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As Lieutenant Colonel Smith sipped his morning coffee and prepared for classes at the United States Army War College, he suddenly felt a variety of emotions. Checking the United States Army Human Resources Command website, he saw his name as a command selectee on the Strategic Support list. "Strategic Support" meant command in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and although he had extensive service in tactical and nontactical positions, he had never served there. He knew little about USACE, but in a few months he would take command and lead a billion-dollar organization of almost 1,000 civilians, focusing on construction projects in several states. His thought was, "How can I lead an organization I know so little about?"
Given the current force structure and operational assignments, many officers' first assignment in USACE occurs at the commander or deputy commander level. Currently, USACE has 45 districts, each with commander and deputy commander positions. Nine districts are commanded by a lieutenant colonel and 36 are commanded by a colonel. In addition, there are nine USACE divisions commanded by a general officer, each with a colonel deputy commanding general position. This force structure yields a demand of 99 officers, mostly at the lieutenant colonel and colonel grades. Many officers successfully complete battalion command and then are selected for a colonel-level command slot in a USACE district, or successfully complete an assignment as an operations and training or executive officer and then are sent to a USACE district as a senior major or junior lieutenant colonel.
Training Plan Needed
Serving successfully as the commander or deputy commander with no prior experience in the USACE organization is a challenging and arduous experience. This is true for any organization. To be successful under these conditions requires a dedicated training plan that reinforces the USACE Campaign Plan to develop and retain a highly skilled workforce. The purpose of this article is to provide a certification recommendation and self-development training plan that can be tailored to a specific district and implemented with few resources and minimal time and provide the new commander increased credibility and skills within the first six months of command. This recommendation includes project management certification and a way of quickly ascertaining which courses hold the...