________________________________________________________________________Richard S. Kem
I believe in the worth of people and their desire to do the right thing and their ability to do it.
I think we can get a lot more for the whole if we let all the individual initiatives drive on. So,
I guess philosophically I've always felt that if I can get the right people in the job and give
them a charge and let them drive forward and try to bend them in directions to fit the long
term, I'm a lot better off. We obtain more, on the whole, than if we sit on people and try to
very specifically prescribe what they should do and the product they are to produce.
So, philosophically, I guess, I'd probably put it all together as setting up an organization, put
a vision out there that we ought to achieve, and then point people in that direction and let
their individual drive and initiative work toward that, ensuring that we establish an
environment where people feel the freedom to strive and the freedom to contribute.
I guess what I've done here at Fort Belvoir has been to try to work to ensure that the many
different parts of the Engineer School doing it that way stay together. In other words, if we're
developing a new system, are the trainers staying up with that development so they will train
and set up the training processes to train the people, maybe at Fort Leonard Wood or here, to
use that piece of equipment? Are the doctrine people over in the Department of Combined
Arms working the doctrine so it's all coming along in tandem? People driving on don't
necessarily look outward to the broader scope other than their own to ensure that it is all
proceeding for the better.
Second, I guess, as a style thing I feel that I do need some checks on how we're moving. Are
we pulling along toward solutions? Typically, I do that not on a one-on-one with somebody,
but trying to have them come in and brief an in-process review of where we are on
something. That accomplishes two things: I know where we are and can add guidance or give
what I know people feel that I owe them--that is, perspective and guidance. At the same
time, others are hearing it, so we begin to ensure the perspective is carried throughout the
organization.
Q:
Do you think engineer command is a little different than, say, infantry or armored?
A:
I guess I have to ask what you're describing by engineer command? Do you mean command
of an engineer company, battalion, or you mean command of the Engineer Center at Fort
Belvoir?
Q:
No, more of the line type of command. Is there a different problem because of the customer
you serve?
A:
In its essence, there is no difference in commanding an engineer element or an infantry
element if you take it on a comparable basis, platoon for platoon, company for company. The
problem that comes up, and the thing that makes the job of that level commander more
difficult for the engineer in some cases, is the additional part of being the task force engineer
or the brigade engineer or the division engineer. In other words, there's a second half of the
job.
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