H. R. McMaster: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 22:25, 1 March 2018
Herbert Raymond McMaster (born July 24, 1962) is a United States Army officer. In 2017, he became the 26th National Security Advisor, serving under President Donald Trump. He is also known for his roles in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Born in Philadelphia, McMaster graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1984, and later earned Ph.D. in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His Ph.D. thesis was critical of American strategy and military leadership during the Vietnam War and served as the basis for his book, Dereliction of Duty, which is widely read in the United States military. During the Gulf War, McMaster served as a captain in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, taking part in the Battle of 73 Easting.
After the Gulf War, McMaster served as a military history professor at the United States Military Academy (1994 to 1996), became a research fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Consulting Senior Fellow at IISS.[1] He held a series of staff positions in the United States Central Command. In 2004, he took command of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and fought the Iraqi insurgency in Tal Afar. He became a top counter-insurgency adviser to General David Petraeus before serving as the Director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center. He also served as the Deputy to the Commander for Planning of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and, in 2012, he became Deputy Commanding General of the Army Training and Doctrine Command.
In February 2017, McMaster succeeded Michael Flynn as President Trump's National Security Advisor. He remains on active duty as a Lieutenant General in the United States Army.
Early life and education
McMaster was born in Philadelphia on July 24, 1962.[2] His father was an infantryman who served in the Korean War while his mother, Marie C. "Mimi" McMaster (née Curcio),[3] was a school teacher and administrator.[4] He has a younger sister, Letitia.[4] He went to high school at Valley Forge Military Academy, graduating in 1980. He earned a commission as a second lieutenant upon graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1984. McMaster earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). His thesis was critical of American strategy in the Vietnam War, which was further detailed in his 1997 book Dereliction of Duty.[5]
Author: Dereliction of Duty
Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam is a book written by McMaster that explores the military's role in the policies of the Vietnam War. The book was based on his Ph.D. dissertation at UNC.[6] It harshly criticized high-ranking officers of that era, arguing that they inadequately challenged Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson on their Vietnam strategy. The book examines McNamara and Johnson's staff alongside the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other high-ranking military officers, and their failure to provide a successful plan of action either to pacify a Viet Cong insurgency or to decisively defeat the North Vietnamese army. McMaster also details why military actions intended to indicate "resolve" or to "communicate" ultimately failed when trying to accomplish sparsely detailed, confusing, and conflicting military objectives. The book is widely read in Pentagon circles and included in military reading lists.[7][8]
Military career
His first assignment after commissioning was to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, where he served in a variety of platoon and company level leadership assignments with 1st Battalion 66th Armor Regiment. In 1989, McMaster was assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany, where he served until 1992, including deployment to Operation Desert Storm.
During the Gulf War in 1991 he was a captain commanding Eagle Troop of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of 73 Easting.[9] During that battle, though significantly outnumbered and encountering the enemy by surprise as McMaster's lead tank crested a dip in the terrain, the nine tanks of his troop destroyed twenty-eight Iraqi Republican Guard tanks[10] without loss in twenty-three minutes.[11]
McMaster was awarded the Silver Star. The battle features in several books about Desert Storm and is widely referred to in US Army training exercises. It also receives coverage in Tom Clancy's 1994 popular non-fiction book Armored Cav.[12] McMaster served as a military history professor at West Point from 1994 to 1996, teaching among other things the battles in which he fought. He graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1999.[13]
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 colonel, McMaster worked on the staff of USCENTCOM as executive officer to Deputy Commander Lieutenant General John Abizaid. When Abizaid received four-star rank and became Central Command's head, McMaster served as Director, Commander's Advisory Group (CAG), described as the command's brain trust.
In 2003 McMaster completed an Army War College research fellowship at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
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 and was assigned the mission of securing the city of Tal Afar. That mission culminated in September with Operation Restoring Rights and the defeat of the city's insurgent strongholds. President Bush praised this success, and the PBS show Frontline broadcast a documentary in February 2006 featuring interviews with McMaster. CBS' 60 Minutes produced a similar segment in July,[14] and the operation was the subject of an article in the April 10, 2006, issue of The New Yorker.
