By Geoff Prosch

by Geoff Prosch

It was my honor to serve on President George W. Bush’s team 2001-2009 as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations and Environment).  The first two years were special because A-Man (BG ret Tom White ’67, creator of the A-Man Rabble Rouser*) was Secretary of the Army.

Good leaders have a certain aura about them that is infectious and exciting.  People like to be around them.  Tom White is one of those great leaders.  During his watch, when we walked into the Pentagon every morning, we had a “bounce in our step” knowing we were working for A-Man.  This is the same A-Man who wrestled with the Penn State’s mascot Nittany Lion under the Poop Deck** during a Football Game Mess Hall dinner rally, kicked the lion’s ass, and dragged him off stage by the tail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom White “tangled” with SECDEF Rumsfeld frequently because he always told the “Emperor when he was not wearing any clothes”.  Tom White ultimately was fired by the SECDEF for challenging Rumsfeld’s failure to plan for post-invasion law and order in Iraq.  White backed Chief of Staff of the Army Ric Shinseki (USMA ’65), when Shinseki accurately predicted that limiting the size of the US Iraq invasion force would be a strategic failure.  History proved White and Shinseki right and SECDEF Rumsfeld flat wrong.

My office was on the 2d Floor E-Ring of the Pentagon overlooking Arlington National Cemetery.  When the first plane hit the Twin Tower, I turned on my office TV.  I watched as the second plane hit the other Twin Tower.  We all then knew it was a terrorist attack on the homeland.

When the plane hit the Pentagon one corridor down the hall, I was jolted in my chair.  A fireball came down the E-Ring that sounded like a locomotive going by.  It was followed by thick smoke which eventually forced us to vacate the building.  I walked out the River Entrance across the South Parking Lot to the Doubletree Hotel—up to the top floor revolving restaurant—and watched the Pentagon burn.  People were crying watching the TV as they saw fathers and mothers leap off the building to avoid burning to death.  They opened the bar.  I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.

About an hour later, I was hit by a guilt attack.  It became clear that I did not belong at the Doubletree Hotel.  I talked my way through the Arlington Police and Building Security and re-entered the burning Pentagon at the Mall Entrance heading for the Army Operations Center—through smoke and dust-filled corridors.

The Mall Entrance is located approximately in the middle of the Pentagon’s Marshall Corridor on the E-Ring 2d Floor.  George Marshall in my opinion was our greatest Soldier/Statesman of the 20^th century.  Just across from the Secretary of the Army’s office is a small alcove dedicated to Marshall’s half-century of service.  Sitting prominently in the middle of the alcove is a life size bust of Marshall, sculpted by Nison A. Tregor*** in 1943.

As I passed by, I caught a glimpse of the bust, shrouded in smoke, Marshall’s face gazed back at me resolutely as if to say, “Stay Strong, this too shall pass”.  Strengthened, I moved on.

When I entered the Army Ops Center, Tom White was conducting a headcount and addressing the troops.  We determined that the Army G1, LTG Tim Maude, had been killed in his office situated directly above the impact of the plane.  Tom White’s remarks were forceful and calming.  He gave us confidence that we would attack this threat and win.  Everyone broke into a spontaneous rousing chorus of “God Bless America”.

The Pentagon Building Operations Center (BOCC) was critical to the success of containing the fire.  The BOCC was able to report to SECDEF the status of the fire and cause the Pentagon to not be fully evacuated.  Most of the other Federal buildings in DC and the White House were fully evacuated after the Pentagon was hit.  The Pentagon remained operational.  The BOCC was able to identify the location of severed water lines and provide “work-around” solutions to the Arlington Fire Department.  The BOCC was able to adjust atmospheric pressure at the site of the attack to purge smoke from the building.  This particular building operations center was installed by Johnson Controls, Inc. a year prior to the attack to save energy.  It ultimately saved lives.

I’ve never forgotten these very inspiring moments on that very dark day in American history.  The Pentagon roof burned for 3 more days.  The Pentagon civilian workforce all reported for duty the next morning after the attack….no way could you call this Pentagon government work force “Rear Echelon”.

The day after the attack, the Army Corps of Engineers began the renovation planning.  The renovation work crew had 3 shifts and worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When you drove by the Pentagon late at night during the renovation, the roof was lit up and workers looked like ants crawling around.  President Bush cut the ribbon on the renovated Pentagon wedge one year after the attack—September 11^th, 2002.

* West Point cheerleaders (called “rabble rousers”) added the character A-Man to their team with a cadet dressed in a cape patterned after Batman.

** According to Bugle Notes (the cadet Bible for important information), the poop-deck is the balcony in the dining hall from which orders are published to the Corp of Cadets. On rare occasions, the poop-deck is used in a different way. For example, at the time of the famous Duty, Honor Country speech by General Douglas MacArthur, Mrs. MacArthur, Mrs. Westmoreland and other ladies in their party were served their lunch on and listened to the speech from the poop deck. In cadet parlance, “poop” is defined as information to be memorized.

