Engineer

MAY-AUG 2013

Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.

Issue link: https://engineer.epubxp.com/i/145930

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 6 of 43

Show the Way Chief Warrant Offcer Five Scott R. Owens Regimental Chief Warrant Offcer A s usual, this year seems to be going by very quickly. Summer is .here, .and summer transitions come with it. Within a short time, the U.S. Army Engineer School will transition nearly all of its leadership, including the commandant, Brigadier General Peter A. "Duke" DeLuca. Transitions like these are bittersweet. We have an extremely professional group of leaders, all of whom bring their personal perspectives and talents to their roles. I've grown professionally and personally from working with them and will miss all of them. But I look forward to working with the next group of professionals, many of whom I've had the good fortune to work with in the past. As I contemplate these changes, they trigger thoughts of how the Army has always been in a state of transition. It's this adaptability, which is geared toward meeting evolving threats, that keeps the Army ready to meet its mission requirements. Throughout my career, I've often heard Soldiers say, "This isn't the same Army that I joined." Usually, this was meant to convey the notion that the Army was lacking in some way and that the old ways were somehow better. Although the Army has changed a lot from when I joined, it is a much better Army today. Yet, in a fundamental way, some of the best things are still very much the same. When I entered the Army in 1983, the echoes of the Vietnam War were still being heard and the Army was well underway in its transformation and modernization. This transformation was led by the Soldiers who were in the Army at the time—from the senior leaders in the Pentagon, to the staffs at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and the offcers, warrant offcers, and noncommissioned offcers in the feld. It was—as it has always been—the Soldiers who were serving in the Army who transformed it and made it the professional force that we have today. Now that the Army is coming out of prolonged confict, it will draw on its experiences of the past dozen years while incorporating time-tested best practices to retool this professional force to meet the Nation's future requirements. You have inherited this legacy and responsibility, and you will make this Army even better by building on the solid foundations built by those who served before us. Remember that you are not in the Army—you are the Army. You have a vested interest and stake in the Army's future; and whether you realize it or not, you have the ability and responsibility to help shape that future. Start by refecting on May–August 2013 your experiences. Learn as much as you can about how your unit works and how it fts into the mission of its higher headquarters. Then, learn about the strategic picture. Read all that you can about past campaigns, emerging doctrine, and current events; never miss an opportunity to pick the brains of your senior leaders. Most importantly, when you see veterans, stop and thank them for their service. You'll never know what treasures of information they have stored away in their memories. At the 348th Combat Engineer Battalion reunion dinner in October 2012, I had the honor of meeting Arthur Emilio "Art" Sedillo, a World War II veteran. He was a sergeant in the battalion and, as part of the 5th Engineer Special Brigade, was the frst man to put his foot on Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. His squad was charged with securing the beach in advance of the invasion by the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions. One of Art's duties was to place the 4- by 20-foot banners that directed the infantry troops to their positions. He told me that he never ran so fast in his life, going up and down the beach as machine gun bullets struck the sands where his feet had just been. Although his body was old and he walked with a cane, his eyes shone with youth as he recalled that morning as if it were yesterday. There was also an unmistakable fash of sorrow as he remembered the thousands of Soldiers who never came home from that day. Art rejoined those buddies a few weeks after the reunion, when he passed away at home among family and friends on 8 November 2012. He was 91 years old. I was very humbled and honored to be able to speak with Art and hear his story frsthand. Through it all, he kept expressing how impressed he was with the Army of today, while at the same time downplaying his own achievements. That got me thinking that Soldiers haven't really changed at all. We do our job because it's our duty. We form strong bonds of comradeship, and it's comradeship that drives us and keeps us humble. Art and his comrades at the reunion approved of what we have done with the legacy they left us. As we approach the summer transitions, I have confdence in the Army because it was built by Soldiers like Art. His spirit is refected in you, our current generation of Soldiers. Together, we will carry the legacy forward and make the Army even better for the next generation. Until we meet again, stay safe. Essayons et Faissons! Engineer 5

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Engineer - MAY-AUG 2013