Author Tim Harford has written that the pioneering tactics employed by 3rd ACR led to the first success in overcoming the Iraqi insurgency. Prior to 2005, tactics included staying out of dangerous urban areas except on patrols, with US forces returning to their bases each night. These patrols had little success in turning back the insurgency because local Iraqis who feared retaliation would very rarely assist in identifying them to US forces. McMaster deployed his soldiers into Tal Afar on a permanent basis, and once the local population grew confident that they weren't going to withdraw nightly, the citizens began providing information on the insurgents, enabling US forces to target and defeat them.[12][15] After hearing of McMaster's counterinsurgency success in Tal Afar, Vice President Dick Cheney invited the then-colonel to personally brief him on the situation in Iraq and give an assessment on what changes needed to be made to American strategy.[16]
McMaster passed command of the 3rd ACR on June 29, 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."[17]
From August 2007 to August 2008 McMaster was part of an "elite team of officers advising US commander" General David Petraeus on counterinsurgency operations while Petraeus directed revision of the Army's Counterinsurgency Field Manual during his command of the Combined Arms Center.[18] Petraeus and most of his team were stationed in Fort Leavenworth at the time but McMaster collaborated remotely, according to senior team member John Nagl.[12][15]
Based on his date of rank as a Colonel, McMaster was considered for promotion to Brigadier General by annual Department of the Army selection boards in 2006 and 2007 but was not selected, despite his reputation as one of "the most celebrated soldiers of the Iraq War."[19][20][21][22] Though the Army's rationale for whether a given officer is selected or not selected is not made public, McMaster's initial non-selection attracted considerable media attention.[23][24][25] However, in late 2007, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren requested General David Petraeus to return from Iraq to take charge of the promotion board as a way to ensure that the best performers in combat received every consideration for advancement, resulting in McMaster's selection along with other Colonels who had been identified as innovative thinkers.[12][26] The demographics for this board's candidates showed that the predominant Year Group of colonels selected for promotion was 1982,[27] and McMaster was the second officer of his 1984 West Point class promoted to the general officer ranks.[28]
In August 2008, McMaster assumed duties as Director, Concept Development and Experimentation (later renamed Concept Development and Learning), in the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) at Fort Monroe, Virginia, part of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. In this position McMaster was involved in preparing doctrine to guide the Army over the next ten to twenty years. He was promoted on June 29, 2009.[29] In July 2010 he was selected to be the J-5, Deputy to the Commander for Planning, at ISAF (International Security Assistance Forces) Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.
McMaster was nominated for Major General on January 23, 2012, and selected to be the commander of the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence at Ft. Benning.[30] In February 2014, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel nominated McMaster for Lieutenant General and in July 2014, McMaster pinned on his third star when he began his duties as Deputy Commanding General of the Training and Doctrine Command and Director of TRADOC's Army Capabilities Integration Center.[31]
Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey remarked in 2011 that McMaster was "probably our best Brigadier General."[32] McMaster made Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in April 2014. He was hailed as "the architect of the future U.S. Army" in the accompanying piece written by retired Lt. Gen. Dave Barno, who commanded U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. "Major General Herbert Raymond McMaster might be the 21st century Army's pre-eminent warrior-thinker," Barno wrote, commenting on McMaster's "impressive command and unconventional exploits in the second Iraq war."[33] Barno also stated, "Recently tapped for his third star, H.R. is also the rarest of soldiers—one who has repeatedly bucked the system and survived to join its senior ranks."[34] In 2014, retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, a former Army vice chief, commented "It is heartening to see the Army reward such an extraordinary general officer who is a thought leader and innovator while also demonstrating sheer brilliance as a wartime brigade commander."[35]
National Security Advisor
On February 20, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump named McMaster to serve as his National Security Advisor following the resignation of Michael T. Flynn on February 13.[36][37] McMaster indicated that he "intends to remain on active duty while he serves as national security adviser."[38][39]
Because McMaster intended to remain on active duty, his official assumption of the National Security Advisor's duties and responsibilities required a United States Senate vote; lieutenant generals and generals require Senate confirmation of their rank and assignments.[40] On March 6, 2017, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 23–2 to recommend to the full Senate that McMaster be confirmed for reappointment at his lieutenant general rank during his service as the National Security Advisor.[41] The committee recommendation was referred to the Senate on March 7, and the full Senate confirmed McMaster by a vote of 86–10 on March 15, 2017.[42]
In early August, McMaster was targeted by what some deemed a "smear campaign" after he fired several National Security Council staff members.[43][44][45] White House officials and journalists suspected Steve Bannon of leading these attacks.[46][47] Right-wing activists Mike Cernovich and Alex Jones, along with Breitbart, and Russia-linked Twitter accounts (according to a "former FBI Agent"), were among the foremost promoters of the anti-McMaster campaign; Cernovich's website for the campaign also included a cartoon depicting McMaster which the ADL labeled antisemitic.[48][49][50] In addition, the right-wing Center for Security Policy criticized McMaster for not being sufficiently conservative and for not supporting Trump's agenda.[51][52][53] The anti-McMaster campaign prompted dismissive responses by administration officials, and a statement from Trump affirming his confidence in McMaster.[54][50]
