Electronic Resource
Oral History Interview with Darrel D. Feucht
| العنوان: | Oral History Interview with Darrel D. Feucht |
|---|---|
| المؤلفون: | Feucht, Darrel D., Luke D. Sprague |
| Personal Name: | National guard . , Freemason. . |
| Corporate Name: | American Legion. . United States. Army Reserve. . |
| Added Details: | Wisconsin Veterans Museum. publisher. |
| نوع الوثيقة: | Electronic Resource |
| وصف مادي: | 1 online resource (1 video file (approximately 3 hr., 16 min.)) : sound, color. 3 SD Cards, 3 hours, 16 minutes : sound, color. |
| مستخلص: | Darrel “AJ” Feucht served in the United States Army Reserve and the Wisconsin Army National Guard from July 4, 1983, to July 31, 2013. Growing up in Columbus, Wisconsin, a town of 4,000 people “down the road” from Madison, he became the man of the house at age ten for his two younger sisters when his father died. His brother, ten years older, was a Vietnam veteran. Though considered a “city boy” Feucht spent much of his childhood on his uncle’s dairy farm. He participated in sports, was a member of FFA [Future Farmers of America], and other clubs before graduating from Columbus High School in 1980. He said he was called AJ because he was an “average joe.” Most of his friends were going on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) but Feucht’s guidance counselor said his grades might not be good enough. He applied, was denied, applied again, and was accepted on probation. Feucht had uncles who served in the Air Force or Army Air Corps in World War II and a brother in the Air Force, but his friend, Joe, talked him into the Army ROTC at UW. After graduating from Basic Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Feucht received a Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty Scholarship which paid for the last two years of school. In 1985, Feucht graduated from the UW with a degree from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) in agricultural mechanization and management, which included agricultural business plus technical courses in machinery. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant Feucht also was “academically aligned” which means he had his degree, his commission, and was school qualified as an engineer. His first assignment with the U.S. Army Reserve in Madison was with the 5045th USAR School. At unit reunions he is still recognized as the “butterbar” he was at the time. His scholarship required six years of service and at the time Feucht thought he had made a “deal with the devil.” He had the fortune as a cadet and junior officer to have senior NCOs and leaders who planted the seed that this wasn’t a bad deal, especially in the early 1980s. He was asked to go on active duty while at Fort Knox and again in the Engineer Officer Basic Leadership Course (EOBLC) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Feucht was one of ten Reservists in his class of 130. The rest were West Point graduates who were jealous because the Reservists went home when the course ended in December 1985, while they were sent to Korea or Germany. The 5045th USAR School was in a schoolhouse behind the Gardner Bakery in Madison. Reserve Component courses, taught mostly by correspondence, included NCO and senior courses, advanced courses for officers, and command and general staff college courses along with one weekend a month at Fort McCoy or other locations for either the Reserves or Guard. Feucht was the custodian of officer course exams and he called it a great experience. Feucht knew from one of his military professors that he would be an engineer because he had all the math and science. However, when he filled out his dream sheet to request the branch he would like to pursue his first choice was the Army Nurse Corps because he had heard good things about it. His second and third choices were the Engineer Corps and the infantry. Not surprisingly he was selected as an engineer and was also branch qualified. He never thought about changing and remains loyal to the Engineer Corps. Contacted in Madison by the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, 339th Regiment, 1st Brigade, 84th Training Division, Feucht was offered a company command. Since Feucht was still just a first-year second lieutenant, he asked if this was possible, but the colonel could do it because Feucht was school qualified and there was a shortage. The 84th Training Division was headquartered in Milwaukee on Silver Spring Drive where Feucht commanded C Company. A training company basically displaces training companies across the United States. For example, during basic training at Fort Knox or Fort Jackson, Feucht’s drill sergeants would fall in for a two-week period, usually 0 week or week 1, to give the active duty component cadre a break, but also to train them to create a reserve of basic training companies so if the Army needed to stand up soldiers quickly, they would be available. Feucht also briefly commanded A Company in the same battalion. He was promoted to first lieutenant, then captain. One morning Feucht was notified by the brigade commander that he had been selected as aide-de-camp to Major General Mike [Brzozowski??], Commander of the 84th Training Division. Feucht said he might not be the most politically correct guy for the job but was told “you’re going.” Feucht worked for the two-star general for eighteen months—an incredible experience for a company grade officer. He gained an understanding of division structure working closely with his chief of staff and general staff. Feucht traveled pretty much wherever he wanted with two weeks in