*** Sculptor Nison Tregor, a naturalized citizen from Lithuania, enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1943, working first at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. where he helped plastic surgeons by reconstructing in clay the faces of soldiers shattered in the war. Later, because of his fluency in German, Russian, Polish, Serbian and Czech as well as experience with sculpture, Tregor was moved to the MFAA (Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives) of the U.S. 12^th Army Group in Europe. He was one of the “Monuments Men”, helping to catalog and preserve the great art of Europe.

Having attended West Point Founders Day dinners for almost 50 years, many at the Washington D.C. West Point Society Chapter, I have watched throughout the years as the Castle Award was given to people that I have known and admired. That is why when the call came that I was to be so honored, I was surprised, very humbled. My part of the ceremony was to accept the award and address those assembled at the dinner. Here is a copy of my thoughts upon receiving this honor.

Thank you for the faith and trust you have placed in me as this year’s recipient of the Castle Memorial Award. It is an honor that I will never forget, and I will strive to maintain the legacy of those who came before me.

In preparation of my remarks, our Society President General Guy Swan gave me guidance: “Prosch, be brief, be bright, and be gone”.

So, I am going to share a few West Point vignettes, provide some observations on our older grads and younger grads, and strive to meet those instructions.

My first visit to West Point was in the 1950’s as a Cub Scout. My dad, the pack master, took us up for a field trip. We climbed over old cannons at Trophy Point, saw a parade, and watched an Army baseball game.

On the trip back home, my dad informed me that his Army Air Corps B-17 squadron commander was a West Pointer and a very good leader. He cited how in the early stages of WWII, the U.S. Army 8th Air Force was assigned the daylight bombing missions over Germany—and was taking heavy unit casualties – and that the unit living and working conditions in rural England were very poor. Shortly after the new West Point squadron commander arrived, however, positive changes occurred. Field sanitation and rations improved. They moved from tents to Quonset huts.

The new squadron commander bore into morale issues such as late pay and mail. But more importantly, he trained them relentlessly, around the clock in gunnery proficiency—to be deadly accurate. The B-17 bomber with six turrets and dual 50 caliber Browning machine guns was called the “Flying Fortress”.

The squadron conducted drills, rehearsals, and practice bombing raids on the base runway. The commander made them fly in tight formations to put out a 50-caliber wall of steel. Squadron casualties dropped dramatically.

My dad told this story to an enraptured 9-year-old boy while driving back to the suburbs of New York City. He never mentioned West Point again to me …… But he did keep his Eisenhower Jacket with Major oak leaves and combat decorations hanging in his closet …eight years after my Cub Scout trip, I entered West Point.

On 4 June 1969, I witnessed what I then thought was the greatest sight in my life — West Point in the rearview mirror of my car. But I have learned that it was not West Point I was speeding away from on graduation day, rather my TAC (Tactical Officer – the Officer in charge of each cadet company), Central Area (where cadets walked off demerits),

and Final Exams. I discovered that I enjoyed the Army—reinforced by heavy leadership responsibilities and close relationships with soldiers. In fact, over the years, West Point has drawn me home. Each visit still invigorates my spirit and soul. When I eventually reboot from the private workforce to the full-time volunteer ranks, West Point will remain the center of gravity of my volunteer efforts and passion.

I am a child of the WWII generation: American men and women who grew up in the Great Depression, served in WWII, defeated the world’s tyrants, and then devoted their adult years to the building of modern America. This spectacular generation shaped our lives. They included our parents, teachers, ministers, and hometown merchants—who showed us the way through their own standards of hard work, sacrifice, and personal responsibility. These were lessons that have impacted my generation and which we have strived to pass onto our children. Our WWII veterans are with us in spirit, they are older, they are moving on, and they are all commemorated by the magnificent WWII memorial on the national mall—with great leader quotes carved in the stunning white marble columns, including GEN George Marshall’s quote (ROTC Virginia Military Institute, who gets my vote for greatest Soldier/Statesman of the 20th Century).
“We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other”.

We greatly admire our WWII era grads, but we also are in awe of our younger grads. They watched the twin towers fall in New York City. They reacted, as we all did, with disbelief and with anger. And then this generation reacted with fierce determination. They made a promise to their country that they would lead in the battle for civilization in the global war on terror. They volunteered for Army duty and have served annual combat tours back—to—back—to back since 9/11. They are in for what they can give—not what they can get. You young military veterans, will be recognized as the greatest generation of this century — you represent America’s values and greatness at its core.

