs beyond what could be met with dollars available and people available.
I have to say that my understanding of this was perceptibly better later when I went to the
headquarters in '78'79 and was involved in the programming of monies at USAREUR
headquarters for allocation for facilities and then when I returned a year after that to work in
the Office of the Assistant Chief of Engineers. As the Deputy Assistant Chief of Engineers, I
was involved in the Army's Program Budget Committee's and the Select Committee's in-
fighting for funds. One of the things we fought for in the '82 budget was an additional 0
million for Europe for the backlog of facilities maintenance. I remember that well because on
the last day we worked with the Vice Chief of Staff, General Vessey, to get those funds
reinserted into the Army program--certainly my understanding, having lived in Germany,
was helpful in articulating the need.
That number reflected the fact that we had been living at a lower level for some time and
only in this particular budget year was it being really addressed and money to correct the
deficit being added.
Q:
The term "facilities engineer" is still being used at this time rather than "DEH" [Director of
Engineering and Housing]. That term comes in a little later, I guess.
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