H. R. McMaster
| H. R. McMaster | |
|---|---|
 H. R. McMaster in 2004 as commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. |
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| Born | July 24, 1962 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1984-Present |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held | 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Silver Star Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart Medal War on Terrorism Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) National Defense Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Iraq Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal Meritorious Service Medal Army Achievement Medal Army Commendation Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal Ranger Tab Parachutist Badge Combat Action Badge Valorous Unit Award |
Herbert Raymond McMaster (born 1962) is an American soldier, and a career officer in the U.S. Army. McMaster is currently the Director of CJIATF-Shafafiyat (Transparency) at ISAF (International Security Assistance Forces) Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is known for his role in the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and his reputation for questioning U.S. policy and military leaders regarding the Vietnam War. He is currently a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
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[edit] Military career
McMaster graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1980, where he served as a Company Commander, with the rank of cadet captain, and from West Point in 1984. He played rugby for USMA. His first assignment after commissioning was to the Second Armored Division at Fort Hood, where he served in a variety of platoon and company level leadership assignments with 1st Bn, 66th Armor Regiment. In 1989, McMaster was assigned to the 2nd ACR at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany, where he served until 1992, including the deployment to Operation Desert Storm.
In 1991, he was a captain commanding Eagle Troop of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of 73 Easting in the Gulf War. During that battle, though significantly outnumbered and encountering the enemy by surprise,[1] the nine tanks of Eagle Troop engaged and destroyed over eighty Iraqi Republican Guard tanks and other vehicles without loss.[2][3]
McMaster was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership in that battle. The battle features in several books about Desert Storm and is widely referred to in the US army's training exercies. It also receives coverage in Tom Clancy's 1994 popular non-fiction book Armored Cav.[3] McMaster served as a military history professor at West Point from 1994–1996, teaching, among other things, the battles in which he actually fought.
He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a thesis criticizing American strategy in the Vietnam War and detailed in his 1997 book Dereliction of Duty.[4] It harshly criticizes high-ranking officers of that era, charging they inadequately challenged Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson's military strategy. The book was widely read in Pentagon circles and is listed on the official reading list of the Marine Corps.[5]
From 1999 to 2002, McMaster commanded 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, and then took a series of staff positions at U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), including planning and operations roles in Iraq.
In his next job, as lieutenant colonel and later full colonel, McMaster worked on the staff of U.S. Central Command, USCENTCOM. Specifically, he was executive officer to then Deputy Commander Lieutenant General John Abizaid. As the general received four-star rank and became Central Command's head, McMaster gained his colonelcy and served as Abizaid's Director, Commander's Advisory Group (CAG), described as the command's brain trust. After McMaster's departure from the headquarters, he retained "open-door" access with Abizaid and met with him more than a dozen times in the ensuing four years.[citation needed]
In 2004, he was assigned to command the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR). Shortly after McMaster took command, the regiment deployed for its second tour in Iraq in early 2005, and was assigned in May the mission of securing the Iraqi city of Tal Afar. That mission culminated in September when they conducted Operation Restoring Rights and defeated the city's insurgent strongholds. President Bush praised this success, the PBS show Frontline broadcast a documentary in February 2006 featuring interviews with McMaster on his personal experiences there, CBS' 60 Minutes news magazine produced a similar, shorter segment in July 2006,[6] and the operation was the subject of an article in the 10 April 2006 issue of The New Yorker. For author Tim Harford, the pioneering tactics employed by the Colonel led to the US armies first success in overcoming the Iraqi insurgency. Orders from high command were to stay out of dangerous urban areas except on patrols, with US forces otherwise camping in virtually impregnable out of town bases. The patrols had little success in turning back insurgency as militants could simply drop or stash their weapons and melt into crowd. Locals would very rarely assist in identifying them to the US forces. Colonel McMaster worked out this was as locals feared being killed in revenge attacks once the US patrols had withdrawn. So the Colonel deployed his men into Tal Afar on a lasting basis and once the locals grew confident that they weren't going to withdraw they began advising who the insurgents were, making it easy for US forces to target them.[3][7]
McMaster passed command of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment on 29 June 2006 and joined the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, as a Senior Research Associate with a mandate described as "conduct[ing] research to identify opportunities for improved multi-national cooperation and political-military integration in the areas of counterinsurgency, counter-terrorism, and state building", and to devise "better tactics to battle terrorism."[8]
From August 2007 to August 2008, McMaster was part of an "elite team of officers advising US commander" General David Petraeus on counterinsurgency operations in Iraq.[9] Petreaus and most of his team were stationed in Fort Leavenworth at the time, but McMaster collaborated remotely; according to senior team member John Nagl he was "Wikipedia -ing" their counter -insurgency document.[3][7]
In August 2008 he assumed duties as Director, Concept Development and Experimentation (later renamed Concept Development and Learning), in the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) at Fort Monroe, VA, part of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. In this position McMaster was involved, as one of his duties, in helping to prepare doctrine to guide the U.S. Army over the next ten to twenty years. On July 15, 2008 an announcement was made of his nomination for promotion to Brigadier General[10] and McMaster was promoted in 2009.[11]
In July 2010 Brigadier General McMaster was selected to be the J-5, Deputy to the Commander for Planning, at ISAF (International Security Assistance Forces) Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. Additionally, General McMaster directs a joint anti-corruption task force (CJIATF-Shafafiyat) at ISAF Headquarters.
[edit] Promotion controversy
McMaster was passed over for promotion to brigadier general twice in a row, in 2006 and 2007. As one of "the most celebrated soldier of the Iraq War", this decision was controversial among the public.[12] "The reasoning was possibly his tendency to speak out against the status quo, although it is always for the benefit of the mission and his soldiers."[13][14][15]
The US Army released the next list on 15 July 2008, and McMaster was among the officers nominated for promotion to brigadier general.[16] General Petreaus returned briefly from Iraq to take charge of the promotion board and it is generally believed that Petreaus's presence ensured McMaster's selection.[3] McMaster was promoted on 29 June 2009.
The promotion issue re-surfaced in 2011, when he was not selected for major general with his peers[17] despite being called "probably our best Brigadier General" by Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey during confirmation hearing testimony.[18]
Brig. Gen. McMaster was nominated for promotion to Major General on January 23, 2012.
[edit] Decorations and badges
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- United States Army generals
- American military personnel of the Iraq War
- Living people
- American people of Scotch-Irish descent
- United States Military Academy alumni
- American military historians
- 1962 births
- Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal
- Recipients of the Ranger tab
- Recipients of the Purple Heart medal
- Recipients of the Combat Action Badge
- Recipients of the Army Commendation Medal
- Recipients of the Joint Service Commendation Medal
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal
