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.
[excerpt]
Meet the General during the war, awesome American Leader, RIP Sir.
Tampa local news reports that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. This is the first I’ve heard of prostate issues.
Either way, RIP, sir. I was in 6th grade during Desert Storm. I remember being glued to the TV every night. He made me proud to wear my Boy Scout uniform at the time.
The generals we have left are a collection of perfumed princes and yuppies. No more warriors at flag rank, just a collection of ass kissing politicians.
And.. Affirmative Action women..not a leadership chromosome anywhere....Fags and Hags..the face of the new military. No wonder the bad guys laugh at us.
Amen to that Fred. They kiss Obama’s black butt to get ahead. They could give a rat’s hip pockets about the troops. It is about them and getting that next rank. To hell with the troops. I was seeing that in the late 1980s and early 1990s before I retired. Officers out for themselves. I have even heard officers tell NCOs that they were not going to have their careers damaged by a bunch of stupid enlisted people who could not do their jobs the way the stupid officer wanted it done. I have endured so many self centered lieutenants, captains, majors and lieutenant colonels to fill the Queen Mary. Out for themselves. That is why I never, ever trusted officers. I trusted none of them. In my career, I can count on my hands the number of officers that I fully trusted. One my TWO HANDS over 20 plus years of service.
Exactly! He’s a lucky man not to have to see the final destruction of America at the hands of the usurper illegal alien Chavez wannabe grifter-in-chief.
All the good things said are not simple platitudes for a dead man but earned and deserved. RIP, General.
“About the last General in the Army that I actually respected.”
He was my idol, so proud to have served in our Army under his leadership.
I was living about 150 km south of Kuwait at the time. Tens of thousands of troops came through, American, UK, and others. Never felt so proud of the military. On the other hand, we had “read my lips no new taxes” HW Bush as president. You have to take the good with the bad, military = good, Bush = bad.
I think that it would be inappropriate to post a zot graphic on this solemn thread of mourning for General Schwarzkopf.
RIP, General, and rest easy in the Arms of God. Your work is done, and you are called Home for all eternity. May He grant your family and friends His solace.
Agreed.
Agreed, TOL. Thank you.
America has been fortunate to have Generals and Admirals like Storming Norman when we have needed them.
There are a lot of stories about him. One I heard over a decade ago may be a fable.
There was a fly fishing guide in the PNW, who was a terrific instructor and he ran fishing camps for a week.
Attending one of those camps for a week, reminded many of us of our bootcamp days. It was rumored this guide had been a Boot Camp DI. You were met in a parking lot by the guide and his assistant and told to grab your gear from your vehicle and told you would leave your vehicle there while you were in the fishing camp.
The fishing camp was a few miles away. Once you were there, it was ran like a boot camp with early to rise and early to bed. During your rest times in the daylight, you were to clean your fly lines, check your knots to make sure your rods and reels were in good condition. Most of us were able to tie perfect fishing knots in the dark and get our rods and reels/lines geared up for our next assualt on the river.
Norman attended a one week camp during a blazing hot summer.
At the camp, he apparently, heard that the salty instructor/guide had been a DI.
One day during a one on one dressing down section, Norman asked the guide if he had been an Army DI. The guide said no, he was a Marine.
To which, Norman supposedly said, “Thank God, I was fraid that you might have been an Army DI!”
The guide responded with on of his rare grins and said, “Not Army, Sir!”.
Years later the guide commented that, “The General was one of his best students ever, and if you didn’t know who he was. You would ever know that he was one of highest ranking American generals in history and one of the best.
America has been fortunate to have Generals and Admirals like Storming Norman when we have needed them.
There are a lot of stories about him. One I heard over a decade ago may be a fable.
There was a fly fishing guide in the PNW, who was a terrific instructor and he ran fishing camps for a week.
Attending one of those camps for a week, reminded many of us of our bootcamp days. It was rumored this guide had been a Boot Camp DI. You were met in a parking lot by the guide and his assistant and told to grab your gear from your vehicle and told you would leave your vehicle there while you were in the fishing camp.
The fishing camp was a few miles away. Once you were there, it was ran like a boot camp with early to rise and early to bed. During your rest times in the daylight, you were to clean your fly lines, check your knots to make sure your rods and reels were in good condition. Most of us were able to tie perfect fishing knots in the dark and get our rods and reels/lines geared up for our next assualt on the river.
Norman attended a one week camp during a blazing hot summer.
At the camp, he apparently, heard that the salty instructor/guide had been a DI.
One day during a one on one dressing down section, Norman asked the guide if he had been an Army DI. The guide said no, he was a Marine.
To which, Norman supposedly said, “Thank God, I was fraid that you might have been an Army DI!”
The guide responded with on of his rare grins and said, “Not Army, Sir!”.
Years later the guide commented that, “The General was one of his best students ever, and if you didn’t know who he was. You would ever know that he was one of highest ranking American generals in history and one of the best.
Thank you for the info.
That is a great story, thanks for sharing. I wish we had Generals today like Stormin’ Norman. They have all been tured into little PC wusses.
Rest in Peace great General.
The signal we ignored was a speech given by an Iraqi commander, where he signaled the tank gunner to fire at a wall mural of Saddam Hussein. We should have set up a meeting out in the middle of the desert, and made an offer. It would be Iraqi troops on the point to Bagdad, with US air support and logistics. The boots on the ground that we would have would have been forward air controllers and logistical specialists. Maybe some tactical types.
The Mullahs in Iran would have soiled their robes.
So true.
But, it is also true that greed means different things to different people.
When conservatives talk about greed, we refer to the “unbridled pursuit” of wealth, and it carries the negative connotations that it should carry.
When liberals talk about greed, it invariably boils down to anyone who has more wealth than they do.
hahaha...great story! May simply be anecdotal, but seems to illustrate well what many of us think of him!
Ode to the Fallen Soldier
Ode to the Fallen soldier,
For he has made the ultimate
Sacrifice for his world.
Ode to his Mother for while
She lives, the grief and sadness
Take their toll on her mind, as
She goes throughout her day,
Answering questions like “are
You ok? ” and “where is your
Son, I haven’t seen him for a while? ”
She always answers, “yes I’m fine”
Or, “he’s away.” But she knows, inside,
She can’t deny.
Ode to the son he left behind,
For he will grow up without
Knowing who his father is,
Only what he’s done. Never
Will he play catch in the yard,
Like the neighbors next door.
Never will he hear that “Man to
Man” talk, that all boys should.
Ode to the music that will never
Be heard, for the only music
He made, rests in his heart.
Ode to the art that will never be
Seen, for the only art he made,
Remains in a box underground.
Ode to the Fallen Soldier, who
Died so we could live, the way
All mankind should, happy and free.
David A Harris
Rest in Peace General.
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