Engineer Memoirs _____________________________________________________________________
So, with the Secretary of the General Staff, I ran all the papers in and out of the headquarters
and tried to make sure things were coordinated. The functional chiefs--logistics,
engineering, intelligence and operations--ran their functions, and the Chief of Staff made
sure they were coordinated, integrated, and followed the thrusts of the Commander in Chief.
When problems arose, they were brought to him for resolution. When he had things he
wanted to initiate, we would get the right people in to get it started, and I would track with
them that things were going along in accordance with the desires of the commander.
Q:
Well, as you've mentioned before, one of the things that you had to tackle right away were
the implications, or consequences, of the Vander Shaaf study.
A:
Yes. I should drop back and say Vander Shaaf came over as part of a study effort, having
decided that we ought to take some folks out of Europe. It wasn't just Europe; it was all
around--avoid duplication. I forget the acronym for the study he was on.
He came into USAREUR headquarters like a blustery north wind--more like a hurricane, I
guess. Chuck Fiala, the Chief of Staff, said he knew Vander Shaaf. He knew he was going to
come in, and we ought to be prepared because it wasn't going to be pleasant.
In fact, we did great preparation for him. We were there to brief what USAREUR
headquarters did with other headquarters, EUCOM, et cetera. I know I was on my feet for
two hours briefing in my particular area, and all the other deputy chiefs were too. It was
really thorough.
His approach was so shallow that he never, ever, I think, tuned in to listen. He was there to
speak. His notions were preconceived. We were there to brief an organization chart. He
disregarded that. He went with the phone chart that slips under the glass on your desk. That's
what he thought was the bible.
So, he would ask, for instance, "Why do you have a topo officer in DCSENGR whose
responsibilities are to coordinate the topographic activities of all the Army in Europe, when
European Command has the same thing?" I'd say, "Well, the European Command has to
interrelate Air Force, Army, Navy, and the rest of it."
"Well, what does yours do?" I said, "Well, we have the active units here. We have the 649th
Topo Battalion, and this officer's the interconnect between them and the States and makes all
the topo kinds of things happen."
"Well, it says here you've got two people." I asked, "What do you mean, two people? I've
only got one person." He'd say, "Well, look. The phone book has these two phone numbers
here."
I'd say, "Well, disregard that. That doesn't mean anything. I mean, yes, we make up a phone
list. This guy, that's a position that comes in from the 649th. We give him a phone and a
desk, but, I mean, it's not a position on our staff. It's really a liaison position, a desk and a
phone."
416
Previous Page
