Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 69
In the 1970s, Canadian Forces in Germany
were relocated to Baden-Soellingen, among
other bases. This view shows the married
quarters at the RCAF’s No. 4 (F) Wing.
Harald Emmerich noted in his recollections that, in an
attempt to formalize the construction working relationships
and to establish operational procedures for carrying out
the work, the NATO Sending States established a working
group to prepare a Construction Administrative Agree-
ment whereby designs were prepared, tenders called
and contracts awarded and supervised by the Construction
Department of the German government. DCL acted as
the agency for DND, channelling construction require-
ments to the German government. It also carried out
inspections and financial control of the contracts, and
accepted the completed projects for DND. As before,
provisions were made to accommodate projects that
could be more advantageously carried out by dealing
directly with the German construction industry.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
DCL in the Black Forest…
Germany, 1973—Bill Plumb
My first contact with DCL was in 1973 at the train
station in Baden-Oos, where I arrived from Dusseldorf
as a result of a newspaper ad and a phone conversation
with a rather pleasant chap who had suggested I come
down for an interview. I was met by a thin man dressed
in shorts, (with) a full beard and a friendly grin—this
DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA
apparition turned out to be George Moennich. My next
impressions were that of large no-smoking signs in
George’s car and office (he was way ahead of his time),
a base full of ugly NATO-green buildings, and the
penetrating screech of Starfighters permeating what
was soon to be my office. I wondered whether I had
made a serious mistake. I hadn’t. It was the beginning
of an enjoyable and rewarding relationship with DCL…
One of the most interesting aspects of working with
DCL Europe as Branch Manager was my involvement
with the Construction Agreement Working Group…
When our group finally completed the Implementing
Instructions in 1980, all forms used by all seven nations
had been designed over a period of five years (!) in our
Lahr office. During the next few years, delegations of
our counterparts from the UK, the States, Belgium and
the Netherlands came down to Lahr to see how we
administered construction contracts within the frame-
work of the Agreement using our custom-designed
computer programs.
Bill Plumb replaced George Moennich as Branch
Manager in Germany in 1975.
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