WEBVTT 00:06.980 --> 00:08.869 Welcome to Cor Construction , the 00:08.869 --> 00:11.091 podcast of the Tulsa District , US Army 00:11.091 --> 00:13.313 Corps of Engineers . Today , I'm joined 00:13.313 --> 00:16.040 by Wade Anderson . Wade is the Chief 00:16.049 --> 00:18.680 engineer and Dam Safety Officer for the 00:18.690 --> 00:21.440 California Mega Projects Office of the 00:21.450 --> 00:24.870 Southwester Division . Is that correct ? 00:25.120 --> 00:27.530 Cool , Wade . Thank you for joining us 00:27.540 --> 00:29.840 for construction . I appreciate you . 00:30.159 --> 00:32.326 You taking time before your retirement 00:32.326 --> 00:36.220 today . Um What are , what do you 00:36.229 --> 00:38.396 think about when you look back and you 00:38.396 --> 00:41.380 see 35 years ? Well , tell me about 00:41.389 --> 00:43.500 when you got , when you first came to 00:43.500 --> 00:45.445 the Tulsa District . Um I actually 00:45.445 --> 00:47.556 started with the Tulsa District right 00:47.556 --> 00:49.500 out of college from Oklahoma State 00:49.500 --> 00:53.400 University um in December 26th 00:53.409 --> 00:56.930 of 1989 . Um When I got hired , the 00:57.040 --> 00:59.151 gentleman that hired me said , if you 00:59.151 --> 01:01.318 want this job come to work on December 01:01.318 --> 01:04.519 26 . So I did and I've um worked for 01:04.529 --> 01:06.585 the Corps and other federal agencies 01:06.585 --> 01:08.807 since that time . But um I started as a 01:08.807 --> 01:10.918 geotechnical engineer and had various 01:10.918 --> 01:13.730 jobs throughout the years in various 01:13.739 --> 01:15.795 organizations . But uh that's how it 01:15.795 --> 01:18.330 all started as a young rookie right out 01:18.339 --> 01:21.519 of college . Were you a um adherent to 01:22.000 --> 01:24.589 Terzi I've read a few books , Terzi , 01:25.040 --> 01:27.151 I've read his biography . Um I'm kind 01:27.151 --> 01:29.610 of a nerd about engineering type things , 01:29.620 --> 01:31.731 especially geotechnical engineering . 01:31.731 --> 01:33.787 So yes , Terzi is like the father of 01:33.787 --> 01:35.842 geotechnical engineering . So we all 01:35.842 --> 01:37.898 know who he is and use his equations 01:37.898 --> 01:40.779 over the years and such . So uh there , 01:40.790 --> 01:42.901 there was a , there was a joke during 01:42.901 --> 01:45.068 the like a few years back when we were 01:45.068 --> 01:47.123 doing some dam safety projects and I 01:47.123 --> 01:49.012 think you were heading up the Dam 01:49.012 --> 01:51.179 Safety Production Center at the time . 01:51.179 --> 01:53.012 And the joke was uh Wade's gonna 01:53.012 --> 01:55.900 suggest a um what is it , the , the 01:55.910 --> 01:58.440 barrier , the cut off , cut off wall ? 01:59.930 --> 02:02.319 Is that uh why are those so important 02:02.330 --> 02:04.839 in engineering ? Well , that just kind 02:04.849 --> 02:07.260 of funny . There's years ago , there 02:07.269 --> 02:09.380 were jokes about us being the core of 02:09.380 --> 02:11.699 cut off walls when we began to repair 02:11.710 --> 02:13.710 some of our dams . But depending on 02:13.710 --> 02:15.432 what's going on beneath , it's 02:15.432 --> 02:17.488 typically within the foundation of a 02:17.488 --> 02:19.830 dam that has seepage . So seepage isn't 02:19.839 --> 02:21.672 necessarily bad , but we like to 02:21.672 --> 02:23.895 control it one way to control it is cut 02:23.895 --> 02:25.950 it off . So we call that technique a 02:25.950 --> 02:28.300 cut off wall . So , so when you look 02:28.309 --> 02:30.389 back on 35 years , um 02:32.210 --> 02:36.169 you said 1989 you said December 2626 02:36.179 --> 02:38.401 the day after Christmas . So you showed 02:38.401 --> 02:40.235 up the day after Christmas , was 02:40.235 --> 02:42.123 anybody actually here . Um We are 02:42.123 --> 02:44.440 actually downtown in our two buildings 02:44.449 --> 02:47.690 ago . Um And no there was , my boss 02:47.699 --> 02:51.009 wasn't here at that time . Uh Our human 02:51.020 --> 02:53.298 resources was actually in the district . 02:53.298 --> 02:55.520 So there was a whole branch or division 02:55.520 --> 02:58.360 called Human Resources , I think . And 02:58.369 --> 03:00.480 they weren't there . They didn't come 03:00.480 --> 03:02.536 until like 10 o'clock . So , um , my 03:02.536 --> 03:04.647 buddy and I both started the same day 03:04.647 --> 03:07.169 and , um , sat there in front of the 03:07.179 --> 03:09.457 human resources office till 10 o'clock . 03:09.457 --> 03:11.346 But they did get there and put us 03:11.346 --> 03:13.290 immediately to work , uh , reading 03:13.290 --> 03:15.346 things , catching up on things , you 03:15.346 --> 03:17.512 know , all that kind of stuff you have 03:17.512 --> 03:17.470 to do when you start signing all that 03:17.490 --> 03:19.490 and processing paperwork . Actually 03:19.490 --> 03:21.490 swearing us in . I don't know if we 03:21.490 --> 03:23.823 still do that . But yeah , you still do . 03:23.823 --> 03:25.934 Well , we did 10 years ago , we still 03:26.009 --> 03:28.470 do . Um , what , what's been your 03:28.479 --> 03:31.250 favorite assignment in terms of that 03:31.259 --> 03:33.481 you felt gave you the most growth as an 03:33.481 --> 03:35.899 engineer or in , in terms of the core . 03:36.050 --> 03:38.710 Um That's a really good question . I 03:38.720 --> 03:40.942 could think of my favorite for a lot of 03:40.942 --> 03:43.220 different reasons but as far as growth , 03:43.610 --> 03:46.179 um , you know , I'd been a mostly a 03:46.190 --> 03:48.550 technical engineer for 20 something 03:48.559 --> 03:50.949 years when we actually established the 03:50.960 --> 03:53.071 Dam Safety Production Center that you 03:53.071 --> 03:55.182 referred to a minute ago . And , um , 03:55.410 --> 03:57.577 I'd been a supervisor for just a short 03:57.577 --> 03:59.889 time and then we stood that up and I 03:59.899 --> 04:02.066 had to stand up that center . It was a 04:02.066 --> 04:04.121 started out with about 12 people and 04:04.121 --> 04:07.139 grew to , it's over 40 now . But , you 04:07.149 --> 04:09.316 know , I had to essentially start up a 04:09.316 --> 04:12.110 whole organization um that not just 04:12.119 --> 04:14.389 delivering projects but all the 04:14.399 --> 04:16.820 administrative personnel . So that made 04:16.829 --> 04:19.540 me really grow as a , a professional 04:19.549 --> 04:21.980 because I had to learn other things , 04:21.989 --> 04:23.989 get comfortable with other things . 04:23.989 --> 04:26.170 Well , beyond just trying to manage a 04:26.179 --> 04:28.859 project , w when you're standing up an 04:28.869 --> 04:31.820 organization that's brand new and 04:31.829 --> 04:33.718 hasn't really technically existed 04:33.718 --> 04:36.399 before . How do you even start ? 04:38.119 --> 04:40.175 Well , I had a lot of help , a whole 04:40.175 --> 04:44.100 lot of help . Um We were a subdivision 04:44.109 --> 04:45.760 or branch of engineering and 04:45.769 --> 04:47.936 construction to start out and that was 04:47.936 --> 04:50.410 by design . Um Cliff Warren was still 04:50.420 --> 04:52.531 here if you remember him as the chief 04:52.531 --> 04:54.859 of engineering and construction . So um 04:55.390 --> 04:57.980 they just took us under their wing kind 04:57.989 --> 05:00.149 of we , we existed underneath an 05:00.160 --> 05:01.716 umbrella of engineering and 05:01.716 --> 05:03.716 construction for about a year and a 05:03.716 --> 05:05.493 half . So I had all the help of 05:05.493 --> 05:07.649 overhead budget folks , uh finance 05:07.660 --> 05:09.929 folks , personnel and then about a year 05:09.940 --> 05:12.119 and a half later , we broke off to be 05:12.130 --> 05:14.549 kind of independent uh directly under 05:14.559 --> 05:16.859 the executive office . But um it just 05:16.869 --> 05:18.869 took a lot of help . I didn't , you 05:18.869 --> 05:21.429 know , Eddie Macho and um Jeanette were 05:21.440 --> 05:23.679 really helpful in understanding that 05:23.690 --> 05:27.000 whole administrative side of managing 05:27.010 --> 05:29.399 the division beyond uh doing the work 05:29.410 --> 05:33.010 itself . What um 05:33.239 --> 05:36.380 what do you when you look back and you , 05:36.390 --> 05:39.410 you know , what do you attribute your 05:39.420 --> 05:41.642 growth because you've , you've moved up 05:41.642 --> 05:43.698 over the years and especially in the 05:43.698 --> 05:45.809 last few years , it seemed like you , 05:45.809 --> 05:47.864 you were , you were sort of with the 05:47.864 --> 05:50.031 Tulsa district but you were , you were 05:50.031 --> 05:50.000 doing all these other things like you 05:50.010 --> 05:52.299 were working at a headquarters . Um , 05:52.309 --> 05:55.420 how was that experience ? Um , it was 05:55.429 --> 05:58.720 good . Um , you know , I did , I'd 05:58.730 --> 06:01.049 worked a lot in the Dam Safety Program 06:01.059 --> 06:03.489 side of our house . So , um , at the 06:03.500 --> 06:05.899 time I was the Tulsa Districts Enc 06:05.910 --> 06:08.869 chief . And um there was an opportunity 06:08.880 --> 06:11.630 for to be a Dam Safety program manager 06:11.640 --> 06:13.751 for all of Corps of Engineers , which 06:13.751 --> 06:17.029 is obviously something I was interested 06:17.040 --> 06:19.429 in because of my passion for dam safety . 