Stanley McChrystal: Difference between revisions

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'''Stanley A. McChrystal''' is a [[general]] in the [[United States Army]], who simultaneously commands the [[NATO]] [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF) and [[United States Forces-Afghanistan]] (USFOR-A). As opposed to the previous commander, GEN [[David McKiernan]], who was a distinguished "heavy" armored force commander, his career has been in [[special operations]] and [[infantry]] — a "lightfighter".
{{TOC|right}}
'''Stanley A. McChrystal''' is a [[general]] in the [[United States Army]], who simultaneously commands the [[NATO]] [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF) and [[United States Forces-Afghanistan]] (USFOR-A). As opposed to the previous commander, GEN [[David McKiernan]], who was a distinguished "heavy" armored force commander, his career has been in [[special operations]] and [[infantry]] &mdash; a "lightfighter". He was the personal choice of [[United States Secretary of Defense]] [[Robert Gates]] to replace McKiernan before his assignment ended, believing that "new eyes" were needed.<ref>{{citation
| title = McChrystal to replace McKiernan in Afghan war
| author = John T. Bennett
| date = 13 May 2009
| journal = Army Times
| url = http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/military_mckiernan_gates_051109w/}}</ref>


After graduating from the [[United States Military Academy]], in the [[Paratroop]] [[82nd Airborne Division]], and, when eligible, qualified in [[United States Army Special Forces]]. He led an [[United States Army Special Forces#Operational Detachment A|Special Forces "A Team"]], then served in intelligence and operations for the United Nations command in [[South Korea]].
He had headed the highly classified [[Joint Special Operations Command]] (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008, when he took over as Director of the Joint Staff. He was promoted to four-star general and sent to Afghanistan in June 2009.
===Command in Afghanistan==
He formed a Strategic Assessment Group of civilian and military experts to advise him on new approaches in Afghanistan:
*COL [[Chris Kolenda]] Director/coordinator, Strategic Assessment Group
*COL [[Daniel Pick]] Assistant coordinator, <http://www.faoam.elnonio.net/bios/Pick.doc> .
*[[Sarah Chayes]]
*[[Frederick Kagan]]
*[[Kimberly Kagan]] President of the Institute for the Study of War http://www.understandingwar.org/people
*[[Anthony Cordesman]]
*[[Stephen Biddle]] Council on Foreign Relations
*[[Andrew Exum]]
*[[Jeremy Shapiro]] a civil-military relations analyst at the Brookings Institution
*[[Terry Kelly]], [[RAND Corporation]]
*[[Catherine Dale]] of the Congressional Research Service
*[[Etienne de Durand]] of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales in Paris
*[[Luis Peral]] of the European Union's Institute for Strategic Studies
*[[Whitney Kassel]] Office of the [[United States Secretary of Defense]]
*LTC [[Aaron Prupas]] a U.S. Air Force officer at Centcom


He commanded a "heavy" mechanized infantry company and served on its battalion staff, then went back into the Special Operations community with the [[75th Ranger Regiment]]. After graduating from the [[U.S. Naval War College]], he was an action officer for [[Joint Special Operations Command]] during the [[Gulf War]]. After Iraq, he commanded an Airborne and then a Ranger Battalion, and then took a Senior Service College Fellowship at Harvard University, returning to command the Ranger Regiment.  
==Senior assignments==
Much of McChrystal's career has been in classified operations. In five years at JSOC, he improved cooperation with other parts of the U.S. government, still out of sight. He was reported to have supported, and was to lead, an operation to capture or kill [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], #2 in [[al-Qaeda]], in [[Pakistan]] in 2005. <ref name=NYT2009-05-13>{{citation
| date = May 13, 2009
| title = Man in the News: A General Steps From the Shadows
| author = Elisabeth Bumiller and Mark Mazzetti I
| journal = New York Times
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/world/asia/13commander.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print}}</ref> 


From the field with the Rangers, he became a Military Fellow at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]], then returned to troop duty as Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne, then as its Chief of Staff. He then deployed to the [[Afghanistan War (2001-)]] as Chief of Staff of Task Force 180.
His actions regarding the [[fratricide (military)|"friendly fire"]] death of Ranger [[Pat Tillman]] have been questioned; the early reports said he had been killed by the enemy and the facts covered up. An =investigation indicated he knew the facts when approving the [[Silver Star]] for Tillman, and his sending a message "our nation's leaders," specifically the president, to avoid cribbing the "devastating enemy fire" explanation from Tillman's citation for their speeches. In 2007, senior Army officers overruled  investigators' recommendation that McChrystal be held accountable for his "misleading" actions.<ref name=USA>{{citation
| title =Tillman's parents want general's record reviewed
| date = 13 May 2009 | journal = USA Today
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-05-13-tillman-mcchrystal-parents_N.htm}}</ref>


Returning to Washington, he was Vice Director for Operations of the [[Joint Staff (U.S.)|Joint Staff]], then commanded the [[Joint Special Operations Command]] until June 2008, when he took over as Director of the Joint Staff. He was promoted to four-star general and sent to Afghanistan in June 2009.
After graduating from the [[U.S. Naval War College]], he was an action officer for [[Joint Special Operations Command]] during the [[Gulf War]]. After Iraq, he commanded an Airborne and then a Ranger Battalion, and then took a Senior Service College Fellowship at Harvard University, returning to command the Ranger Regiment. Returning to Washington, he was Vice Director for Operations of the [[Joint Staff (U.S.)|Joint Staff]].
 