Decorations and badges
| U.S. military decorations | |
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Army Distinguished Service Medal |
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Silver Star |
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Defense Superior Service Medal |
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Legion of Merit with Oak leaf cluster |
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Bronze Star with Oak leaf cluster |
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Purple Heart |
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Defense Meritorious Service Medal with Oak leaf cluster |
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Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak leaf clusters |
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Joint Service Commendation Medal |
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Army Commendation Medal with three Oak leaf clusters |
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Army Achievement Medal with three Oak leaf clusters |
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Valorous Unit Award |
| U.S. service (campaign) medals and service and training ribbons | |
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National Defense Service Medal with one service star |
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Southwest Asia Service Medal with three service stars |
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Afghanistan Campaign Medal |
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Iraq Campaign Medal with three service stars |
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Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal |
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Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
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Humanitarian Service Medal |
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Army Service Ribbon |
 
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Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 4 |
| Foreign decorations | |
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NATO Medal |
_ribbon.svg){kind=small}
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Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) |
_ribbon.svg){kind=small}
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Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
| U.S. badges, patches and tabs | |
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Combat Action Badge |
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Parachutist Badge |
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Ranger Tab |
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3d Armored Cavalry Regiment distinctive unit insignia |
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3d Armored Cavalry Regiment Combat Service Identification Badge |
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10 Overseas Service Bars |
| U.S. orders | |
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Order of the Spur Cavalry Hat and Spurs (Gold) |
References
Notes
- ^ "International Institute for Strategic Studies – H.R. McMaster. Retrieved 2007-09-02". International Institute for Strategic Studies. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^ Clancy, Tom (1994). Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment. New York, NY: Berkley Books. p. 255.
- ^ "MARIE C. "MIMI" (Curcio) McMASTER OBITUARY". Legacy.com. May 12, 2013.
- ^ a b Moran, Robert; Schaefer, Mari A. (February 21, 2017). "Trump appoints Philly native, Valley Forge grad as top security adviser". The Inquirer.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Spector, Ronald (July 20, 1997). "Cooking Up a Quagmire". New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ "National Security Adviser a two-time Carolina graduate". College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. college.unc.edu. March 14, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^ Odierno, Raymond T. (March 2, 2012). "The Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List" (PDF). cape.army.mil/. Washington, DC: Office of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff. p. 1.
- ^ Neller, Robert B. (2017). "Commandant's Reading List – A Complete List". USMC Officer. Washington, DC: Office of the Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps.
- ^ "M1a1 Abrams Tanks in action Iraq-73 Easting".
- ^ Gal Perl Finkel, US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FACES CHALLENGES AT HOME AND ABROAD, The Jerusalem Post, February 22, 2017.
- ^ "In New Cold War, Two Generals Square Off". Wall Street Journal. June 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Tim Harford (2011). Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure. Little, Brown. pp. 46–56, 61, 72–74, 77–78. ISBN 1-4087-0152-9.
- ^ WLA: War, Literature & the Arts, Volume 11. Colorado Springs, CO: U.S. Air Force Academy. 1999. p. 230.
- ^ "Tal Afar: Al Qaeda's Town". CBS News.
- ^ a b Tim Harford (May 23, 2011). "Lessons from war's factory floor". The Financial Times. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- ^ Dick Cheney (August 30, 2011). In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir. Simon and Schuster. pp. 440–. ISBN 978-1-4391-7623-8.
- ^ "International Institute for Strategic Studies – H.R. McMaster. Retrieved 2007-09-02". iiss.org. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^ Tisdall, Simon (February 28, 2007). "Military chiefs give US six months to win Iraq war". Retrieved November 14, 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ Kaplan, Fred (August 26, 2007), "Challenging the Generals", New York Times, retrieved September 2, 2007
- ^ Joyner, James (July 25, 2007). "H.R. McMaster Passed Over – Reverse Peter Principle?". Outside the Beltway. Dulles, VA.
