Jane Cook - Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Lord, may I honor you today. Thank you for your sacrifice for me and for those who have given their all for the cause of freedom.

“My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.” (Psalm 62:7)

Lt. Gen. Robert. L. Van Antwerp is taking the United States Army Corps of Engineers to a higher level using the framework of Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great . Greatness for the Corps “can be boiled down to four standards,” he explained. 1) They are “delivering superior performance every time; 2) setting the standards for our profession; 3) making a unique, positive contribution to our nation and other nations; 4) and building the Corps’ team to last.”

“You can’t go to great without exceptional leadership throughout the organization,” said Van Antwerp. “ Good to Great details five levels of leadership based on Collins’ research of publicly traded companies. Many reach the fourth level, but few get to level five. The two distinguishing characteristics of level five leaders might surprise you humility and professional will. They are humble and have a burning desire for the organization to succeed.”

“Humility is a characteristic that God looks for in those he holds in high regard. Isaiah 66:2 says, ‘These are the ones I esteem, declares the Lord, those who are humble, contrite in spirit and tremble at my word.’ For me, it means placing my confidence in him and not in my own strength.”

Humility is not a quality often associated with leadership, but it is a distinctive characteristic of level five leaders. Godly principles work in a secular world. They’re uncommon, but they work.

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren describes humility as “not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Level five leaders know it’s not about them.”

Van Antwerp is contrite in spirit with respect to handling criticism. Often the Corps plays a role of intermediary as it works with the federal government, regulatory bodies, local authorities, and others.

“This puts us right in the middle, at times. If we’ve done something wrong or not delivered, we want to admit it. We want to be ‘repentant’ about it, and we want to use that as a stepping-stone to something better,” he said, noting that trials and tribulations produce perseverance, which produces hope and proven character.

“If you want to grow your character, you’ve got to be in the hunt, I tell people ‘Don’t shy away from the tough tasks. If you are out there, if you’re swinging the bat, you’re going to get criticized. But you’ll learn from your mistakes, and you’ll grow as a result,’” he concluded.

Allow me to think of myself less without thinking less of myself. Show me how to have a contrite heart.

Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp is the Commander of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. His agency is responsible for executing diverse engineering, designing, contracting and construction missions for civil and military projects around the globe, including Iraq and Afghanistan. The thoughts expressed by him are his alone and in no way reflect those of the United States Government, Department of Defense, or the United States Army.

“This is the one I esteem: He who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

The United States Army’s motto “Army Strong” translates into “BUILDING STRONG” for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has about eight hundred civilians and two hundred military members deployed to the Middle East. In the Gulf Region Division, this framework has been further translated into “Building a Strong Foundation for Iraq.”

Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp, USACE commander, explained some characteristics behind “BUILDING STRONG.” He cited John Maxell’s book, Talent is Never Enough, that describes a number of successful qualities that are not considered talents. The book asserts that America’s sidewalks are filled with people who have talent, but many of them don’t succeed because they lack specific attributes, such as initiative.

“One attribute that I love is passion. I would take passion over skill, experience, and a lot of other things. Passion is what gets people up in the morning. Passion is what makes you want to stretch and go to the next level,” Van Antwerp said.

“Another attribute is teamwork. In using a sports analogy, great players with great talent win games, but great teams win championships. That’s the difference. We want to win a championship,” he continued. “It’s like iron sharpens iron. When you get a team together, you also receive better disciplined thoughts and accountability. These teams need team leaders, but it’s about a team effort.”

One USACE construction project is an example of passionate teamwork. “We’re building a state-of-the art children’s hospital in Basra,” Van Antwerp related. “Project Hope has raised funds for the medical equipment, major corporations have donated and contributed, and the Iraqis are responsible for hiring and training eight hundred staff members.”

“This is an example of something that can be done with incredible teamwork. Basra was a place where security was very, very challenging, making it difficult to get in and do the work. We’ve had a number of contractor personnel who were kidnapped and killed just trying to get to the worksite, but with teamwork we persevered for the greater good.”

The greater good is to make life better for those kids.

“If you walk into the resident office, you’ll find pictures of Iraqis kids on the wall with the statement underneath, ‘This is what it’s all about.’ It tugs at your heart. It isn’t about the Corps of Engineers or who built it. It’s about children having a chance at life as a result of this work. That will be reward enough for us.”

Thank you for reminding me of the value of teamwork and the passion needed to complete a challenging project. Enable me to “sharpen” someone else today.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)

For a general officer, advocacy often requires moral courage.

“I’ve got people on the front lines everyday working construction projects in Iraq, Afghanistan, and more than thirty other countries. I visit our team in the Middle East every three to four months to encourage them and learn of their challenges so I can be a better advocate. I have to have their best interest in mind and stand up for what’s right. I’m their representative. I’m their advocate,” explained Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp, Commander of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

On these visits Van Antwerp reviews programs, holds town hall meetings and listening sessions to make sure we’re on track.

“A lot of it is cheerleading and encouraging the folks that we have over there,” he noted.

The Corps designs, awards contracts, and supervises construction. In Iraq about 70 percent of their employees are Iraqi contractors and in Afghanistan, about 80 percent are Afghan contractors. The Corps hires them for construction management and oversight.

In the United States, the Corps is divided into eight divisions.

“In the Bible, God asks, ‘who will stand in the gap for the people?’” said Van Antwerp. “The Lord is looking for advocates.”