Gen. “Stormin’ Norman” Schwarzkopf, who led coalition forces to victory in the Gulf War, died today in Tampa, Fla., according to the Associated Press.
Schwarzkopf was 78 years old. He was a West Point graduate who served the Vietnam war and rose up the ranks in the Army.
He was promoted to general and appointed to lead U.S. Central Command in 1988. Schwarzkopf retired in 1991 and brushed off calls that he run for political office.
The general had been married to his wife, Brenda, since 1968. They have three children.
UPDATE: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Schwarzkopf’s “35 years of service in uniform left an indelible imprint on the United States military and on the country.”
“General Schwarzkopf’s skilled leadership of that campaign liberated the Kuwaiti people and produced a decisive victory for the allied coalition,” Panetta said of the Gulf War. “In the aftermath of that war, General Schwarzkopf was justly recognized as a brilliant strategist and inspiring leader. Today, we recall that enduring legacy and remember him as one of the great military giants of the 20th century. My thoughts and prayers are with the Schwarzkopf family in this time of sadness and grief.”
“With the passing of General Norman Schwarzkopf, we’ve lost an American original,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. “From his decorated service in Vietnam to the historic liberation of Kuwait and his leadership of United States Central Command, General Schwarzkopf stood tall for the country and Army he loved. Our prayers are with the Schwarzkopf family, who tonight can know that his legacy will endure in a nation that is more secure because of his patriotic service.”
Condolences to the General’s loved ones and friends.
(In response to a reporter’s question about forgiveness towards the iraqis prior to Desert Storm)
Schwarzkopf: “I believe that forgiving them is God’s function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting.”
(Some have attributed this as a response to 9/11, but it wasn’t. He retired after Desert Storm.)
Yes, the General could turn a phrase or snap a quip with the best of them. One of the things that gave him that star quality. He always impressed me as both sophisticated and unpretentious – possibly the world’s rarest combination.
Not to mention that for the first time in our history, he made it cool to be named Norman!
A controversial man, no doubt. But a leader. Compare THIS general against the current crop of political waltzers. All they know is how to dance. It reminds me of someone recently asking a perfumed pimp to fetch her a drink. I can’t remember who it was who asked but I’ll bet he saluted and fetched her a cocktail.
Petraeus does not measure up.
That’s rumored to be what his former girl friend said.
I believe it was “Babs” (“don’t call me Ma’am”) Barbara Boxer.
Or perhaps Valerie “snake eyes” Jarrett.
Not another George S. Patton but a darn sight closer than any general we have now or have had recently.
That happened a lot under Clinton. He seemed to delight in using uniformed officers as waiters at his White House parties.
God speed General Schwartzcopf. May the angels comfort your family.
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If you were on his staff during Desrt Storm, and you were a f*kup, you did not prosper and you did not bear a lot of love for the General. If you were on staff, he was a cast iron son-of-a-bitch, because he knew that it is the grunts that win the battle, the trigger pullers, the men and women that actually fight, and your job was purely to give those warriors the best chance to succeed. I don’t know that he loved the troopers, because he really was a hard man, but I do know that he respected them a hell of a lot more than he did his S2 or S3.
The best thing about Stormin’ Norman was that he brought the lessons he learned as a BC in the Tet Offensive at Hue City, and he insisted that, If GHW Bush was going to commit American military force in a campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, then the professionals in the Pentagon and in the field would run the war, not some gaggle of political hacks in the WH war room.
He took a superb force, but one that was outnumbered two to one in a situation where military logic says you need at least 3 to 1 superiority, and he used that force in ways that took full advantage of its capabilities and exploited the enemy’s weaknesses in what turned into the most one-sided victory in modern annals. When he was done, there was not enough left of the Iraqi army in the field to herd goats with, and he did it with fewer combat casualties than there were automobile accident fatalities in the US during the same 100 hours.
And the best part? After having had the Command of a lifetime, he quietly retired and spent nearly 20 years as a famous, but private citizen. The Cincinatus of Desert Storm.