- ^ SWJ Editors (November 17, 2007). "Next Generation of US Army COIN Leadership?". Small Wars Journal. Bethesda, MD.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Packer, George (August 12, 2008). "One Star for McMaster, One Cheer for the Army". The New Yorker. New York, NY.
- ^ "Col. McMaster". CBS News.
- ^ Fred Kaplan, Slate.com, Annual General Meeting: Finally, the Army is Promoting the Right Officers, August 4, 2008
- ^ Blake Hounshell, Foreign Policy magazine, McMaster Gets His Star, July 16, 2008
- ^ Ann Scott Tyson, "Army's Next Crop of Generals Forged in Counterinsurgency", Washington Post, May 15, 2008
- ^ Office of the Chief of Staff, Army General Officer Announcement, 15 July 2008, Army Competitive Category brigadier general promotion list
- ^ Army General Officer Public Roster (By Rank), 2 August 2010, General Officer Management Office, Office of the Chief of Staff Army; Pentagon, Washington, DC
- ^ Hoover Institution, H.R. McMaster promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Army, August 15, 2009
- ^ U.S. Army News Release, McMaster Tapped for Promotion, Command of Benning, April 4, 2012
- ^ Amy L. Haviland, U.S. Army, McMaster to Lead Development of Future Force, July 16, 2014
- ^ Ricks, Thomas E. (July 27, 2011). "Dempsey on Two Big Lessons of Iraq: Think More and Train Leaders Better". Foreign Policy.
- ^ "Gen. McMaster makes Time's '100 most influential'". Military Times. Sightline Media Group. April 27, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ Barno, Dave (April 23, 2014). "Major General Herbert Raymond McMaster". Time. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon, Iconoclast Army General to Get Third Star: Army Maj. Gen. H.R. McMaster Receives Promotion, February 18, 2014
- ^ "Trump Selects Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser". Fox News. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ "Trump Names Lt Gen HR McMaster as National Security Adviser". BBC News. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ Talev, Margaret (February 20, 2017). "Trump Picks Outspoken Army `Rebel' as National Security Adviser". Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Diamond, Jeremy. "Trump picks Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as new national security adviser". CNN. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Rogin, Ali; Martinez, Luis (February 21, 2017). "McMaster needs Senate confirmation because he's a 3-star general". ABC News. New York, NY.
- ^ Tritten, Travis J. (March 7, 2017). "Senate panel gives nod to McMaster's 3-star status". Stars and Stripes. Washington, DC.
- ^ Tritten, Travis J. (March 15, 2017). "Senate vote allows McMaster to retain 3 stars as Trump adviser". Stars and Stripes. Washington, DC.
- ^ Smear campaign targets McMaster - CNN Video, retrieved August 22, 2017
- ^ "Sen. McCain decries criticism of McMaster as 'smear tactics'". Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ "'The most well-organized campaign in the history of the alt-right' is targeting H.R. McMaster". Business Insider. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Board, The Editorial (August 8, 2017). "McMaster and the Commander". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ "Trump advisers at odds over president's foreign policy". Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Gray, Rosie. "The War Against H.R. McMaster". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ "Anti-Semitism Used in Attack Against National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ a b "Russian Bots Tweeting Calls To Fire McMaster, Former FBI Agent Says". NPR.org. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Bertrand, Natasha. "The knives are coming out for H.R. McMaster". Business Insider.
- ^ Davis, Julie. "White House Aide Forced Out After Claim of Leftist Conspiracy". NY Times.
- ^ Liptak, Kevin (August 4, 2017). "H.R. McMaster faces attacks from conservatives". CNN.
- ^ CNN, Sophie Tatum and Kevin Liptak. "Trump asserts support for McMaster". CNN. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)
Further reading
- Fred Kaplan, The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, 2013, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-1451642636
External links
- "H.R. McMaster: The Warrior's-Eye View of Afghanistan", Wall Street Journal interview May 11, 2012
- Online Video of Frontline program The Insurgency, see part 4.
- Nov 2003 Crack in the Foundation: Defense Transformation and the Underlying Assumption of Dominant Knowledge in Future War, H.R. McMaster (PDF)
- Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster: Visiting Fellow Biography, at the Hoover Institution
- Appearances on C-SPAN
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1962 births
- American people of Scotch-Irish descent
- American male writers
- American military historians
- American military personnel of the Iraq War
- American military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Living people
- Military personnel from Philadelphia
- Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- Tank personnel
- Trump administration personnel
- United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
- United States Army generals
- United States Military Academy alumni
- United States National Security Advisors
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
- Valley Forge Military Academy and College alumni