416th TEC officially welcomes commanding general, promotes deputy commander

DARIEN, Ill. - The 416th Theater Engineer Command (TEC) officially saluted its two newest highest-ranking leaders in March with an assumption of command of their new commanding general and the promotion of their former chief of staff.

Maj. Gen. Lewis G. Irwin, a 28-year Army veteran and U.S. Military Academy graduate, assumed command of the 416th TEC during a ceremony at the Parkhurst U.S. Army Reserve Center in Darien, Illinois, March 7. He officially replaced Maj. Gen. David Conboy who relinquished command in September to become the U.S. Army Reserve Command, deputy commanding general of operations.

In his civilian career, Irwin is a professor of public policy and government at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and is also an Army Reserve adjunct professor for Research at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute.

Irwin accepted the 416th's colors and the challenge to lead the TEC, which is comprised of 175 units throughout the command's operational area.

He indicated his direction for the unit focuses on readiness in case of mobilization based on the success of the 416th TEC.

"It's truly an honor to follow Maj. Gen. Conboy and other officers who have led the 416th in the past. We will build on the success of all those who have gone before us and prepare our organization to mobilize and deploy as a team. When the nation calls, we will make sure that our down-trace Soldiers, leaders and units are fully ready to mobilize and deploy."

On the same day, the 416th TEC ceremoniously gained a new general officer.

Brig. Gen. Eugene LeBoeuf, a 29-year Army veteran, received his star during a separate ceremony. He relinquishes his role as the unit's chief of staff and moves into the position of the 416th TEC deputy commander.

LeBoeuf received a commission through the U.S. Army ROTC program into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May 1985 and has since built a prestigious career in the engineer field. In his civilian vocation he is the associate department chair, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.

He indicated that his focus for the 416th TEC and its direction would be the status of readiness for the unit.

"There are two lines of effort to assuring our readiness. The first is our direction to lead and instill in our first line and mid-level leaders, the understanding of our readiness system as a foundation as well as their responsibility as leaders to ensure their Soldiers are prepared.

"The second is to reach out to our stakeholders to be able to assist and help them understand how the Army Reserve works and how to utilize Army Reserve resources. This involves working with the active component and its use of the reserves and helping them understand what is required to mobilize the Reserve," said LeBoeuf.

The 416th TEC consists of more than 10,000 Army Reserve engineers, and nearly 3,000 additional Army Reserve Soldiers across various job specialties, who perform required operational missions around the world including construction, survey and design, route clearance and other combat engineer operations as part of a joint force. Also, Army Reserve engineers do work on military installations that save hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to use of contractors.