Snead's main job was to ensure that all the many agencies and participants worked smoothly together. To help with this task, he had 300 people working for him. They rehearsed "what if" scenarios, such as bus breakdowns, blockading demonstrators, and missing high school bands. Despite that fact that it is "only" a parade, Snead was well aware of the importance of his assignment: "The world is watching the peaceful transfer of power.This parade is a symbol of how you should do business."

Given the extraordinary nature of the 2000 election, the inaugural parade had its own unique circumstances. Namely, Snead did not know for whom he was organizing the parade until much later than usual. "We knew there was going to be an inauguration on January 20," he said. "We knew the parade route would lead up Pennsylvania Avenue. So we started to plan." Because of the Florida controversy, they had only 31 days, instead of the usual 74, to work with the president-elect's Inaugural Committee. The marching bands, which are selected by the Inaugural Committee from 200 audition tapes, were not notified until December 22. While this made for a busy Christmas, the shortened schedule had one big advantage, according to Snead: "It forced decisions to be made quickly."

The military has been involved in the inauguration ever since George Washington. Snead and the army, however, are not directly involved in the security detail, which is left to the civilian authorities. It was a potential nightmare of jurisdictions, he recalled, with areas where the sidewalks belong to one agency and the street belongs to another. The Secret Service has ultimate oversight over all security issues, and works to coordinate nineteen different law enforcement agencies. Because of the contentious election, security, and dealing with the expected protesters, was a major concern. Yet this has to be done unobtrusively: "You don't want to create an armed state or the appearance that the president is not safe."

The miserable weather reduced the size of the crowd and dampened many of the protests. All in all, Snead recalled it as one "long, wet day." But everything went according to plan. "I had great people working for me," he said. "I knew this would be an interesting job. The inauguration is a special event."

Since this past March, Snead has worked at the Pentagon as a member of the Joint Staff. He is assigned to the Doctrine Branch, developing standard procedures for the joint employment of the different branches of the military. "It's an effort to capture how we do business," he said, "and bring the various branches to a consensus." When providing close air support, for example, the Army, Air Force, and the Marine Corps need to know "how to talk and work with each other."

Before this assignment, Snead was in Saudi Arabia for a year, teaching the Saudi Army how to operate the M1A2 tanks they had purchased from the United States. "It was a fascinating opportunity to live in another society and culture," he said; he said of his experience as one of only 11 American soldiers in a town near the Jordanian border.

Snead's previous foreign assignments have taken him to Haiti, Kuwait, Egypt, and Germany. In Haiti, he worked with the United Nations Mission and the Organization of American States trying to help restore democracy. "It took me back to reading The Federalist Papers and being in Dr. Marion's constitutional law course," he said. His domestic postings have taken him to Fort Stewart, Georgia, Leavenworth, Kansas, and the National Military Command Center (NMCC) in D.C.. At the NMCC he was part of a Watch Team that monitored and responded to the world's security situation.

Rucker Snead '81 directing the presidential inaugural parade as head of the Parade Division of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee.

A French and political science major, Snead originally intended to go to law school. He did a senior independent study on the Persian Gulf, knowledge which came in handy years later through numerous trips to the Middle East. After graduation, he enlisted and went to Officer Candidate School. He did return to school a few years ago, earning a master's degree in History while teaching ROTC at Appalachian State University.

The army has changed dramatically since Snead entered during the Cold War. "It was much easier to train and prepare when you knew who the enemy was." Given the political instability of many world regions, Snead knows his next assignment could be almost anywhere. Anywhere, that is, except Pennsylvania Avenue again.