Today's Engineer School - Brief Article

Change has become a way of life with the Army, the training community, and your Engineer School. In 1989, the Engineer School moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; in 1995, we began planning to receive two other schools. On 1 October 1999, the Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN) and Fort Leonard Wood replaced the Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood. However, amid these changes, we continue to contribute to the evolution occurring in the Army, seek to influence TRADOC's planning for transformation among the schools, and produce concepts and products for the Engineer Regiment.

With all these things going on, and the fact that we have now been operating under the MANSCEN umbrella for nearly 2 years, we believe it is time to pause and give you an overview of what we look like now and how we are going about doing your business--the business of the Engineer School.

Essentially, the processes by which we produce concepts, materiel, organizations, doctrine, training, and soldiers have not changed. Many of the same people who were working within the Engineer School 2 years ago continue working to produce the same types of engineer products. However, some of these people now work within MANSCEN directorates.

The Engineer School has benefited from MANSCEN in a number of ways. We have access to advanced classrooms and computer labs and new and improved training facilities. We have learned some new processes and business practices from the staff of the Military Police and Chemical Schools. We believe our influence as a Branch has not been diminished; MANSCEN can serve as an amplifier of the Engineer School's requirements.

Undoubtedly, for those of us who work here, communication and lines of authority are a bit more complex than when we were a "stand-alone" school. However, we aspire to keep those things invisible to you and provide the same quality and quantity of products as were produced when the Engineer School was the "only kid on the block." As is pointed out in the closing paragraph of the following article, we still have great engineer people doing the work of the Engineer Regiment.

Brigadier General Johnson, former Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Engineer School, is now commander of the Pacific Ocean Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Shafter Hawaii.

COPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group