18th Nov Norman Schwarzkopf

Good morning,

Its Friday and nearly the weekend and so today I felt like writing about possibly one of the greatest leaders we have produced in modern times, if not EVER!

Today we salute the incredible leadership of....

Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr

Norman AKA "Stormin' Norman was a United States General who famously led the coalition forces in the Gulf War. He was lucky to be there as he had numerous close escapes in Vietnam. See below for details ⬇️ 

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Norman was an exceptionally clever man. He had an IQ of 168 (only 00.1% of humans are this clever), and was a member of Mensa (a high IQ membership).

Schwarzkopf attended the United States Military Academy where he played football, and wrestled. His large frame (6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) in height and 240 pounds (110 kg) in weight) was advantageous in athletics. Norman was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in 1956.

Schwarzkopf was promoted to captain in July 1961, he attended Advanced Infantry School, and went on to do a Master of Science in mechanical and aerospace engineering. In 1965 he volunteered for Vietnam which was where his true leadership was unveiled.

He was promoted to Major shortly after arriving in Vietnam and got his first combat experience on August 3, when he was the senior adviser to a force of 1,000 South Vietnamese paratroopers sent to relieve a beleaguered South Vietnamese Army. Schwarzkopf and his group fought continuously for several days. At one point, he braved heavy North Vietnamese fire to recover and treat a handful of wounded South Vietnamese soldiers and escort them to safety. He was awarded his FIRST (yes first) Silver Star.

On February 14, 1966, Schwarzkopf led an ARVN paratrooper assault on a Viet Cong position, during which he was wounded four times by small arms fire. However, he refused medical evacuation or to relinquish command until the objective had been captured and so he was awarded a 2nd Silver Star and a Purple Heart

After 10 months he was pulled from the front line and reassigned. Schwarzkopf then met his future wife Brenda Holsinger, whom he had 3 children with.

In 1969, Schwarzkopf was promoted to lieutenant colonel and ordered to a second tour in Vietnam and took over over the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, 198th Infantry Brigade. It was here he won his 3rd Silver Star and a second Purple Heart for risking his life to protect the soldiers, as well as three Bronze Star Medals and a Legion of Merit for his command performance.

From then he rose through the ranks doing various roles and became a Lt General in 1986 but it wasn't until he shot to fame in 1990 when he became Commander of Operation Desert Storm. It was here he was in overall command of 750k troops from 35 different nationalities and succeeded his mission of getting rid of Iraqi troops and reinstalling Kuwait as independent again.

He became the only person to receive the Distinguished Service Medal from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. Schwarzkopf and led a highly publicized homecoming parade in Washington, DC, on June 8, 1991

Schwarzkopf died at age 78 on December 27, 2012 having retired after his successful Middle Eastern War, he really did retire at the top in every way.

Rest In Peace and thank you for your service Sir.

Did you know?

The Department of Defense owns over 30 million acres of land Despite not being a land management entity at its core, the DoD is the third largest land managing agency.

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