He was marginal at best in the Army, and is the poster boy for Affirmative Action promotions to GEN that are not earned or deserved! ALSO, he is a self absorbed jerk
As a squid, I am assuming that you do not know Powell. If I am incorrect, I apologize. But, I know him and served with him. He was a good soldier and a better leader. He is one of those rare people who connects with soldiers and also can navigate through the political shoals without running aground.
His Achilles heel was that he knew too much about the political game and was too good at it. While that took him to the very top, it also meant that he was going to make the big decisions based on the political equation. He was a soldier once, but he is a politician now.