________________________________________________________________________Richard S. Kem
with our deployments, our minds are turned to other things at the moment. So, that's where it
is.4
Q:
Okay.
A:
So, my role this year has been as an active networker, but not the proponent's role.
Q:
Working with a lot of players that you've dealt with all along.
A:
About 50 or 60 or so.
Q:
Yes.
A:
I haven't had the direct role recently that Schroeder's had. There are just a lot of people who
understand it now and want it. General Vuono asked me when I was still in Europe where we
were with EForce over there, and I told him, you know, in some jest, but not all jest, that the
division and Corps commanders had finally convinced me that EForce was the right way to
go.
In fact, they were EForce's greatest proponents. They were the ones that knew the engineers
weren't right on today's battlefield. With this design because they had practiced it and seen
their engineers and maneuver brigades and maneuver task forces go to field with it, had seen
it work better, they were all sold on it. So, the clamor for EForce is basically coming from
all over. It's not just coming from engineers.
So, for the last three years I've not had to be the marketing spokesman for this concept. I
gave my briefing to thousands of folks back when I was at Belvoir and created a TV tape of
the briefing and passed that tape to a lot of division commanders and a lot of people to
explain the why. I haven't had the tape out for the last two years.
What I've been trying to do with the networking is to make sure, if there's a decision point
coming, if we have an obstacle, then we get rid of the obstacle so that everybody's in
agreement, so we can try to keep moving. That's what I've tried to do this year.
Q:
I think, as far as the engineer commander goes, General Hatch has observed when we were
talking about the relationship of the Chief with the Engineer School, and his not being in
command--
A:
He was not the proponent.
Q:
Right.
A:
General Schroeder is the proponent.
4
Editor's note: Lieutenant General Franks, commander, VII Corps, deployed to Saudi Arabia with engineers organized as E
Force and fought in Iraq with the concept. Subsequently General Vuono approved the change so that armored and mechanized
divisions would have an engineer brigade of three engineer battalions.
473
Previous Page