06:19.440 --> 06:22.079 So , um I was given that opportunity , 06:22.089 --> 06:24.450 I actually was able to do it without 06:24.459 --> 06:27.540 relocating . Um It was in the middle of 06:27.549 --> 06:29.605 the COVID right after COVID hit , it 06:29.605 --> 06:31.989 was in September of 2020 I believe is 06:32.000 --> 06:34.111 when I took that assignment . So that 06:34.111 --> 06:36.222 was nice . Personally , I didn't have 06:36.222 --> 06:39.279 to move . Um I was expected to travel 06:39.290 --> 06:41.401 to DC periodically but with COVID and 06:41.401 --> 06:44.299 all that , I really didn't . But um it 06:44.309 --> 06:47.149 was really in insightful to see the 06:47.160 --> 06:49.160 Corps of engineers operation from a 06:49.160 --> 06:50.993 headquarters level rather than a 06:50.993 --> 06:53.160 district execution level . It was more 06:53.160 --> 06:55.859 on overall programming budgets uh 06:55.869 --> 06:59.260 policy . I started an update to some of 06:59.269 --> 07:01.489 our policy um had to work with other 07:01.500 --> 07:04.500 agencies um that have similar missions 07:04.510 --> 07:06.399 uh work directly with the A S A's 07:06.399 --> 07:08.399 office , assistant secretary of the 07:08.399 --> 07:10.454 Army through the budget process . So 07:10.454 --> 07:12.566 that was just all new and different , 07:12.566 --> 07:14.677 but it was enjoyable because then you 07:14.677 --> 07:17.480 could see how we , what it took to make 07:17.489 --> 07:19.250 the district operate from a 07:19.260 --> 07:23.250 headquarters level . How do you think 07:23.260 --> 07:26.369 it's changed the core over the , 07:27.329 --> 07:29.510 the three decade , 3.5 decades ? What 07:29.519 --> 07:31.741 do you , what would you say the biggest 07:31.741 --> 07:33.741 change for you ? The easy answer is 07:33.741 --> 07:35.741 technology . Um But , um you know , 07:35.741 --> 07:37.908 when I started , we were just starting 07:37.908 --> 07:40.019 to get computers on our desk and then 07:40.019 --> 07:41.910 when we did get them , they were 07:41.920 --> 07:44.059 computers with , I don't know if you 07:44.070 --> 07:46.181 remember , but they had green or , or 07:46.181 --> 07:48.126 orange letters rather than colored 07:48.126 --> 07:50.399 monitors . So that was different . Um 07:50.519 --> 07:53.010 But , you know , just uh 07:55.049 --> 07:57.190 you know , people change with time , 07:57.200 --> 07:59.367 you know , there , we were just coming 07:59.367 --> 08:01.311 out of a time where we had built a 08:01.311 --> 08:03.422 whole bunch of projects like in the , 08:03.422 --> 08:05.644 finished them in the late eighties . So 08:05.644 --> 08:07.867 we were doing an operational mode which 08:07.867 --> 08:10.089 that kind of changed our expertise need 08:10.089 --> 08:12.256 a little bit . Um So we were no longer 08:12.256 --> 08:14.367 designing and building dams and we're 08:14.367 --> 08:16.589 still doing military construction . But 08:16.589 --> 08:19.029 um so that changed with time . Um 08:20.829 --> 08:22.773 Those are probably the two biggest 08:22.773 --> 08:24.496 things , you know . Um I think 08:24.496 --> 08:27.109 obviously cell phones , you know , we , 08:27.380 --> 08:30.160 you worked from 8 to 5 or whatever , um 08:30.660 --> 08:32.716 with cell phones . Now it's a little 08:32.716 --> 08:35.239 bit more flexible but um in a good way , 08:35.250 --> 08:38.349 I think . But does keep you all kind of 08:38.380 --> 08:40.940 in touch around the clock rather than 08:40.950 --> 08:44.159 like 8 to 5 . So those are 23 big 08:44.169 --> 08:47.549 things . Now , you , you served as the 08:47.559 --> 08:50.200 Dam safety Officer for the Mosul Dam 08:50.210 --> 08:53.700 rehabilitation project . What was that 08:53.710 --> 08:55.766 like doing ? I mean , because you're 08:55.766 --> 08:57.988 saying a project that was constructed , 08:58.929 --> 09:02.500 I'm assuming with by , by people 09:02.510 --> 09:04.677 who , you know , outside of the United 09:04.677 --> 09:06.732 States obviously , but , but by , by 09:06.732 --> 09:08.899 and probably international engineers , 09:08.899 --> 09:10.788 I'm sure they brought in a lot of 09:10.788 --> 09:12.899 different people when they originally 09:12.899 --> 09:14.954 constructed it . But what , what was 09:14.954 --> 09:17.289 that experience like being in Iraq and , 09:17.299 --> 09:20.840 and , and trying to keep that dam in 09:20.849 --> 09:22.516 order during in the middle of 09:22.516 --> 09:26.159 essentially AAA war , right ? Um It was , 09:26.309 --> 09:28.365 it was probably the most challenging 09:28.365 --> 09:30.140 assignment I've had um for me 09:30.150 --> 09:32.549 personally being away from a comfort 09:32.559 --> 09:34.559 place . I mean , it was comfortable 09:34.559 --> 09:36.615 there . I had my own