Washington, D.C., working for General William Streeter, Commander, U.S. Military District of Washington, just before the Clinton Administration came on board. He had the opportunity to work with the Armed Forces Reserve Inaugural Committee (AFRIC) and met Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. He realized the tradition of the military during a stay at Fort Leslie J. McNair. His room in an old building on the Potomac River had a plaque on the door noting that in this room Walter Reed discovered the cure for malaria. I couldn’t believe, he said, that I sat in a room where Walter Reed actually sat. In October 1987, Feucht began a civilian job with the Wisconsin Higher Education Corporation, a not-for-profit, non-stockholder corporation that was eventually purchased by Nelnet out of Nebraska. Throughout Feucht’s career the company was very generous about his Army Reserve service and gave him all the time he needed. He also was advised to finish military schooling whenever he had the chance. He never, he says, dis-enrolled from school. After Combined Armed Staff Services School (CAS3), he attended Command and General Staff College as a captain, which was unheard of. It became a “saluting frenzy,” he remembers. As a leader, Feucht recalled two first sergeants who were tremendous resources as well as important learning experiences. Once, on the range at Fort McCoy, Feucht called ammo supply to return left over ammo. The rule is to draw the ammo you need and use it up; you do not return it. The NCOs told him that is not how it works. Feucht had to walk the “gauntlet of shame.” While at CAS3 some majors talked him into transferring to the Wisconsin Army National Guard. In 1994, Feucht joined the 332nd Rear Area Operations Center (RAOC), in Hartford, Wisconsin. The group of forty-eight soldiers included senior NCOs and captains. It was “very Soviet doctrine stuff.” They did rear area damage assessments providing information, for example, on how many bridges were destroyed or needed repairs. Commanded by a colonel, they are the eyes and ears of logistical support in a rear area. RAOCs offer technical expertise in intelligence plus engineers and planners giving information from the rear area to the front. RAOCs reported to a Rear Technical Operations Center (RTOC), located within a corps, in Feucht’s case, the 142nd Rear Technical Operations Center out of the Texas National Guard, Fort Hood, Texas. Feucht spent many summers at North Fort Hood, Texas, doing war fighter exercises. For two weeks a civilian contractor would provide a scripted war fight. They would send “injects” every couple of hours to see how the participants would react. Feucht returned to the 332nd which had moved to Berlin, Wisconsin, then was sent to the 64th Troop Command in February 1999. During his Guard service Feucht earned his accounting degree at Lakeland College in 1995 and a master’s degree in management and organizational behavior in 1999 at Silver Lake College. The writing was on the wall, he says, although it was not official, to make colonel as a field grade you should have a master’s under your belt. Most states have a troop Command within the National Guard which includes units that don’t have a home but need a tactical chain of command to report to. The 32nd Infantry Brigade has units that don’t fall into the traditional hierarchy such as RAOC, RTOC, military police (MP), aviation, heavy and light transportation, maintenance, public affairs, and the 132nd Army band. These units report to a colonel. A second reason for a troop command is the National Guard’s dual mission reporting to the Army and to the state governor. Feucht is an advocate for rotating people through assignments to give them operational and intelligence experience. To be well-rounded as a commander, it helps to understand what all units do and what resources are available so you can use them in an emergency. On September 11, 2001, now Major Feucht, was in his civilian office. He was an assistant operations officer with the 64th Troop Command. After the second World Trade Center tower was hit, he thought, “This changes everything.” The next day, the call came to activate MP companies for security missions. Nobody really knew what to do and sometimes, Feucht said, you make it up as you go along. Feucht made sure the armories were locked down and security systems working. In July 2002, Feucht was a senior major with the 64th Support Detachment, 64th Rear Operations Center (ROC) in Monroe, Wisconsin, and working in his civilian office in St. Paul, Minnesota. Told he was being activated as the second unit in the state to be mobilized, he was in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, by early September. The unit had no idea what they would be doing but they would probably be going to either Iraq or Afghanistan. They drove down and met in their hotel lobby. Feucht saw all these faces looking at him “scared poopless.” What was he going to say? He gave what he calls his “fruitcakes” speech: Every Christmas his grandma gave him a fruitcake. Feucht hates fruitcake but he always said thank you because he knew how much love she put into making it. He took it to work and gave it away. We’re going, he told his troops, down the “fruitcake trail.” They would be asked to do stuff and were not going to like it, like filling out forms for the third time. They would get frustrated but should look at the person, say “no problem,” just do it and think of it as fruitcake. To this day, he gets fruitcakes, fruitcake T-shirts and jokes from his team. The 18th Airborne Corps intel and operations sections were already forward at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and were shorthanded. Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was being developed. The RAOCs and ROCs Feucht commanded were “plunked” down in empty seats within the Corps which did not have people to do all the order writing. To help integrate the unit, they were given desert tan and maroon berets and had to trade their Bucky patch for the 18th Airborne patch. Believe it or not, Feucht says, most of the orders written for OIF, March 23, 2003, were written by Wisconsin Army National Guard officers and senior enlisted. Feucht’s responsibilities included overwatch of the 18th Airborne Corps Rotary Wing Safety Office. This meant that if a rotary wing Army aircraft went down anywhere on the planet, this team deployed to figure out what happened. When a Blackhawk inverted and flipped over at Fort Drum, New York, killing most of the crew, the warrant officers from this office knew within minutes what went wrong. They knew everything about Blackhawks and Feucht learned a lot from them. Command and control was exceedingly difficult as his people were scattered in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan but after a year, through some miracle, they came back together at Fort Bragg and returned home in September 2003. Feucht’s next assignment was Japan. The Japanese asked to participate in OIF. This required a change in the Japanese constitution which did not allow their military personnel to leave the island. The Wisconsin Army National Guard went to train them over three weeks. These were the best Japanese soldiers and were very receptive. The interpreter was much “too starch” for a Midwesterner like Feucht who pulled him aside, told him to relax, and finally got him to laugh. It was a good cultural experience as battle drill rehearsing was not done in Japan. It took days to explain that rehearsing is acceptable and to overcome the idea that the Japanese do things right the first time. Feucht, now lieutenant colonel, returned to Wisconsin on the staff of the 64th Troop Command. The Wisconsin National Guard has had a partnership with Nicaragua for several years. The Department of the Army sometimes asks states if they would be interested in certain missions so when the Nicaraguan Army was hosting an event for other South American countries, the U.S. Army Southern Command asked the Wisconsin Guard to help. For three weeks, Feucht’s unit provided instruction in vehicle maintenance plus medical support and supplies in the villages. Nicaragua has a large Anglo-European population including former Russian Soviets. The Nicaraguans fought with the Soviets in Afghanistan and now were working with the Americans. Everyone was friendly and Feucht observed that the connections had now come full circle. In August 2007, Feucht took command of the 64th Troop Command serving until September 2010. He never thought he would make it even six years and was now pinned with an eagle. Major General Al Wilkening, one of Feucht’s mentors, told him, “Eagles always look forward.” Feucht’s leadership philosophy is based on being an officer who thinks like a non-commissioned officer. He takes care of his troops, is interested in what they do, never forgets where he came from, and asks what he doesn’t know. As troop commander, Feucht says the two people who were in his office most were the staff judge advocate, a lawyer, and the chaplain. One was tight with the Lord and one tight with the devil. It is good to know what’s going on with both because with 1,700 to 1,800 soldiers across the state someone was always in trouble. Normal rotation sent Feucht to Domestic Operations as Director of Logistics. Here he had watch over all the assets available to the governor that the Wisconsin National Guard can offer to the state. In the case of a flood or tornado mission, for example, the Guard works through Wisconsin Emergency Management to determine how Guard units can help. They coordinate with civilian contractors along with local, state, and federal government. Once, in Crawford County, large round hay bales had floated down a river and backed up against a dam. The Guard used rotary wing aircraft to grab the bales and move them onto the shore. In late 2010, Feucht was at a conference in Washington, D.C., where a speaker talked about the Guard teams doing agricultural business development in Afghanistan. States with land grant universities like Indiana and Iowa with agricultural studies programs were involved. Why, Feucht wondered, was Wisconsin not doing this? Wisconsin was not asked because the 32nd Infantry Brigade was already deploying which was about half the Guard in the state. The state was being tapped too much already. Then in early 2011, Feucht got a call that Wisconsin wanted to send a team. Everything I have done in my life, Feucht says, led to this point. He approached the UW and CALS for and received an outpouring of support. It was the first time Wisconsin had ever done anything like this. With the military, Feucht explained, you try to find someone who has done something well because rarely do we all do something that has never been done before. Since this type of mission had been done in other states, Feucht reached out to Purdue University to see what model they used, how teams were built, and what knowledge of the agricultural base was needed. Before he could put his Agricultural Development Team (ADT) together, Feucht had to go to the capitol in Madison to explain the mission to then Governor Doyle. The job was to provide training in legitimate crop