From the field with the Rangers, he became a Military Fellow at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]]. [[Leslie Gelb]], president emeritus of CFR, said that he ran 12 miles, each way, each day, to his office there, and, Council on Foreign Relations in 2000, he ran a dozen miles each morning to the council’s offices from his quarters at Fort Hamilton on the southwestern tip of Brooklyn. “If you asked me the first thing that comes to mind about General McChrystal, I think of no body fat.” <ref name=NYT2009-05-13 />
 
He returned to troop duty as Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne, then as its Chief of Staff. He then deployed to the [[Afghanistan War (2001-)]] as Chief of Staff of Task Force 180.
 
==Early career==
He commanded a "heavy" mechanized infantry company and served on its battalion staff, then went back into the Special Operations community with the [[75th Ranger Regiment]].  After graduating from the [[United States Military Academy]], in the [[Paratroop]] [[82nd Airborne Division]], and, when eligible, qualified in [[United States Army Special Forces]]. He led an [[United States Army Special Forces#Operational Detachment A|Special Forces "A Team"]], then served in intelligence and operations for the United Nations command in [[South Korea]].
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

Revision as of 18:40, 4 September 2009

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Stanley A. McChrystal is a general in the United States Army, who simultaneously commands the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A). As opposed to the previous commander, GEN David McKiernan, who was a distinguished "heavy" armored force commander, his career has been in special operations and infantry — a "lightfighter". He was the personal choice of United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to replace McKiernan before his assignment ended, believing that "new eyes" were needed.[1]

He had headed the highly classified Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008, when he took over as Director of the Joint Staff. He was promoted to four-star general and sent to Afghanistan in June 2009.

=Command in Afghanistan

He formed a Strategic Assessment Group of civilian and military experts to advise him on new approaches in Afghanistan:

Senior assignments

Much of McChrystal's career has been in classified operations. In five years at JSOC, he improved cooperation with other parts of the U.S. government, still out of sight. He was reported to have supported, and was to lead, an operation to capture or kill Ayman al-Zawahiri, #2 in al-Qaeda, in Pakistan in 2005. [2]

His actions regarding the "friendly fire" death of Ranger Pat Tillman have been questioned; the early reports said he had been killed by the enemy and the facts covered up. An =investigation indicated he knew the facts when approving the Silver Star for Tillman, and his sending a message "our nation's leaders," specifically the president, to avoid cribbing the "devastating enemy fire" explanation from Tillman's citation for their speeches. In 2007, senior Army officers overruled investigators' recommendation that McChrystal be held accountable for his "misleading" actions.[3]

After graduating from the U.S. Naval War College, he was an action officer for Joint Special Operations Command during the Gulf War. After Iraq, he commanded an Airborne and then a Ranger Battalion, and then took a Senior Service College Fellowship at Harvard University, returning to command the Ranger Regiment. Returning to Washington, he was Vice Director for Operations of the Joint Staff.

From the field with the Rangers, he became a Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of CFR, said that he ran 12 miles, each way, each day, to his office there, and, Council on Foreign Relations in 2000, he ran a dozen miles each morning to the council’s offices from his quarters at Fort Hamilton on the southwestern tip of Brooklyn. “If you asked me the first thing that comes to mind about General McChrystal, I think of no body fat.” [2]

He returned to troop duty as Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne, then as its Chief of Staff. He then deployed to the Afghanistan War (2001-) as Chief of Staff of Task Force 180.

Early career

He commanded a "heavy" mechanized infantry company and served on its battalion staff, then went back into the Special Operations community with the 75th Ranger Regiment. After graduating from the United States Military Academy, in the Paratroop 82nd Airborne Division, and, when eligible, qualified in United States Army Special Forces. He led an Special Forces "A Team", then served in intelligence and operations for the United Nations command in South Korea.

References

  1. ↑ John T. Bennett (13 May 2009), "McChrystal to replace McKiernan in Afghan war", Army Times
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Elisabeth Bumiller and Mark Mazzetti I (May 13, 2009), "Man in the News: A General Steps From the Shadows", New York Times
  3. ↑ "Tillman's parents want general's record reviewed", USA Today, 13 May 2009
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