little room and 09:36.830 --> 09:39.219 plenty to eat . Um You know , and we 09:39.229 --> 09:41.396 were always safe , nothing ever really 09:41.396 --> 09:43.510 happened . Um You know , I became the 09:43.739 --> 09:45.628 safety officer a little more than 09:45.628 --> 09:49.289 halfway through that project . Um But 09:49.299 --> 09:51.409 it was built with the intent to 09:51.419 --> 09:53.586 continually grout the foundation , you 09:53.586 --> 09:55.530 talked about a cut off all earlier 09:55.530 --> 09:57.697 grouting . The foundation is a similar 09:57.697 --> 09:59.808 technique um just because of the type 09:59.808 --> 10:01.809 of foundation it was built on , but 10:01.820 --> 10:03.931 they've got behind on that because of 10:03.931 --> 10:05.653 all the war and things you had 10:05.653 --> 10:07.709 mentioned So um there was an Italian 10:07.709 --> 10:10.390 firm there . Uh Trevi Ikos was doing 10:10.400 --> 10:13.809 the grouting . Um There was the corps 10:13.820 --> 10:15.542 of Engineers , was leading the 10:15.542 --> 10:17.764 engineering and construction management 10:17.764 --> 10:19.653 of that . We had some engineering 10:19.653 --> 10:21.598 consultants there with us . Um But 10:21.830 --> 10:23.997 probably the most impactful thing that 10:23.997 --> 10:26.219 happened to me . First of all , you get 10:26.219 --> 10:28.108 to fly in on Black Hawks . That's 10:28.108 --> 10:30.219 pretty cool getting on a helicopter . 10:30.219 --> 10:32.386 So , um I've never done that obviously 10:32.386 --> 10:34.552 before and probably never will again . 10:34.552 --> 10:36.774 But , um , so that was always fun . And 10:36.774 --> 10:38.997 that even seeing those Black Hawks come 10:38.997 --> 10:41.052 and land every couple of days in our 10:41.052 --> 10:43.108 camp was kind of your lifeline . You 10:43.108 --> 10:45.163 knew that was how you were gonna get 10:45.163 --> 10:47.163 home someday . But , um , the day I 10:47.163 --> 10:49.274 landed , uh General Sein , who was at 10:49.274 --> 10:51.441 that time , the chief of engineers got 10:51.441 --> 10:53.552 on the helicopter , I got off to come 10:53.552 --> 10:55.663 home and they had a change of command 10:55.663 --> 10:57.497 of the task force . Uh There's a 10:57.497 --> 10:59.608 colonel that was the commander of the 10:59.608 --> 11:01.774 task force and the new one was Colonel 11:01.774 --> 11:03.774 Seacrest and I'd been there about a 11:03.774 --> 11:05.997 week and he called me in his office and 11:05.997 --> 11:08.052 he said , did you see General Semite 11:08.052 --> 11:10.163 here the day you landed ? Yes , sir . 11:10.163 --> 11:12.274 He said we need to get out of here by 11:12.274 --> 11:15.190 July 5th of 2019 . It was about , I 11:15.200 --> 11:17.256 think it was May of 2018 , something 11:17.256 --> 11:19.144 like that . He said , you need to 11:19.150 --> 11:21.000 figure out what makes you guys 11:21.010 --> 11:23.232 comfortable with leaving this sta going 11:23.232 --> 11:26.599 on . So we spent about a month um 11:26.609 --> 11:28.570 working with our engineers , a 11:28.580 --> 11:30.691 engineering firm we had there with us 11:30.691 --> 11:32.469 and the Iraqi engineers , Iraqi 11:32.469 --> 11:34.524 engineers were very involved with us 11:34.524 --> 11:36.799 every day . We met with them and um we 11:36.809 --> 11:39.142 came up with a plan , we prioritized it , 11:39.142 --> 11:41.031 gave it to the contractor and our 11:41.031 --> 11:42.920 construction management folks and 11:42.920 --> 11:45.320 everyone was gone on July 4th of 2019 11:45.950 --> 11:48.006 and there's been focus go back , not 11:48.006 --> 11:50.172 with the corps of engineers , but have 11:50.172 --> 11:52.339 said that the Iraqis have continued to 11:52.339 --> 11:55.039 grab that as intended with all the 11:55.049 --> 11:57.630 modern technology that was provided to 11:57.640 --> 11:59.989 them and training and such . So I think 12:00.000 --> 12:02.549 that's a success . Um We got out on 12:02.559 --> 12:04.726 time as a general seminar gave us that 12:04.726 --> 12:06.781 due date to get out and everyone got 12:06.781 --> 12:09.099 out safely . The I , I think it , it's 12:09.109 --> 12:13.070 often um understated in general 12:13.080 --> 12:15.247 for people who , who don't know , like 12:15.299 --> 12:19.130 the significance of being um the , the , 12:19.190 --> 12:23.000 the safety , you know , engineer or 12:23.010 --> 12:25.066 the , or the engineer on a project , 12:25.066 --> 12:27.288 lead engineer when you have to sign off 12:27.288 --> 12:29.520 on something , can you talk about the 12:29.530 --> 12:32.559 enormous responsibility that goes into , 12:33.039 --> 12:36.799 you know that into that aspect of being 12:36.809 --> 12:38.976 an engineer because you're sort of the 12:38.976 --> 12:40.920 captain of the ship in terms of if 12:40.920 --> 12:42.920 something goes wrong , everything's 12:42.920 --> 12:45.087 gonna point back to you . So you wanna 12:45.087 --> 12:47.365 make it , make sure it's right . Right . 