Robert H. Scales

Robert H. Scales, Jr.
Born	August 6, 1944 (1944-08-06) Gainesville, Florida
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1966-2000
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Army War College
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star

Robert H. Scales, Jr. is a retired U.S. Army Major General and former Commandant of the US Army War College. He now works as a military analyst, news commentator, and author.

Early years

His father, Robert Scales, Sr. was a career Army man who graduated Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, completed the Engineer Officer Basic Course and worked with Amphibious vehicles in Florida, where his parents met, before piloting amphibious landing craft in the Pacific campaign of World War II. Robert Jr. was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1944, but then "scurried all over the world".

Career

After graduating from West Point in 1966, he was commissioned as a field artillery officer and sent to Germany, not Vietnam. After two years in Europe, he was posted to Vietnam, but it was another year before he saw real action. After an artillery commander was killed, Scales was his replacement prior to the Battle of Hamburger Hill. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on June 14, 1969 when nearly 100 North Vietnamese overran his base in a pre-dawn assault. Despite explosions all around him, he rotated among his artillery units, firing at the enemy, helping his men and radioing instructions to helicopter gunships.

In the early 1970s, Scales earned a Masters and PhD in History from Duke University.

Beginning in 1982, he was a field artillery battalion commander in Korea.

From 1986-1988, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany.

In 1990, he commanded NCOs at the US Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Scales was named director of the Desert Storm Special Study Group in 1991, and authored the book, Certain Victory, the Army's official account of the first Persian Gulf War. The book was published in 1994, the first of seven he wrote.

In 1995, he became Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army Training and Doctrine Command, developing a blueprint for designing future military forces.

The high point of his career was his appointment as Commandant of the US Army War College in 1997.

Retirement

Major General Scales retired in November, 2000 after thirty-four years of Army service. He continued to write and accept speaking engagements after leaving active duty and was named Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. and serves as a commentator for both NPR and Fox News; his writing has appeared in Time Magazine.

Personal

Scales is the father of two daughters who both joined the Army. He purchased his first civilian home in 2002 at age 58. His father retired from the Army as a Colonel.

Major U.S. Decorations and Badges

•   Distinguished Service Medal
•   Silver Star
•   Legion of Merit (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters)
•   Bronze Star
•   Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters)
•   Air Medal

•   Senior Parachutist Badge

•   Army Staff Identification Badge

Publications

• Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War ISBN 0028811119, Potomac Books, 1994
• Firepower in Limited War ISBN 0891416501, Balantine Books, 1998
• America's Army in Transition: Preparing for War in the Precision Age US Army War College, 1999
• Future Warfare: Anthology ISBN 1584870265, US Army War College, 2000
• The Iraq War: A Military History ISBN 0674012801, Belknap Press, 2003
• Yellow Smoke: The Future of Land Warfare for America's Military ISBN 074251773X, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003
• Lessons from the Iraq War ISBN 0877724164, Berkeley Public Policy Press, 2004

External links

• Colgen biography
• SSI biography