FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: GEN David H. Petraeus ~ November 3, 2008

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

GEN David H. Petraeus
Part 1 - Personal life (Next week - Part 2: Miltary Career Pre-OIF)

Info from this website.

           

General Petraeus became commander of Centcom on October 31, 2008 in a ceremony at McDill AFB.  General Petraeus was Time's Person of the Year in 2007, and earned my respect when he told the truth about what is happening in Iraq before Congress.  We're going to take a 5 part look at who Gen. Petraeus is and what he's done.  He is indeed, a US Military Hero.

General David Howell Petraeus, USA (born November 7, 1952) is the current Commander, U.S. Central Command. He previously served as Commanding General, Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) from January 26, 2007 to September 15, 2008. As Commander of MNF-I, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq.  Petraeus assumed his current assignment on October 31, 2008.

Petraeus was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College—class of 1983. He subsequently earned a M.P.A. degree (1985) and a Ph.D. degree (1987) in International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He later served as Assistant Professor of International Relations at the U.S. Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University. He has a BS from the U.S. Military Academy—class of 1974—from which he graduated as a distinguished cadet (top 5% of his class).

A poll recently conducted by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines selected Petraeus as one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals. And in April of this year, the Static Line Association named Petraeus as its 2008 Man of the Year. In 2007, Time named Petraeus one of the 100 most influential leaders and revolutionaries of the year as well as one of its four runners up for Time Person of the Year.  He was also named the second most influential American conservative by The Daily Telegraph[9] as well as The Daily Telegraph's 2007 Man of the Year and "America's most respected soldier" by Der Spiegel in 2008. In 2005, Petraeus was selected as one of America's top leaders by US News and World Report. Some news reports have speculated that Petraeus may have interest in running for the presidency. Despite these accounts, Petraeus has categorically stated that he has no political ambitions.

Petraeus was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, the son of Miriam (née Howell) and Sixtus Petraeus. His mother was American and his father was a sea captain who had emigrated to the United States from the Netherlands during the initial phase of World War II.  Sixtus settled in Cornwall on Hudson, where David Petraeus grew up and graduated from Cornwall Central High School in 1970. Residents called him 'Peaches' in reference to his often-mispronounced last name and the nickname stuck with him as a cadet.

Petraeus then went on to the U.S. Military Academy in nearby West Point. Petraeus was on the intercollegiate soccer and ski teams, was a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a "distinguished cadet" academically, graduating in the top 5% of the Class of 1974 (ranked 43rd overall). In the class yearbook, Petraeus was remembered as "always going for it in sports, academics, leadership, and even his social life."

Two months after graduation Petraeus married Holly Knowlton, a graduate from Dickinson College and daughter of Army General William A. Knowlton who was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) at the time. They have two grown children, Anne and Stephen.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[HiJinx]

Ironic that a pilot has to wait in terminals...well, that’s the way things are nowadays.

Hang in there, it’s just a few more hours. And Monterey is a great place to getaway for awhile. Pebble Beach, the wharf, the Boar’s Head, y’know...

[PERKY2004]

Ahh yes ... I know! He’s actually taking it all in stride ... but I just want to give him a big hug, feed him a home-cooked meal, and tuck him in, ya know? Oh well .... tomorrow.

[PERKY2004]

Yep, he should be home in about 20 or so hours. We’re both really looking forward to those 3 days in Monterey ... we love the Aquarium, the Wharf, Cannery Row, 17-mile-drive and, of course, Carmel! (We tend to spend a lot of time where the Carmel River meets the Carmel State Beach ... great place for birdwatching!)

[PERKY2004]

We haven't been to the central California coast together since April (we went for our 5th wedding anniversary) ... perfect timing for baby elephant seals. At the Monterey Bay Aquarium ....

[luvie]

We are all so happy for you that he is nearly home....and I
am awfully jealous that y’all will be spending time in Monterey and Carmel. I visited there with my AF son and fell
in love with that part of our beautiful country!

[PERKY2004]

And a mamma sea otter with a fuzzy baby sea otter. (Sorry, big photo so you could see the little guy!)

[PERKY2004]

We just love the Monterey/Carmel area ... it’s about a 3 hour drive for us, and we try to make it there 3-4 times per year. This year we made it together in April (wedding anniversary), I went with a girlfriend for two days in July (Ron was in Iraq), and now we’re heading back in November. We can really only stay 3 days for this visit, since we’re scheduled for a ten-day trip to Hawaii/Oahu in early December. We did make two trips up to Alaska this year ... a 7-day cruise and then a separate 10-day land trip all over the Kenai peninsula. (Considering he’s spent 6 months in Iraq, I guess we’re still getting in a fair amount of travel, huh?)

[PERKY2004]

... and now some photos from Florida (2007)

[PERKY2004]

I took this one outside of Tucson, Arizona.

[PERKY2004]

In 2004, we took a 3-week cruise around South America so that I could see penguins in the wild! We started in Valparaiso, Chile, traveled south through the Straits of Magellan, then around Cape Horn, stopped in the Falkland Islands, and worked our way up the Atlantic side ... Buenos Aires, Montevideo (Uruguay), and finally Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. This pair of nesting Magellanic penguins ("pinguinos" en espanol) were in southern Chile in early December (springtime!)

[luvie]

You are getting in quite a bit of travel considering! LOL!

I know you are looking forward to seeing him more than taking
the trip, but glad you can do both. Hawaii is a place I have
always wanted to visit but never have gotten there....yet...

Give that hero our love!

[PERKY2004]

We live about an hour and a half from Yosemite National Park. My wonderful DH proposed to me in Yosemite (7-12-02) and we spent our honeymoon in Yosemite (4-13-03).

[luvie]

Evening, Jinxy!

How are ya doin’? Did you and Nana have a nice weekend?

[acad1228]

Evenin’ ladies! Just thought I’d gloat. Gas In Sauplpa, Ok is down to $1.939.

[PERKY2004]

I will ... thanks for your kind words. I really like Hawaii ... we've been there together twice ... this will be our third trip together. (Not bad for just over 5 years of marriage, huh?) We like to stay at the military resort right on Waikiki Beach ... www.Halekoa.com

[luvie]

How beautiful! Enjoy!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Ronnie...

We must never forget!! And it is really important to pay attention right now to which candidate will support our troops.

Thanks, unique, for the graphic.

[PERKY2004]

Glad you liked the pictures. This seems to be “Perky’s Travelog” tonight, doesn’t it? hee hee hee ... sorry. I was having fun looking through some of my photobucket photos! (At least I wasn’t posting photos of all my cats, right?)

[luvie]

You have posted some really beautiful pictures....and just
so ya know? We love cats around here! LOL!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Gloating is good....I’m hoping to see a further drop on Monday as I drive to work. Friday it was $3.299, which is a big drop. Maybe we will make it under $3.00 soon.