12:47.365 --> 12:49.476 No , that I , that's what we do every 12:49.476 --> 12:51.698 day . I mean , that's our job . So , um 12:51.698 --> 12:53.920 you know , there's really two roles for 12:53.920 --> 12:56.031 that here in the district , there's a 12:56.031 --> 12:58.031 Chief of Engineering or engineering 12:58.031 --> 13:00.309 construction that's really responsible . 13:00.309 --> 13:02.253 And then there's a safety and levy 13:02.253 --> 13:04.365 safety officer that oftentimes is the 13:04.365 --> 13:06.587 same individual . But um you know , the 13:06.587 --> 13:08.642 day to day engineering that we do is 13:08.642 --> 13:10.753 under the responsibility of the Chief 13:10.753 --> 13:13.087 of Engineering construction and there's , 13:13.087 --> 13:15.253 we have a whole staff of experts . You 13:15.253 --> 13:17.365 can't be an expert in everything . So 13:17.365 --> 13:19.420 you , you have to rely on those that 13:19.420 --> 13:21.587 are , but you , it's still important . 13:21.587 --> 13:23.919 It's a significant responsibility , not 13:23.929 --> 13:25.985 just on civil works , you know , the 13:25.985 --> 13:27.707 same thing applies to military 13:27.707 --> 13:29.929 construction . We , we're working under 13:29.929 --> 13:31.985 our um authority and essentially our 13:31.985 --> 13:34.359 license if you will . Um And then 13:34.590 --> 13:36.646 safety and levee safety officer when 13:36.646 --> 13:39.659 we're in flood operations , that's your 13:39.669 --> 13:41.960 responsibility . And I've often said to 13:41.969 --> 13:44.136 my colleagues and those that work with 13:44.136 --> 13:46.630 me that being a safety officer might be 13:46.809 --> 13:49.789 5% of your job when you're the chief of 13:49.799 --> 13:51.855 engineering and the safety officer , 13:51.855 --> 13:54.510 but it's the most important 5% . So , 13:54.890 --> 13:56.946 and I've also also often said that's 13:56.946 --> 13:59.168 what we work for every day . You know , 13:59.168 --> 14:01.479 my daughter used to laugh at me and say 14:01.659 --> 14:04.479 my dad gets excited when it rains , but 14:04.750 --> 14:06.917 not because I want to flood , but just 14:06.917 --> 14:09.083 because we've worked year round two or 14:09.083 --> 14:11.306 three years . And now it's time to test 14:11.306 --> 14:13.472 what we've been trying to maintain and 14:13.472 --> 14:16.409 be ready for . So um I had a , a 14:16.580 --> 14:18.802 thought in my head and then I just lost 14:18.802 --> 14:21.024 it for a second . Give me just a moment 14:21.024 --> 14:23.809 to ca catch up . Um Yeah , 14:25.210 --> 14:27.840 there's a , there's a big emphasis in 14:27.849 --> 14:29.460 general I think um in career 14:29.460 --> 14:31.405 development , you're in leadership 14:31.405 --> 14:33.516 world all the time about mentorship , 14:33.516 --> 14:35.627 who mentored you when you , who , who 14:35.627 --> 14:37.793 would you say were the biggest mentors 14:37.793 --> 14:40.016 for you when you , when you came to the 14:40.016 --> 14:42.238 core um biggest , he's no longer around 14:42.238 --> 14:44.460 you may not remember him . His name was 14:44.460 --> 14:46.405 Bill Ner . At that time , we had a 14:46.405 --> 14:48.919 geotechnical branch that was part of 14:48.929 --> 14:52.530 engineering division . And um he was at 14:52.539 --> 14:54.706 the time , he was a section chief , it 14:54.706 --> 14:56.650 was called Soul Mechanic Section , 14:56.650 --> 14:58.761 which never had that in a long time . 14:58.761 --> 15:00.983 But um he was a section chief and there 15:00.983 --> 15:03.440 were , at that time , we had a lot of 15:03.450 --> 15:07.299 military construction work and we did 15:07.309 --> 15:09.420 all the foundation designs in house . 15:09.420 --> 15:11.587 Every one of them . We didn't engine , 15:11.587 --> 15:13.690 we might hire an A E to design a 15:13.700 --> 15:15.811 building or something like that , but 15:15.811 --> 15:17.978 we designed the foundation and gave it 15:17.978 --> 15:20.200 to them . That was just our practice at 15:20.200 --> 15:22.367 the time . So there were three or four 15:22.367 --> 15:24.367 young engineers myself , Randy Mead 15:24.367 --> 15:26.311 who's still here , Mike Southern , 15:26.311 --> 15:29.309 who's at SWD um a couple of others . 