Lt. Col. Oberkirsch takes command of 1140th Engineer Battalion

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- When Lt. Col. John Oberkirsch was a high-school wrestler in Webster Groves, his coach repeatedly drilled one concept into his head: That the old idiom "practice makes perfect" is useless advice.

"Practice doesn't make perfect," Oberkirsch said. "It has to be perfect practice; only perfect practice makes perfect. If you're practicing wrong, you're only getting good at doing it wrong."

That was the message Oberkirsch gave to the troops under his leadership Sunday as part of a change-of-command ceremony held at the Missouri National Guard armory in Cape Girardeau. The ceremony -- attended by several high-ranking Guard officers, family members and friends -- recognized Oberkirsch as the new battalion commander.

"Rehearsal is part of troop leading," Oberkirsch said. "We have to rehearse to get good at what we're doing. The flaws of any plan cannot come out on the day of execution."

The ceremony was presided over by Brig. Gen. David Irwin, the 35th Engineer Brigade commander. Also in attendance was the Guard's state chaplain, Col. Gary Gilmore, who offered the invocation, and Oberkirsch's mentor, retired Brig. Gen. Tracy Beckett, who drove from St. Louis to be there.

Oberkirsch replaces Lt. Col. William Blaylock II, who served as the 1140th's battalion commander since June 1, 2007. Oberkirsch, 42, is employed by the Guard full-time in Jefferson City as the deputy director of G-1, which involves the Guard's personnel matters.

Oberkirsch has worked for the Guard at a full-time level for almost a decade and has been a Guard Citizen-Soldier since 1988, when he joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps, or ROTC, at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

He became interested in the Guard while attending the university in Rolla, where he joined a marksmanship team. The teacher was a member of the Guard and encouraged Oberkirsch to join the ROTC program.

For 12 years, Oberkirsch worked as a regular Guard officer, starting at the 220th Engineer Company in Festus, where he spent about four years as a cadet and then a lieutenant. He was then sent to the 880th Engineer Battalion at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, where he came to know his mentor, Brig. Gen. Tracy Beckett.

"He assigned me there, evaluated me and gained confidence in me and then he later made me commander of the 220th," Oberkirsch said.

Oberkirsch's next assignment came as operations officer with the now-defunct 135th Combat Engineers Group in Cape Girardeau, where he drilled. In 2000, he went to Lincoln University where he headed the ROTC program as an assistant professor of military science and a recruiter for the battalion.

After that, Oberkirsch -- getting promoted along the way -- went to the 35th Engineer Brigade, where he served assignments in S-3, S-4 and as an administrative officer. Last spring, he got his job as a deputy director of G-1.

Oberkirsch sees his new tour as battalion commander as a "natural progression" of his career. But he was glad when he learned the battalion would be the 1140th.

"I knew it was the one that had the notoriety that I had heard about as a young lieutenant," Oberkirsch said. "It just had a great legacy. It was always number one or competing for number one. I wanted to be a part of that."

Those at the ceremony had only flattering things to say about Oberkirsch and his potential as a commander. Irwin said he knew the 1140th was one of the best battalion's in the state and it was getting a top-notch commander in Oberkirsch, who some affectionately call Colonel O.

Gilmore, the Guard's state chaplain, said Oberkirsch's "character, competence and commitment" will make an outstanding leader.

"Now I'm going to start sounding like a chaplain, but those three C's are so important and Colonel O has them," Gilmore said.

Oberkirsch described his management style of "detail oriented." He said the 1140th is strong and he wants to help make it stronger.

"The unit with respect to personnel is in outstanding shape," he said. "The units are all at or above 100 percent. I only expect good things to come."

Oberkirsch is married to Darlena and they have three children: Patrick, 19, who is currently at advanced individual training for the Missouri National Guard; Kirsten, 18; and Kaitlyn, 13.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.

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For more information about this release, please contact Scott Moyers at 573-339-6237 or at scott.moyers1@us.army.mil