production, animal husbandry, and the like. He noted that the security force also included plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other skills in addition to their military skills. The Wisconsin Guard was selected to go to Kunar Province in the Pech Valley about six miles from the Pakistan border. About half the Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded to soldiers fighting out of that valley. The California ADT was the first team sent to this area. They authored a book about their experience that became required reading. California was replaced by the Iowa ADT and the Illinois ADT. Half of Feucht’s team was operational security i.e., infantry. The other half included agricultural specialists, administration, and logistics support. For security Feucht reached out to the 32nd Infantry Brigade and asked if they could supply thirty-two soldiers. He ended up with some of the finest soldiers he had ever worked with. With team building Feucht says there is “the forming, storming, norming, and performing.” He had the best security force; how would he fill the rest of the positions? He needed people who knew forestry, an agronomist, veterinarians, an agricultural marketer, horticulturalist, and a hydrologist. Feucht organized a job fair to find the people he needed and had over three hundred applicants including retirees. He put together a team of fifty-eight people that was designated the 82nd Agricultural Development Team. Two individuals were from the Air National Guard, and one was a professional pest manager which reaped great rewards once they were in country. The two Air National Guard members made the 82nd a joint unit under the Joint Staff. This was huge because soldiers received recognition for working in a joint unit earning an Achievement and/or Commendation Medal from their respective services. It helped NCOs and officers to have true accredited joint staff under their belts when they went before the promotion board. It also created some logistics headaches but was worth the effort. The team, designated Joint Task Force Badger, with emphasis on the “joint,” was scheduled for deployment in early 2012 so they had most of 2011 to prepare. Feucht met with the dean of CALS at UW and asked them to put together a forty-hour short course: Ag 101 Extreme, to instruct in basic agricultural knowledge for Kunar. The final course included everything they would run into including artificial insemination, pest management, water irrigation, and beekeeping. They also developed a “reach back” capability so that once the team was in Afghanistan they could reach back to CALS with issues. It was a great relationship. All ADTs go through Camp Atterbury, Indiana, for mobilization training. Feucht and the leadership team went forward to Kunar early followed by the rest of the team. They went through Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan where Feucht was the coldest and warmest he had ever been, landing at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. From there they flew to Jalalabad and finally Asadabad. Arriving at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wright at night on Chinook helicopter, the team was pushed out onto a pile of duffle bags and told to stay low. Camp Wright, a former Soviet landing base, was named for a communications specialist killed there. The security force hated it because it was in a bowl and strategically was the worst place to be. Feucht’s impression was what in the blazes are we doing here? At Camp Wright, Feucht’s ADT co-located with a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) provided by the Navy. The PRT did infrastructure building such as schools. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) could get things done but had no transportation so they became a good partner with Feucht’s ADT which could get them where they needed to be. There also was an “alphabet soup” of civilian groups who provided intelligence the military normally would not get and often knew things in advance. Although Camp Wright had a tiny dining facility, it did have the best food with the worst coffee. It was, Feucht says, a neat post in a dangerous place where they would be rocketed and shelled regularly, usually inaccurately, but some days incredibly accurately. The ADT’s mission priorities came from monthly meetings with Mohasal, the provincial Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL). Feucht compared Mohasal’s role as similar to a county agriculture extension agent. The priority list included identifying greenhouses in the area, water irrigation projects, well drilling, pest management, artificial insemination, and some beekeeping which was done mostly by women. A Female Engagement Team stepped in to help because American soldiers could not interact with Afghan women. A day could be “hot or cold” depending on the intelligence and the ADT worked with an engineering company to clear roads. They tried to get out every day but sometimes got a warning and postponed to the next day. Their vehicles had “ADT in big letters on the top, sides, and back. One day the team went out in an unmarked vehicle and took fire. The Afghan people asked for a lot and the ADT, working with USAID and others, did what it could. Their role was to educate, instruct, and assist. The ADT also worked with young professionals from Kunar University, similar to a technical school. They were trusted advisors, knew the locals, and were paid a stipend by the United States government. The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division was the battlefield owner commanded by