15:29.330 --> 15:33.239 And I remember the first report , we 15:33.250 --> 15:35.472 had a format we had to follow , write a 15:35.472 --> 15:38.729 report and give it to him and it came 15:38.739 --> 15:41.017 back , it looked like a Christmas tree . 15:41.017 --> 15:43.840 I mean , it had red all over it , but 15:44.070 --> 15:46.070 he didn't just give it to me and go 15:46.070 --> 15:48.181 here , fix this . He called me in his 15:48.181 --> 15:50.348 office . He went through every comment 15:50.348 --> 15:53.599 individually , um help me understand 15:53.609 --> 15:56.809 that . And then fast forward a few 15:56.820 --> 15:59.950 months he sent me to , I was on a 15:59.960 --> 16:02.182 training program . We used to have , we 16:02.182 --> 16:04.071 still have a training program for 16:04.071 --> 16:06.071 engineers . But um at this time , I 16:06.071 --> 16:08.127 went to construction down in Wichita 16:08.127 --> 16:10.071 Falls and we were building Holiday 16:10.071 --> 16:12.127 Creek , which was turned over to the 16:12.127 --> 16:14.127 city of Wichita Falls and upgrading 16:14.127 --> 16:17.619 Lake Wichita Dam . And he came down to 16:17.630 --> 16:20.200 visit me periodically , make sure I was 16:20.210 --> 16:22.099 knew what was going on , probably 16:22.099 --> 16:24.321 making sure I was doing it right , more 16:24.321 --> 16:26.432 than likely . But uh that instilled a 16:26.432 --> 16:28.340 passion in me for civil works and 16:28.349 --> 16:30.950 infrastructure and dams and dam safety . 16:31.349 --> 16:34.179 And then years later , um I had moved 16:34.190 --> 16:36.134 to Galveston District for personal 16:36.134 --> 16:39.960 reasons and um he called me about some 16:39.969 --> 16:42.309 opportunities that just gave me the 16:42.320 --> 16:44.599 right steps to get where I'm at today . 16:44.630 --> 16:48.109 And so I not only did he look out for 16:48.119 --> 16:50.070 me , but he just checked on me 16:50.080 --> 16:52.200 periodically . Um He wasn't a formal 16:52.210 --> 16:55.289 mentor , you know , like we do with LDP , 16:55.299 --> 16:57.299 we didn't even have LDP back then I 16:57.299 --> 16:59.419 don't think . But um um anyway , just 17:00.200 --> 17:03.820 that individual concern and care for 17:03.830 --> 17:06.160 your individually as well as your 17:06.170 --> 17:08.670 personally . So he's probably the 17:08.680 --> 17:10.402 biggest mentor I've ever had . 17:13.540 --> 17:15.429 Is there , is there one lesson in 17:15.429 --> 17:17.484 particular that you've tried to take 17:17.484 --> 17:20.719 from him in terms of being a leader of 17:20.729 --> 17:23.219 engineers here ? Um 17:25.560 --> 17:27.959 I think , well as a section chief and 17:27.969 --> 17:30.810 even a branch chief , he , he still 17:30.819 --> 17:33.380 kept in touch with what was going on on 17:33.390 --> 17:36.300 projects and I , he didn't do 17:36.310 --> 17:38.532 everything , I couldn't do everything . 17:38.532 --> 17:40.366 There's too much goes on in this 17:40.366 --> 17:42.477 organization to keep up with it . But 17:42.477 --> 17:45.109 um he kept his pulse on what was going 17:45.119 --> 17:47.286 on . And I think that's important as , 17:47.286 --> 17:49.341 as a leader . I mean , obviously you 17:49.341 --> 17:51.675 got to lead , people , encourage people , 17:51.675 --> 17:54.008 empower people not do their job for him , 17:54.008 --> 17:56.420 but you also need to know what's going 17:56.430 --> 17:58.579 on . So when they do come to you with 17:58.589 --> 18:00.750 the problem or something doesn't go 18:00.760 --> 18:03.939 quite right . You have enough knowledge 18:03.949 --> 18:06.239 that you can um help guide them 18:08.069 --> 18:10.079 when you , when , when you're 18:11.489 --> 18:14.640 um fully retired . And what are you , 18:14.650 --> 18:16.650 what are you gonna do next ? Do you 18:16.650 --> 18:18.817 know or have you thought about it or ? 18:18.817 --> 18:20.969 Uh yeah , I'm , I've thought a whole 18:20.979 --> 18:23.689 lot about it . Um you know , I don't 18:23.699 --> 18:25.921 have a whole lot of hobbies . I like to 18:25.921 --> 18:28.569 exercise , run things like that , but I 18:28.579 --> 18:30.857 really am passionate about engineering . 18:30.857 --> 18:33.489 So um and in particular civil works , 18:33.849 --> 18:37.369 engineering . So I'm gonna do that 18:37.800 --> 18:40.699 in some capacity . Um Probably with a 18:40.709 --> 18:44.660 private firm and then I 18:44.670 --> 18:46.781 did , I played golf twice in the last 18:46.781 --> 18:48.670 week , so I'm not very good . I'm 18:48.670 --> 18:50.680 really bad to be honest . But I got 18:50.689 --> 18:52.689 some catching up varieties . I play 18:52.689 --> 18:54.911 with my boys and they're , they're ok . 