Colonel H. R. McMaster was recently passed over for Brigadier General for the second time. A second denial is usually the door to retirement. I hope Colonel McMaster hangs in there as he is the kind of officer our military needs in the 21st Century. He is a warrior, leader and scholar. Dr. McMaster’s doctoral thesis detailed the mistakes of the Vietnam War. It was later published as the best selling book Dereliction of Duty. The treatise is a scathing indictment of the Johnson administration’s prosecution of the Vietnam war.
Colonel McMaster has a knack for telling it like it is. In November of 2003 he wrote a student paper while attending the U. S. Army War College, titled Crack in the Foundation. While not knowing Colonel McMaster personally, I believe that his views in this paper are what have kept him from rising farther in the military. Don’t get me wrong – I think he is spot-on in his analysis but I believe many in the Pentagon were embarrassed by his logic and candor.
So, who is the officer that writes it like he sees it?
Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.
Colonel H.R. Mcmaster’s official biography reads:
Lieutenant Colonel H. R. McMaster was commissioned in the United States Army upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984. His military education includes the Airborne and Ranger Schools, the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Cavalry Leader’s Course, the U.S. Army Combined Armed Services Staff School, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and as an Army War College Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
In 1994, McMaster completed his M.A. in history at the University of North Carolina. He taught history at the United States Military Academy from 1994 to 1996, and was awarded his Ph.D. in American History in 1996. His book, Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, was published in May, 1997. He has published numerous articles on historical and national security affairs topics in edited volumes, newspapers, magazines, and professional journals.
Lieutenant Colonel McMaster has served in numerous command and staff positions in Armor and Cavalry units in the U.S., Germany, and at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. He commanded Eagle Troop, Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bamberg, Germany and Southwest Asia during Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and the occupation of Southern Iraq. He commanded the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in Schweinfurt, Germany from October, 1999 until June of 2002. LTC McMaster is currently serving with United States Central Command in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism. His military decorations include the Silver Star Medal.
But, he is much, much more. McMaster was the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s commanding officer when they turned around the city of Tal Afar, Iraq. He used classic counterinsurgent techniques which would later be employed in Baghdad in 2007. Colonel McMaster had one of the few counter-insurgent successes in 2005. He was so successful, that he was summoned to Baghdad in 2007 to assist in General Petraeus’ Baghdad security planning.
Tomorrow I will post part II of this story. H.R. McMaster’s military story goes much farther back than OIF. Tune in tomorrow to hear about his Desert Storm exploits. Suffice it to say, this man needs to get a star.
Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.
the fact that he’s gotten both barrels on the promotion board is testament to the influence of yesterday’s Generals, the type who still want to fight in the Fulda Gap.
Effective strategists are constantly reinventing the wheel, as McMasters has spent a career doing. Perhaps we’re due for some George Catlett Marshall style purges of Army leadership?
Another former cadet making the USMA proud.
Hooah.
That’s too bad, a Silver Star recipient and such a forward thinker. I can’t wait for the Persian Gulf Post. The 2nd ACR was positioned just West of us (we were at the Wadi Al Batin) You will post about 73 Easting, right?
… Damn Old Tanker beat me to it.
We studied 73 Easting when I was a cadet at A&T. I would have loved to have been in this gentleman’s command.
Too bad REMFs determine who advances.
I seldom comment on the promotional policies of other services, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Col McMasters has proved to be a shining light within the Army for many years. He commanded at the fight at 73 Easting, which, as other commentatiors have noted, is studied in tactics classes today.
But, perhaps more importantly, he also has shown the abilility to examine the proces that guides our military endeavours with a very criticl eye. Dereliction of Duty is a devestating study of the many things that went wrong with the Vietnam War. As such, it ought to be absolutely required reading for every military officer in the armed forces. But it also so should be required reading for every politician and every civilian manager and Presidential Appointee.
The militqry has a long history of punishing mavericks when it comes to selection for promotion. The tragedy is that the military system absolutely requires some mavericks in the mix to ensure that the mainline Generals/Admirals don’t entirely focus on getting ready to fight the last war.
I agree that we could do with a George Catlett Marshall to change the focus from the Fulda Gap to the battlefields of the future.
Crack in the Foundation makes terrifying reading. The Military leaders are acting like a bunch of crackpot inventors who won’t let go of their designs for a perpetual motion machine. No worse. Maybe 3 wars would have blasted some daylight into the crackpots’ skulls.
No doubt it nothing to worry about that the Chinese took out a satelite with a laser last year.
Blast. I thought GEN Patraeus was going to fix that problem with the promotion boards.
Sigh, and I was just finishing my copy of Boyd, and his “maverick” ways. He also never made it past Colonel despite re-inventing air-to-air combat and orginating the concept of the OODA loop. Colonel McMaster is in excellent company.
Reality has a way of leaving people sputtering “That’s not supposed to happen!”, and combat is the ultimate reality.
More Excellent Company:
Captain John Paul Jones never made Admiral (in the US Navy).
Interesting. I just went to the official Department of the Army General Officer website and there have been no announcements about this year’s BG list being released.
Apologies!
There are several articles on the web, indicating that Colonel McMaster was passed over twice:
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2007/11/print/next-generation-of-us-army-coi/
http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/07/is_the_pentagon_antipetraeus.html
Let’s all hope that this time he is selected.
Come on Richard. You can dig out the straight scoop. Lots of folks cheering for Col. H.R. to get his Star.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Richard, maybe when Condi gets selected as McCains VP that’ll be H.R.’s “real star”!
I served under COL McMaster with the 3d ACR during the Tal Afar deployment. I was one of his Battle Captains. I have NEVER served with a greater leader, motivator, and tactician!! He was constantly miles ahead of us in his thgout and planning processes and diligently waited for us to catch up! I have never learned so much from one man! I would follow him to Hell and back, and well did during the last deployment! I would serve under him in any capacity! I have heard that he DID get selected this time and deserves it more than most!
CPT Darren Pike
Photos of McMaster
http://picasaweb.google.com/huntertate/McMasters#