If the Saints changed their Defensive Coordinator (Greg Williams) it would be a matter of local concern for weeks. When Sean Payton shops for real estate in Dallas it triggers a statewide crisis. Following the leadership of the Corps should be even more important to the people of the region. Rather than filing lawsuits against these guys after the fact, why don't we demand the same degree of transparency in our engineering leadership that we demand from our sports teams? 

The following story is all we have on Fleming (Quarterback coach),  Walsh (Offensive Coordinator) and van Antwerp(Head Coach). I'd like to see a few hundred hours of talk radio to flesh these guys out. (btw: who is playing left tackle? hint it's one of the PM's featured in the videos about either the West Closure Complex or the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier.)

With the nearby Mississippi River to remind him that his new post includes 2,800 miles of waterways and five of the country's chief ports, Army Col. Edward Fleming took command Friday of a complex 30,000-acre Corps of Engineers district that sprawls from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico.

There would be no easing into the job for Fleming, a West Point graduate and Iraqi combat veteran who is taking control of corps operations during the fifth storm season since Katrina, a hurricane in which more than 1,000 Louisiana residents died during floods that resulted mostly from failures in the corps-built levee system.

In addition to helping finish construction of an expanded network of levees, floodwalls, gates and barriers, Fleming also will have a pivotal role in the continuing fight to protect the fragile wetlands, barrier islands and coasts of Louisiana and adjoining states from oil released in April during the nation's worst spill just 50 miles off the river's mouth.

And although National Hurricane Center reports grew more favorable as the day wore on Friday, they still predicted the likelihood that a weakened Tropical Storm Bonnie would churn through the oil-mottled Gulf and into coastal Louisiana coast over the weekend.

"I have every confidence in you to meet the challenges here . . . and this weekend, we've got a couple of them," Major Gen. Michael Walsh, commander of the corps' Mississippi Valley Division, told Fleming after the change of command ceremony transferred power to Fleming from Col. Al Lee.

A large banner that hangs daily over the agency's New Orleans headquarters also played an impromptu role in the ceremony. It bears a quotation by Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, chief engineer and corps commander, that speaks to the agency's self-imposed goal of timely finishing up billions of dollars worth of levee work.

"The Corps of Engineers has committed to provide a 100-year level of protection by 1 June, 2011 . . . or break our backs trying," it reads. And when Walsh accepted the corps flag from Lee and passed it to Fleming, he reinforced the importance of that commitment.

"That's your quote now," he told him. "Welcome to the team."

Fleming thanked Lee for "setting us up for success" by communicating with him regarding district affairs since January and providing one-on-one tours and orientation over the last two weeks.

"That included hurricane response procedures, which may go into effect here . . . soon," he told the audience.

Fleming, who holds degrees in engineering management, environmental engineering and national security and strategic studies, thanked hundreds of district employees for the work done to rebuild and expand the levee system since Katrina and then encouraged them not to let up.

"Deliver consistently super work every day, all the time," Fleming said. "Our reputation is only as good as our last project."

He is joined in New Orleans by wife Barbara and daughter Megan.

After serving his three years in New Orleans, the standard tour for a district commander, Lee is headed to corps headquarters in Washington where, as executive director for civil works, he will serve as a top aide to Van Antwerp.

In retrospect, Lee said he thinks rebuilding relationships within the community has to remain a top priority for corps leaders and employees: "As painful as it can be, we must listen to our critics. We can learn from them, and they can learn from us."

In closing, Lee briefly quoted a bit of Scripture and reminded the crowd of the city's winning football team.

"There is a time for every season, and my season is over here. I've enjoyed serving the great state of Louisiana, and now," he challenged, "do what the New Orleans Saints did when they won the Super Bowl: Finish strong."