18:54.911 --> 18:57.099 But , um , yeah , it was . So , we'll 18:57.109 --> 18:59.220 see . I mean , I hope to , you know , 18:59.220 --> 19:01.520 just find some other , other interests . 19:01.530 --> 19:03.650 Um , you know , I'm still fairly 19:03.660 --> 19:05.493 healthy . My wife's still fairly 19:05.493 --> 19:07.771 healthy . So we'll see , uh , you know , 19:07.771 --> 19:10.000 I just get there and figure it out as 19:10.010 --> 19:13.750 time comes . So , did you 19:13.760 --> 19:15.704 think growing up that you had ever 19:15.704 --> 19:17.927 worked for the Corps of Engineers ? Did 19:17.927 --> 19:19.927 you , was it something that you , I 19:19.927 --> 19:22.093 didn't really think about the Corps of 19:22.093 --> 19:24.093 Engineers specifically . Um , but I 19:24.093 --> 19:27.640 would say , um , when I was a 19:27.650 --> 19:29.969 young , our family vacations , we went 19:30.150 --> 19:32.640 camping and oftentimes on Corps of 19:32.650 --> 19:34.872 Engineers projects like you follow more 19:34.872 --> 19:37.469 than others . And , um , my dad fishes 19:37.479 --> 19:40.979 a lot used to . And , um , I 19:40.989 --> 19:43.270 remember always being interested in the 19:43.280 --> 19:47.099 dam , not , not as much fishing as he 19:47.109 --> 19:49.387 was , especially when it's hot outside . 19:49.387 --> 19:51.553 But , uh I was always so interested in 19:51.553 --> 19:54.069 that , not really realizing that . And 19:54.079 --> 19:56.135 the other thing that impacted me , I 19:56.135 --> 19:58.729 don't think back on it was back in 19:58.739 --> 20:02.180 those days . Um The rangers walked 20:02.189 --> 20:05.020 around and they collected camping fees 20:05.030 --> 20:07.252 by , they had a bag full of cash , they 20:07.252 --> 20:09.474 walking around and my dad's giving them 20:09.474 --> 20:11.697 $5 or whatever to camp that night . And 20:11.697 --> 20:13.863 they would always talk , you know . So 20:13.863 --> 20:16.609 I , I hadn't kind of subconsciously 20:16.619 --> 20:18.952 this interest in the Corps of Engineers . 20:18.952 --> 20:21.219 Um going into college , I really didn't 20:21.229 --> 20:23.660 think that specifically . But um , 20:25.349 --> 20:28.069 we did go to when I was in college at 20:28.079 --> 20:30.339 Oklahoma State , the department head 20:30.349 --> 20:33.829 was a retired deputy commander of dic 20:34.050 --> 20:35.994 at the time , was called Waterways 20:35.994 --> 20:37.828 Experiment Station . And he took 20:37.828 --> 20:40.050 anybody that wanted to go in the summer 20:40.050 --> 20:42.272 to visit Waterways Experiment Station . 20:42.272 --> 20:44.383 So that's what gave me the interest . 20:44.383 --> 20:46.383 And then of course , his connection 20:46.383 --> 20:46.380 with the Corps of Engineers was like , 20:46.390 --> 20:48.859 if you guys want a job , I'll get you 20:48.869 --> 20:50.925 an interview kind of a thing . So um 20:51.119 --> 20:53.119 maybe not as a child , but as I got 20:53.119 --> 20:55.341 older , I had a direct connection . And 20:55.341 --> 20:57.008 then when I went to Waterways 20:57.008 --> 20:59.230 Experiment Station , I , that's where I 20:59.230 --> 21:01.397 got hooked . I'm like , this is what I 21:01.397 --> 21:03.341 wanna do . Who is the , who is the 21:03.341 --> 21:05.508 famous Corps of Engineers ? Uh Him and 21:05.508 --> 21:07.730 his , he and his wife work down there . 21:07.730 --> 21:09.952 I think in , in that Waterways they did 21:09.952 --> 21:12.479 a lot of concrete studies . Mather . Is 21:12.489 --> 21:14.711 that what you're talking about ? He was 21:14.711 --> 21:16.878 so he was there when I took us there . 21:16.878 --> 21:18.989 And what was he like ? Because I've , 21:18.989 --> 21:21.100 I've heard all sorts of stories about 21:21.100 --> 21:23.267 him . I know like the dean at Oklahoma 21:23.267 --> 21:25.378 State's um engineering , one of their 21:25.378 --> 21:27.267 engineering schools . He , he was 21:27.267 --> 21:29.433 telling me that , that , you know , he 21:29.433 --> 21:31.656 had went to that station as well . What 21:31.656 --> 21:33.767 was he , what was he like ? What ? He 21:33.767 --> 21:37.400 seemed really old back then . But if I 21:37.410 --> 21:40.130 remember right , the Doctor Mather with 21:40.140 --> 21:42.029 his name and if that's who you're 21:42.029 --> 21:44.251 talking about and he was a small , he's 21:44.251 --> 21:46.473 kind of a short man . But , um , he was 21:46.473 --> 21:48.529 full of energy even though he seemed 21:48.529 --> 21:50.310 old to me at the time and just 21:50.319 --> 21:53.300 passionate about concrete and , um , 21:54.489 --> 21:56.790 that was kind of appealing to me . If 21:56.800 --> 21:58.967 someone could be that passionate about 21:58.967 --> 22:02.760 whatever it is , then