DONGDUCHEON, South Korea - A very modest Capt. Andrew C. Webb '06 would have you believe he's just like any other soldier, and clearly hoped the talk about his behavior would quietly go away. But that's the burden you reap when you stand head and shoulders above your peers.
"In this battalion there are a number of great company commanders, I don't really feel like I'm better than any one of them on any given day," said Webb, commander of Company B, 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. "It's just our guys have had a number of really good successes and that's what has paid off."
But Webb is certainly doing something right. This month he was notified that he is one of only 28 officers from across the Army being awarded the 2012 General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award. Webb, from Lynchburg, Va., was the winner of the Eighth Army board composed of the best company-grade leaders from across the Korean peninsula, and was selected again at the national level.
"The key is to set the structure up so [my Soldiers] can succeed," said Webb. "We have to break people of the ARFORGEN [Army Force Generation] habit where they just show up and get training, and instill a sense of initiative in them.
"My advice for other commanders is just to set the structure up for your people to succeed and then get out of their way and let them do it."