Posted on 12/27/2012 4:31:56 PM PST by Wisconsinlady
Edited on 12/28/2012 4:45:17 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON – Truth is, retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf didn't care much for his popular "Stormin' Norman" nickname.
The seemingly no-nonsense Desert Storm commander's reputed temper with aides and subordinates supposedly earned him that rough-and-ready moniker. But others around the general, who died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., at age 78 from complications from pneumonia, knew him as a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who preferred the somewhat milder sobriquet given by his troops: "The Bear."
That one perhaps suited him better later in his life, when he supported various national causes and children's charities while eschewing the spotlight and resisting efforts to draft him to run for political office.
He lived out a quiet retirement in Tampa, where he'd served his last military assignment and where an elementary school bearing his name is testament to his standing in the community.
Schwarzkopf capped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991 -- but he'd managed to keep a low profile in the public debate over the second Gulf War against Iraq, saying at one point that he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and the Pentagon predicted.
Schwarzkopf was named commander in chief of U.S. Central Command at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base in 1988, overseeing the headquarters for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly two dozen countries stretching across the Middle East to Afghanistan and the rest of central Asia, plus Pakistan.
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What a great man and great leader. I always liked him. I think just about everyone did.
Eternal rest, General.
He is up there sharing War Stories w/ Patton, Halsey, Nimitz and ALL of the other Great Generals/Admirals.
RIP, sir...
Prayers sent.
Rest in Peace good man.
Amen, to Fiddler’s Green and the General
“Your country called and you kicked ass. Well done, sir. Well done indeed.”
Indeed. RIP, General.
RIP General.
America loses yet another hero.
My husband proudly served under General Schwarzkopf. May he rest in peace, after a job well done and a life well lived.
This one hurts. He will be missed. Men of his ilk will be needed to retake America.
A great man has been spared the experience of seeing his country’s political destruction. RIP, sir, thanks for your excellent service
Rest in Peace .
Thanks for the guidance.
Farewell, Gen. Schwrzkopf.
Just heard the sad news..RIP General..I salute your great service to this country. God Bless!
Oh. I had not heard this. What a brave warrior he was. Bless his family with comfort.
About the last General in the Army that I actually respected.
My prayers and sadness go out to his family........
I remember he answered a reporter by asking ‘Have you ever been in the middle of a mine field? Let me tell you it’s intense.’
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