that's what you 22:02.770 --> 22:06.530 ought to pursue . Um And so that was 22:06.540 --> 22:08.707 probably the biggest thing I took away 22:08.707 --> 22:10.762 from that . I mean , I just remember 22:10.762 --> 22:10.650 him being full of energy to just taking 22:10.660 --> 22:13.199 big steps as he walked across his 22:13.209 --> 22:15.376 laboratory , you know , just with that 22:15.376 --> 22:18.540 energy of it's probably no , no 22:18.550 --> 22:21.930 different than any other day , but he 22:21.939 --> 22:24.170 still had passion and energy for what 22:24.180 --> 22:26.209 he was most interested in . So 22:26.219 --> 22:28.219 everywhere he went , he went with a 22:28.219 --> 22:32.140 purpose . So I've taken up 22:32.150 --> 22:34.372 some of your time this morning , Wade , 22:34.839 --> 22:37.500 what have I not asked you that I should 22:37.510 --> 22:39.621 have asked you that you were probably 22:39.621 --> 22:42.329 expecting to get maybe a question . Um 22:43.520 --> 22:46.069 I was expecting you to ask , but what 22:46.079 --> 22:48.135 was the , we asked it in a different 22:48.135 --> 22:50.819 way . But um you know , what was your 22:50.829 --> 22:54.329 most interesting or challenging project 22:54.339 --> 22:56.283 or assignment ? And then you , you 22:56.283 --> 22:58.450 talked about Mosul Dam and things like 22:58.450 --> 23:00.319 that . But um in the dam safety 23:00.329 --> 23:03.290 Production Center , but probably the 23:03.300 --> 23:05.430 most impactful project to me was that 23:05.439 --> 23:08.579 one I referred to when my mentor , Bill 23:08.589 --> 23:10.811 er , sent me the , it was the first dam 23:10.811 --> 23:12.867 I got to work on Lake Wichita Dam at 23:12.867 --> 23:15.060 the time I didn't realize . Yeah , but 23:15.479 --> 23:17.701 I was working on a major dam rehab as a 23:17.701 --> 23:20.520 fairly young engineer and it gave me an 23:20.530 --> 23:23.410 interest in that . That's lasted over 23:23.420 --> 23:25.969 30 years since . So it might not have 23:25.979 --> 23:28.201 been the biggest project . It might not 23:28.201 --> 23:30.257 have been the most challenging . But 23:30.257 --> 23:32.479 for me personally , I think it was most 23:32.479 --> 23:34.590 impactful . So I kind of expected you 23:34.590 --> 23:36.479 to . That's the very first one is 23:36.479 --> 23:38.750 sometimes it sets like your expectation 23:38.760 --> 23:40.871 for everything else that you end up . 23:41.369 --> 23:44.849 Yeah . Well , um , Wade , we're 23:44.859 --> 23:47.026 certainly gonna miss you here . Um , I 23:47.026 --> 23:49.137 hope I see you around . Are you gonna 23:49.137 --> 23:51.026 get back to Stillwater ? See some 23:51.026 --> 23:53.137 football games and stuff ? And , uh , 23:53.137 --> 23:55.137 my brother-in-law and sister-in-law 23:55.137 --> 23:57.415 tailgate now with their kids . So I'll , 23:57.415 --> 23:59.637 if I can , I'll go , well , it's fun to 23:59.637 --> 24:01.930 go to the game . I love football . Um , 24:02.189 --> 24:04.245 I love that environment , the energy 24:04.245 --> 24:06.300 and all that with a college football 24:06.300 --> 24:08.245 game . Doesn't have to be Oklahoma 24:08.245 --> 24:10.467 State . That just happens to be the one 24:10.467 --> 24:09.910 I like . Well , that's where you were . 24:09.989 --> 24:12.100 Right . Correct . Did you go to a lot 24:12.100 --> 24:14.267 of games as a student ? I went as many 24:14.267 --> 24:16.569 as I could . I mean , we had season 24:16.579 --> 24:18.746 tickets , I guess as a student So that 24:18.746 --> 24:21.630 was always fun . Um , to go mostly 24:21.640 --> 24:23.989 football games , not so much of the 24:24.000 --> 24:26.056 other things , but I did go to other 24:26.056 --> 24:29.030 sports too . Wrestling and such . Well , 24:29.040 --> 24:31.151 thank you again , Wade for taking the 24:31.151 --> 24:34.319 time to sit down before you do your 24:34.329 --> 24:36.849 official retirement ceremony anyway . 24:36.859 --> 24:40.160 And um , and I , I do hope we see you 24:40.170 --> 24:43.079 around and please don't be a stranger 24:43.089 --> 24:45.367 to the district . Please stay in touch . 24:45.367 --> 24:47.760 Thanks Brandon . Thank you for joining 24:47.770 --> 24:49.992 us . For construction . Construction is 24:49.992 --> 24:52.214 a production of the Tulsa District , us 24:52.214 --> 24:54.381 Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs 24:54.381 --> 24:56.492 Office . This episode of construction 24:56.609 --> 25:00.060 is brought to you by the California 25:00.069 --> 25:02.290 Mega projects office , Southwester 25:02.300 --> 25:04.689 Division . Once again , thanks for 25:04.699 --> 25:06.810 joining us and have a great day .