"I understood preventive medicine, preventive dentistry," Korte said. "So I wondered why we weren't practicing preventive law."
Edward Korte began his public service career as a captain in the Army JAG Corps where he was assigned as a legal officer at AMC. He returned to AMC as a civilian attorney in 1978 where he organized the legal office and served as chief counsel for the new U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Command in Adelphi, Maryland.
He moved to headquarters in 1982, first serving as deputy command counsel in the procurement law division and later was appointed command counsel and promoted to the Senior Executive Service.
"I was proud to work for AMC every day," Korte said. "I reminded the people I worked with that even the law had a role in supporting the Soldier. We didn't hand out ammunition, but we solved problems that might interfere with them getting the equipment they needed. In that sense, we were really part of the supply line."
As senior legal advisor to five AMC commanding generals, Korte believed that participation on the command management team was an opportunity to counsel decision makers, weigh alternatives and discuss legal implications before official actions were taken.
"I was able to change a philosophy that needed to be changed," Korte said of his preventive law philosophy.
To this day, the legal team makes an annual presentation of the Ed Korte Preventive Law Award to the attorney among AMC's major subordinate commands who best promotes those practices.
"I enjoyed finding solutions to problems," Korte said. "In the legal world, it's sometimes difficult to appreciate what you do. It's like planting a seed. You water and wait."
Korte introduced numerous innovative programs that influenced the relationship with government and industry and many remain in practice today. He created the AMC Communicating with Industry Program and chaired the team that established procedures for the Advance Planning Briefings for Industry, which affords prospective contractors a chance to assess business opportunities.
The Alternate Dispute Resolution Program Korte designed for AMC was later recognized by President Bill Clinton as one of the "Ten Best Practices in the Federal Government."
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