Military Officer - June 2007 - (Page 92)

encore On the Spot Lieutenant Colonel Mannion has his work cut out for him: Get more funding for Army watercraft operations. All that stands in his way is a brieﬁng with a brusque two-star general. D uring my three-year tour in the Ofﬁce of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, part of my job was to serve as the staff proponent for Army watercraft. (The Army has important Title 10 responsibilities related to port operations overseas and maintains an extensive ﬂeet of boats and marine-related equipment.) My duties involved responding to questions about watercraft capabilities and unit locations and steering funding requests through the various review panels competing for scarce operations and maintenance funding. In the spring of 1991, I had to brief the deputy for Force Development within the Ofﬁce of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations — a senior two-star general. This ofﬁce validates requirements and prioritizes funding, so this was a critical brieﬁng. This particular general was from somewhere far south of the Mason-Dixon line, spoke with a pronounced Southern drawl, and had a reputation for being a tough, gruff character who delighted in making life miserable for those brieﬁng. When I was ushered into his huge ofﬁce, he was seated at a table surrounded by a small contingent of colonels — the so-called “bullpen” — who provided advice and recommendations. The general began by asking several questions about watercraft, which I was able to handle with ease. Just when I thought I would escape unharmed and get his support for my modest $24 million funding request, his tone became increasingly more serious. 92 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2007 The general questioned the rationale for an Army boat unit, stationed in Honolulu, that supported the 25th Infantry Division at Schoﬁeld Barracks. I discussed its contingency support missions, and, hoping to add justiﬁcation, also discussed how the unit supported disaster-relief missions following typhoons, hurricanes, and tidal waves. I then mentioned as many atolls and island groups in the western Paciﬁc as I could recall from my high school geography class, including Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and Samoa. The general suddenly growled, “Well, now, Colonel Mannion, do we really need Samoa?” Not remembering anything about Samoa except photos from National Geographic magazines, I began twitching nervously, making up wild justiﬁcations for the role that Samoa plays in our national defense. He quickly cut me off and said: “Oh no, sir, you misunderstand. I mean do we need ‘some-moah’ boats?” I quickly afﬁrmed that we did, in fact, need some more boats and recapped the needed funding. He smiled, said I had his full support, and intitialed my staff action sheet. I slunk out as fast as my rubbery legs could move. MO — Michael J. Mannion is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. He lives in Virginia. ILLUSTRATION: ELWOOD SMITH

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Military Officer - June 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Getting the Best Care Stand By Me Promise for PTSD Cover Story: Heavy Duty Unified Medical Command Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2007

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