10 Things You Didn't Know About Stanley McChrystal

The general is set to become the new commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan

By Debra Bell

June 5, 2009 RSS Feed Print

1. Gen. Stanley McChrystal was born Aug. 14, 1954. He was the fourth child in a family of five boys and one girl. All of his brothers grew up to serve in the military.

2. His father, Maj. Gen. Herbert J. McChrystal Jr., served in Germany during the American occupation after World War II and later at the Pentagon.

3. McChrystal graduated from West Point in 1976. He entered Special Forces training at Fort Bragg in 1978 and commanded a Green Beret team in 1979 and 1980.

4. During the Persian Gulf War, McChrystal was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

5. In 2000, when McChrystal was a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, he ran 12 miles every day from his home in Brooklyn to the council's offices.

6. From 2003 to 2008, McChrystal led the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command.

7. In 2003, McChrystal oversaw the capture of Saddam Hussein. In 2006, he led the team that located and killed Abu Musab Zarqawi, the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

8. McChrystal oversaw a task force that was criticized for abusing detainees and utilizing harsh interrogation methods at Baghdad's Camp Nama.

9. McChrystal was criticized by the Pentagon in 2007 for his role in the coverup of the "friendly fire" death of ex-NFL star and U.S. soldier Pat Tillman in 2004 but was cleared of wrongdoing.

10. McChrystal's military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Army Commendation Medal.

Sources:

  • New York Times
  • Time Magazine
  • New York Daily News
  • Dallas Morning News
Tags:
Stanley McChrystal,
Army,
military,
Afghanistan,
War in Afghanistan (2001-),
national security terrorism and the military

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Sad to say this about GEN McChrystal, but he fell to the oldest adage in the military: Careless talk costs lives, or, in this instance, a career. GEN McChrystal was an excellent soldier and is a fantastic man. When he spoke of the sitation in the White House concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he wasn't far off. What do you expect from a man who has never served a millisecond in uniform running a war that you have spent 20 years or so training for? President Obama has indeed brought us change... Higher deficit, higher national debt, higher taxes. That's change, alright. I applaud GEN McChrystal for saying what a large majority of uniformed personnel believe. It's just a shame that such a great soldier lost his career over it.

MAJ Parrish of TN 11:49PM July 26, 2010

President Obama has doubled the amount of U.S. troops in the last 18 months from around 50,000 to 100,000. Because of the surge, it is inevitable that there will be (and already has been over the last 4 months) more casualties than ever.

There are now 230,000 coalition troops (U.S., NATO, plus 90,000 Afghan troops) vs. a CIA estimated 30,000 Taliban. Imagine that: we outnumber the Taliban 8:1.

In order to try (but not succeed) to reduce casualties, our political leaders ordered our commanders to pull many remote Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and garrison the majority of troops in big compounds in places like Bagram, Kabul, Khandahar and Jalalabad. Many of FOB's, that were initiated 3-5 years ago, were quite successful in COIN strategy and turned districts around, but now a great majority of troops are hunkered down in bases, only going out occasionally, while trying to avoid incoming RPGs and suicide bombers. Not any reason to be in Afghanistan.

With our politicians having now asserted that they are totally in charge, they will run the war more than ever, instead of the military generals. It is doomed to fail in every way under the heavy handed micro-management of politicians.

The military operation in Khandahar, which Gen McChrystal advised to delay until winter 2010 or later, has now been quickly launched by General Petraeus and President Obama. There will be a record high of U.S. casualties, and the Taliban will have more clout than ever.

Any deadlines, timelines or troops withdrawals should never be based on partisan politics or election cycles. This mistake will cost the lives of hundreds of our brave and courageous men and women in uniform.

Gen McChrystal's media gaffe, which cost his career, was actually very true. There is more division and strife between our political leaders, the State Department, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Secretary Richard Holbroke, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, and the DOD (Dept Defense) - than any time in the course of Operation Enduring Freedom. Don't let cozy media photo ops, and TV sound bytes about seamless cooperation fool anyone. The only thing that will stop the war is when China decides to quit loaning more war funds to the U.S., and our national debt will drive us penniless. And that is our greatest enemy of all, our burgeoning national debt.

Peter Hansen of CO 9:29PM July 21, 2010

Now Gen. Stanley McChrystal needs to go into great detail on Fox News about the real reason he was willing to make the comments to the Rolling Stones. He doesn't need to hold back and tell it like it is. Like MPS states No 4 star General would do what he did unless there was a very serious matter that needed attention. Like can American really win this war with Obama being a cultural Muslim? Does Obama love his brotheren in Afghanistan more than the American soilder? Does the leadership and soliders in the field really trust their commander in chief has their back? Can the war be won with the limited and constrained response allowed towards the enemy?

rckunz of OK 6:25PM July 13, 2010

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