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Iraq
Hands-On General Is Next No. 2 in Iraq
2008-01-14
Most U.S. Army generals wear pistols on the battlefield. Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, a decorated paratrooper who next month takes over as the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, packs an M4 rifle.

A physically imposing but modest man who is little known outside Army circles, Austin's hands-on style reflects a connection with front-line troops and a breadth of combat leadership that senior officers say make him ideal for his new job: running the day-to-day operations of the Iraq war.

Whereas the top U.S. commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, must serve as much as a diplomat and public face of the war as a military leader, Austin must master the gritty details of Iraq's battlefield geometry -- constantly prioritizing the use of dozens of U.S. and Iraqi combat units as well as aircraft, unmanned drones and other military forces to carry out the U.S. strategy.
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#15  W.T. Sherman founded the Command School, now known as the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Modeled in some ways after the German General Staff school, it is one of the primary intellectual assets of the United States for maintaining and improving the quality of its military commanders.

Thanks Anonymoose. Consider me educated.
Posted by: Free Radical   2008-01-14 20:13  

#14  Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, a decorated paratrooper who next month takes over as the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, packs an M4 rifle.

Smart man, they've learned to target anyone wearing only a pistol as an Officer.
Look like a grunt, shoots easier and better than a pistol anyway. (Pistols are for backup)
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-01-14 16:14  

#13  Big Pic of Austin (couple of MB)
Posted by: KBK   2008-01-14 14:46  

#12  Sinse, go to the FT Benning homepage and scroll down for the videos on the first page and the speach you are looking for is there.

I don't know LTG Austin, but if Bill Weber says he is good I'll follow him down range anytime.
Posted by: TopMac   2008-01-14 12:37  

#11  Thanks. I'd forgotten that. With his founding of LSU, Uncle Billy turned out to be quite the educator. Sort of Milton and Dwight Eisenhower all rolled into one with out the politician.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-01-14 12:24  

#10  W.T. Sherman founded the Command School, now known as the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Modeled in some ways after the German General Staff school, it is one of the primary intellectual assets of the United States for maintaining and improving the quality of its military commanders.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-01-14 12:13  

#9  Thanks in large part to Wm T. Sherman,
Why do you say that?


My own explanation: Because without Sherman taking Atlanta a copperhead woukld have been elected and the United States would be no longer.
Posted by: JFM   2008-01-14 12:11  

#8   Thanks in large part to Wm T. Sherman,
Why do you say that?


I second the question. Shouldn't we be thanking West Point, not a general who had a bad habit of playing with matches in my home city?
Posted by: Free Radical   2008-01-14 11:47  

#7  Wouldn't it be great if people like this were household names, instead of the Parisites and Lindsay Lohlifes?
Posted by: charger   2008-01-14 10:48  

#6   Thanks in large part to Wm T. Sherman,

Why do you say that?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-01-14 10:37  

#5  and if it's not could someone direct me too the video of that speech.
Posted by: sinse   2008-01-14 10:25  

#4  is this the same man that gave the very stirring commencement speech at Ft. Benning (sp) a couple years ago?
Posted by: sinse   2008-01-14 10:23  

#3  Thanks in large part to Wm T. Sherman, the US produces a large number of very dangerous generals. And yet, most of them never get the chance to prove themselves in battle.

And irony of ironies, even the greatest of them, if they do get the chance to prove themselves and do prove themselves, must still pass on the role to a subordinate in a terribly short time.

Someone once remarked that a general is like a gymnast, except the career of the general is far shorter, and their chance for greatness less.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-01-14 10:16  

#2  What's next for Ray Odierno?
Posted by: M. Murcek   2008-01-14 09:54  

#1  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_J._Austin
Posted by: gorb   2008-01-14 06:57  

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