Colonel Jim Mingus. He offered security for the ADT, but Feucht said his team was battle-tested and Mingus was okay with that. Still, the ADT did not want to be in places for a long time, a couple of hours rather than an entire day. There were warning signs that your welcome was worn out. When a black Taliban flag was raised across a field, it was time to go. Feucht does have a sense of the contribution his ADT made. It is not, he says, too far to think we impacted one hundred thousand people in a lot of communities. When the administration decided to draw down soldiers the choices were to curtail the mission or come up with a solution. While it was easy to send people home, Feucht’s ag team merged with the PRT. He then went to Kabul to find something for his security team to do. At Camp Phoenix, he met the Georgia National Guard Task Force Hydra. They had a 100-day shortfall for a quick reactionary force at Camp Eggers, the green zone in Kabul. When given an option between home and Kabul, the team chose Kabul. Feucht was part of a strategic planning team to help develop a plan to wind down the Commander’s Emergency Relief Fund which funded local projects. Most of the team, including Feucht, was in Afghanistan about nine months; the rest about thirteen months. During his downtime in country, Feucht joined a branch of the Tiki Bar Cigar Aficionados Club. They also bought dollar movies and played games, but alcohol was not allowed. Feucht feels truly blessed because everyone on his team wanted to be there. Fifty-eight went over and fifty-eight returned. The first group returned in September 2012, and the ag team in February 2013. When the boots of the last person in the group hit the ground, Feucht announced his retirement. He felt he had done everything he could. He was in one of the worst spots on the planet and everybody came home. The unit guidon for the 82nd Wisconsin ADT was designed by the unit members and includes the Bucky patch representing the Wisconsin National Guard. It is now with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. The United States withdrawal from Afghanistan was emotional for the team members. Feucht believes that for a brief time they provided the best they could and made a lot of people’s lives better. Looking back to 1983, Feucht says he would not change a thing and has no regrets. Currently Feucht is active in Madison VFW Post 7591 and serves on the House Committee. He is a chaplain for American Legion Post 501, a Freemason in Commonwealth Lodge 325, and president of Truax Chapter 197 of the National Soldiers, military members of the Freemasons. He volunteers with the Vets-to-Vets Program at Agrace Hospice. On Memorial Day for the last few years, he has participated in the VFW Black Knights color guard in Monona, Wisconsin. They present honors at four cemeteries, but each year, he says, it gets tougher. He has been inducted into the Wisconsin National Guard Hall of Honor and the University of Wisconsin-Madison ROTC Hall of Fame. His career, he says, has been rewarding and a great ride. |
| الموضوعات: | Agricultural diversification., Iraq War, 2003-2011 Personal narratives, American., Veterans Interviews. Wisconsin, Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-2014 Personal narratives, American., Land capability for agriculture Afghanistan., Agriculture Diversification., Fort Belvoir (Va.) |
| مصطلحات الفهرس: | Oral History, interviews., Video recordings, oral histories (literary works), Interviews., Oral histories., Interviews., Histoires orales. |
| URL: | |
| الاتاحة: | Open access content. Open access content |
| ملاحظة: | Interviewed by Luke D. Sprague on May 12, 2023, in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. Darrel D. "AJ" Feucht was commissioned a second lieutenant, United States Army Corps of Engineers, through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in 1985, and began his military career with numerous commands and staff assignments in the 86th Army Reserve Command and the 84th Division, U.S. Army Reserve. In August 1994 he transferred to the Wisconsin Army National Guard as an assistant plans officer, 332nd Rear Area Operations Center. In subsequent years he served in a succession of staff positions within the 64th Troop Command. He assumed command of the 64th Support Detachment in June 2002 and that September deployed for a year of active duty as deputy director operations, XVIII (18th) Airborne Corps. On his return from deployment, he resumed his duties as commander of the 64th Support Detachment until May 2004, when he was assigned as operations officer, and later as executive officer, of 64th Troop Command. He commanded the 64th Troop Command from August 2007 to September 2010. He assumed the position of J-4, Domestic Operations of the JF-HQ, Joint Staff in September 2010 until assuming the 82nd Agri-business Development Team (ADT) mission. He successfully completed his 30 year career, retiring as a Colonel in Nov 2014. He served as the commander of the Wisconsin 82nd Agri-business Development Team (ADT) of the Wisconsin National Guard with a deployment to Asad Abad, Kunar Province and the Capitol Region in Kabul, Afghanistan. Forms part of: Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Project, conducted by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. |
| Other Numbers: | WQ@ oai:wvmohp-oai.com:101 1408971204 |
| المصدر المساهم: | From OAIster®, provided by the OCLC Cooperative. |
| رقم الانضمام: | edsoai.on1408971204 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | OAIster |
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