U.S. Army Materiel Command
Posted on 11/14/2008 8:24:25 AM PST by BykrBayb
WASHINGTON (AP) — From its humble beginning 33 years ago at Fort Sill, Okla., the career of Ann E. Dunwoody is ascending to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general. At a Pentagon promotion ceremony Friday, Dunwoody was adding a fourth star and later, at Fort Belvoir, Va., — her birthplace — being sworn in as commander of the Army Materiel Command, responsible for equipping, outfitting and arming all soldiers. Just five months ago, she became the first female deputy commander there.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
I don’t care who it is ... M or F .. white black or purple - if you do not have a combat eligible designator/MOS then 2 stars should be the ceiling. We don’t need more paper pushing administrators at the top - we need more warriors.
You are so right.
I was taken off guard by the negative responses, and accidentally played into the derailing of the thread. I know it’s a bit late in the game, but I’m hoping to get it back on track with some relevant posts about General Dunwoody and Army Materiel Command.
After you’ve pulled all the warriors off the line to perform logistics operations, who do you propose replacing them with? Paper pushers?
Sounds like I offended a paper pusher - whether I did or not no apology will be forthcoming.
#1 - You don’t pull warriors off the front line to perform logistics. If the training and promotion process were more properly warrior oriented there would be more warriors available. Non-combat rated personnel should be limited and employ very specific expertise - doctors, lawyers, nurses etc. Inside training and expertise, such as combat support, should be done with a military warrior mindset.
#2 - You don’t authorize 3 or 4 star status to a billet if it is not warrior-centric.
#3 - As for logistics - who knows better what is needed at the front than a front-liner?
#4 - See #1 and start again.
I don’t give a rats tail about the history of this command. I think that a non-warrior wearing 4 stars - in any service - in any command - is poor policy. That’s my opinion. We apparently simply disagree. Good for you and her I’m not CinC.
Whoever is in charge of logistics for the entire Army needs to have a rank that allows him or her to stand their ground against anyone pretty much anyone else in the military. It seems like a requirement for that person to be able to do their job.
#3 - As for logistics - who knows better what is needed at the front than a front-liner?
Modern military logistics is probably a lot like running Wal-Mart. It is, I think, a skill-set that is more like having an MBA than being a skilled rifleman.
Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, U.S. Army Materiel Command commanding general
Jun 30, 2008
BY AMC Public Affairs
General Ann E. Dunwoody assumed the duties as the U.S. Army Materiel Command's Commanding General on November 14, 2008. AMC is one of the largest commands in the Army, with more than 60,000 employees in 149 locations worldwide, including more than 40 states and 50 countries.
General Dunwoody received a direct commission as a Quartermaster officer in 1975, after graduating from the State University of New York at Cortland. She later earned a Master of Science Degree in Logistics Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1988 and a Master of Science Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1995.
Her command assignments include: the 226th Maintenance Company Fort Sill, OK; 5th QM Detachment (ABN) Kaiserslautern, Germany; the 407th Supply and Service Battalion/ 782d Main Support Battalion (MSB) Fort Bragg, NC; the 10th Division Support Command (DISCOM) Fort Drum, NY; the 1st Corps Support Command Fort Bragg, NC; the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC)/Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) Alexandria, VA; and the Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) Fort Lee, VA. She most recently served as AMC’s Deputy Commanding General.
Her key Staff Assignments include 82d Division Parachute officer; strategic planner for the Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA); Executive Officer to the Director, Defense Logistics Agency; and Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics G-4. She deployed with the 82d as the Division Parachute Officer for Desert Shield and Desert Storm from September 1990 to March 1991, and in 2001, as 1st COSCOM Commander she deployed the Log Task Force in support of OEF1 and stood up the Joint Logistics Command in Uzbekistan in support of CJTF-180. As Commander of SDDC, she supported the largest deployment and redeployment of U.S. forces since WWII.
Her awards and decorations include: the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster; Army Commendation Medal; the Army Achievement Medal; the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star; SWASM (2 campaign stars); and the Kuwait Liberation Medal. Her badges include the Master Parachutist Badge and the Parachute Rigger Badge.
She was recognized as a 2001 Distinguished Alumni for Cortland State SUNY, designated as the 2004 recipient of the National Defense Transportation Association’s DoD Distinguished Service Award, and was the 2007 recipient of Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) Distinguished Service Award.
