INTERVIEW
LT. GEN. TODD T. SEMONITE Commanding General and Chief of Engineers BY BILL COSTLOW Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite is the 54th chief of engineers and commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Previously, he established the Army Talent Management Task Force and served as its first director. In this role, Semonite was responsible for reforming the way the Army acquires, develops, employs, and retains a talented workforce. Prior to these duties, he was the commanding general for Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, responsible for the building of the Afghan army and police facilities through management of a $13 billion budget to support a 352,000-person workforce. Semonite is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and a registered professional engineer in Vermont and Virginia.
USACE PHOTO
You’ve been in this position now for about 2.5 years. How have your priorities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) changed since you took command?
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Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite: When I took command in 2016, I assessed our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and how we are perceived by our partners, stakeholders, and critics. I listened, observed, and collected enormous amounts of data to inform the “three dimensions” of my leadership framework. The first dimension of this framework was strengthening the foundation. This dimension focuses on performing routine functions to a high standard, in a routine manner. It also means ensuring we have the right people, processes, and a values-based culture to carry out our public service mission. Operating with a strong foundation frees up our leaders at all levels to think and act strategically. We’ve come a long way and I’m happy with that. The second dimension is to deliver the program. This is our current focus and our credibility relies on our ability to deliver on our commitments. Our diverse portfolio of programs is comprised of highly complicated projects, often with challenging requirements. We are proud of the quality we deliver, but we continue to orient our process improvement and innovation initiatives towards the constraints of time and budget, and set accurate expectations upfront with sound estimates. The third dimension of my leadership framework is to achieve our vision. While we have a long track record of accomplishments, we have to be forward-thinking and push the envelope in terms of innovative delivery. Anticipating future conditions, challenges and opportunities and taking thoughtful decisive action today will prepare us for the unknown future.