We appreciate the great work done by the West Point Class of 1958 who established and manages today the Walter Reed “Wounded Warriors Mentor Program” which has touched so many West Point Warriors including Dan Berschinski, Class of 2007, and Larkin O’Hern, Class of 2008. Dan, who lost both legs above the knee and his left arm from an IED in Iraq, advises, “I can still kick ass. I just need you old grads to tell me which ass to kick”. Larkin, who similarly, lost both legs above the knee and an arm in Iraq from an IED says his favorite quote comes from Winston Churchill: “Never, never, never give up.”
Today we see in our young grads the face of courage. We are inspired by their tenacity and strength. These American Soldiers are the future of our great Army. The Army and the American Soldier who have kept the wolf out of the barn since 1775 . . . And who will never … never … never give up. Army Strong. Thank You.

When I arrived in the Pentagon in June 2001, one of our biggest challenges was dealing with the Army’s old, deteriorating and insufficient number of on-post family housing units. One of the ugliest secrets in the Army was that married junior enlisted soldiers could not get housing on post. The neediest were moved to the back of the line. They were forced to live in trailer parks long distances from post often in unsavory neighborhoods–with drive-by shootings and lousy schools. This big quality of life issue was magnified when we began deploying our Soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan every other year—leaving their families in jeopardy.

The sad history of poor, scarce enlisted Army on-post housing was punctuated with the suicide of 13-year-old Danny Holley in Marina, CA outside the gates of Fort Ord in 1984. Danny’s father was serving an unaccompanied tour of duty in Korea following a transfer from Germany. He left his wife and four children at Fort Ord. They could not get housing on post and were forced to live off-post in a tiny home at an exorbitant rent. The danger signals came when Danny was found collecting bottles for tiny refunds and visiting the Army Community Services Food Pantry seeking to obtain food for himself, his sister and two brothers. When he hung himself, his suicide note read: “If there is one less to feed, maybe things can be better”.
When the Army considered the situation further, it was learned that there were 37 Army families living in tents on camp grounds at Fort Ord. This tragic incident was one spark that motivated Congress ultimately to pass legislation authorizing the Department of Defense (DOD) to privatize military housing via the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996. The leadership of former Congressman Leon Panetta (Ft. Ord was in his CA District) was critical to getting this legislation passed. (Note: Secretary of Defense from 2011-2013, Leon Panetta was the 2015 Association of the U.S. Army Marshall Award Winner.)

Each uniformed service created a new or augmented an existing organization to implement the MHPI legislation. The Army’s approach was to create the Residential Communities Initiative (RCI) to manage this process. When I arrived at the Pentagon, the RCI program was just beginning to take root.
RCI champions came from both sides of the aisle — but most notable was former Congressman Chet Edwards (D, TX), with the Army’s RCI Pilot Project at Ft. Hood in his district. Because it was a new program that did not quite fit the mold of established real estate projects, there was uncertainty on Wall Street and the banks were skeptical of providing debt funding to the Ft. Hood RCI Project. Chet Edwards weighed in, and lent his support both inside and outside government. As a former real estate executive, Congressmen Edwards had a unique perspective and understanding of both the governmental and the private sector requirements associated with this program. In essence, he became an important “Rosetta Stone” for governmental and commercial entities.

The beauty of RCI funding is that the income stream comes from the Soldiers’ Basic Allowance for Housing. In this sense the revenue that would be available to the various projects was an entitlement as opposed to annual discretionary funding such as military construction budgets. The Army was able to select world class industry housing development partners and hired Jones Lang LaSalle (led by Dr/COL retired Barry Scribner USMA 1974) to augment the Army RCI team. We created a privatized housing acquisition center of excellence at the Baltimore District of the Corps of Engineers with outstanding attorneys and financial analysts.

A key ingredient to our success was the financial genius of my USMA 1969 classmate Tom Fagan. After over 20 years active duty and a very successful career in finance, Tom, following 9/11, agreed to lend his expertise to the Army as a civilian consultant for the program under Jones Lang LaSalle. Tom’s financial and development acumen were key to the success of the RCI program. In fact, one of the projects that he led for the Army in Hawaii was named Wall Street magazine, Project Finance’s – “Deal of the Year” in 2005.

RCI enabled the total recapitalization and expansion of the Army’s family housing inventory via a collaborative process called the Community Development Management Plan (CDMP). The CDMP took a holistic view of the residential portion of a military installation and added quality of life improvements such as neighborhood community centers, jogging trails, and new/improved schools. This could never have been accomplished under the old Corps of Engineers military construction (MILCON) method.

The next time you are on an Army post, check out the Family Housing neighborhoods…I believe you will find quality homes, in friendly neighborhoods, where you would be proud to have your children and grandchildren live.

Privatizing the Army’s family housing inventory was my proudest accomplishment as a President George W. Bush appointee in the Pentagon leading the Army’s Installations and Environment team.
Examples of Residential Communities Initiative Military Housing

Ft. Drum, NY

Ft. Stewart, GA

Ft. Lewis, WA

Ft. Rucker, AL