General Dunwoody has been married to Colonel Craig Brotchie, USAF (Retired) for 19 years. They have one puppy, Barney.
As of November 2008
Good for our troops on the ground that you’re not CinC. They need somebody that knows how to get the supplies to them.
I disagree.
I fear the dilution of warriors at the upper ranks of the military is going to cost us some day.
My opinion - you don’t have to agree.
I think there's some merit to both points of view. One problem I see with the "warriors on top" position is that those who truly are warriors in the essential sense generally do not want to be logisticians. They want to fight or to lead troops in combat, not do inventory.
Everyone in a combat field is not a "warrior." My father was a Navy pilot for 20 years, including two years in Vietnam, but he identified himself as a Navy Officer, not as a warrior or even a pilot. He knew, and I knew, pilots for whom flying was the great passion of their life, but he was not one. Flying was a native ability, and the ticket to an officer's career for a lightly-educated country boy. What he really loved, and was best at, was managing people and materiel. He ended his military career as Atlantic Fleet Weapons Officer, and in "retirement" managed nuclear weapons logistics in civilian contractor firms.
I imagine Gen. Dunwoody as having a similar desire to serve using the skills at which she is strongest.
That said there are many "accidents of war" where somebody never corrected fire as the enemy advanced or mixed up coordinates of artillery fire.
Sam Walton - The Inside Story of America's Richest Man
...Both Sam and his father-in-law were sharply taken aback when they stepped into the gloom of the five-and-dime. The interior was lighted only by three drop-cord 100-watt bulbs. Rickety stairs led up a side wall to a ramshackle balcony "office."
...When he first stepped inside, Sam looked for places to hang a few more electric lights. Then he mounted the stairs to his loft "office" and nailed an old orange crate on the wall to server as a shelf for books.
"He grabbed a couple of saw horses," said Bill Enfield, "and slammed down a piece of of plywood on top of them. That was his desk. That put him in business. He used that makeshift desk, I believe, for five or six years."
..."I [Irvin Bollenback] don't believe there is any successful man that kept the common touch as much as Sam Walton. . . .
"I went down to Bentonville with Ed Gaylord, and Sam was just going to show us around his place and all the deal down there. He came out to meet us at the airport in an old car that had cuts on the dashboard. I got in the backseat and there was a dirty old carburetor back there on the floorboards and I mean it was just something you'd expect from some Okie that they always talk about here [Kingfishter].
"Sam Walton, as wealthy as he is, would drive an old car, never put on airs. . . . I rode the front seat sometimes because I wanted Gaylord to see that back there. That was kind of interesting."
Something similar - but much more gauche - occurred when an important business couple flew in from London to discuss some aspect of Wal-Mart's "Buy American" campaign. Sam was waiting to greet them at the Rogers airport.
"They were sort of royalty," said Burton Stacey, president of the Bentonville bank. "He was a lord or something and she was Lady so-and-so. When Sam picked them up, he was driving his pickup truck. And she didn't appreciate it worth a damn. He doesn't get too worried about things like that. It's just transportation to him."
the point being that a four star woman general whose only claim to fame is logistics smells to folks who know a bit about how generals get rank
and I asked for comparative precedence to refute that sentiment and have thus far seen none
is she the only 4 star with no combat theatre experience
I agree with you in principle, however, having been on the short end of the stick due to my gender, I can honestly say that when I was still competitive, I couldn't even get a second glance because of my gender. Women were actually relegated to certain areas and had to suck it up and watch others less talented who were males take the brass ring and then have to suffer the insult to injury of propping the dimwit up.
I long for the day when meritocracy is actually the name of the game, when we can be true to our gender and not have the debate stop there. I loved being a young woman — every thing about it. I still retain my love for all things feminine and appreciation of all things masculine. It's just hard to really, really want to compete and accomplish and those you are competing with stop the debate at your face and cup size. I, too, want to see the day when there is no need for affirmative action and Title IX.
If this woman is NOT qualified, then she'll have to be propped up by those of the opposite gender who will also have insult added to injury. Pay back is a bitch, but maybe it's the only way to get the mule's attention.
Rather than remain silent, they chose to leave no doubt that they are tards.
Better to remain silent and be thought a tard.
Hi Kathy. Thanks for letting us borrow your governor, if only for a short while. Hopefully next time we’ll keep her for a few years, so the rest of our troops can see first hand what a great leader she is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.