Pete Hegseth and Wade Zirkle: A Fifth Star for David Petraeus
[Messrs. Hegseth and Zirkle are directors at Vets for Freedom. Mr. Hegseth served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and will deploy to Afghanistan in 2011. Mr. Zirkle served two deployments to Iraq as a Marine infantry officer and is a recipient of the Purple Heart.]
On a cold December evening in 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his staff and resigned his command of the Continental Army. One hundred ninety three years later, on America's Bicentennial, Congress posthumously promoted Washington to five-star "General of the Armies of the United States."
Washington led the Continental Army against the British for eight years, the longest tenure for a combatant (wartime) commander in our history to be awarded a fifth star. But David Petraeus, who begins his eighth year as a combatant commander (currently as theater commander in Afghanistan), will soon eclipse Washington's tenure. In appropriate recognition of his long and extraordinary wartime service, the new Congress should authorize a fifth star for Gen. Petraeus, thereby promoting him to "General of the Army"—just below Washington's rank of "General of the Armies" (plural).
After George Washington, the only other five-star "General of the Armies of the United States" was John Pershing, who was promoted to the rank after commanding U.S. forces in World War I. The nine remaining five-star generals in our history were branch-specific commanders during World War II: Gens. Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Omar Bradley and Henry Arnold were each "General of the Army." Navy Adms. Chester Nimitz, William Halsey, Ernest King and William Leahy served as five-star "Fleet Admirals." Each of these officers received the honor during wartime, with the exception of Halsey, who was awarded the fifth star three months after World War II ended, and Bradley, who was awarded his fifth star in 1950.
Like these great leaders, Gen. Petraeus's breadth of experience and outstanding results deserve to be recognized and honored. His wartime tenure began as the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, responsible for over 10,000 combat troops during the initial invasion of Iraq. He led the 101st in an airborne assault into northern Iraq and then quieted the city of Mosul.
Gen. Petraeus then oversaw the creation and training of the new Iraqi Army, a Herculean task that was accomplished amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation. By the time he was through, he had stood up, equipped and trained over 100,000 Iraqi soldiers. They would be crucial in winning the peace in the years to follow...
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On a cold December evening in 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his staff and resigned his command of the Continental Army. One hundred ninety three years later, on America's Bicentennial, Congress posthumously promoted Washington to five-star "General of the Armies of the United States."
Washington led the Continental Army against the British for eight years, the longest tenure for a combatant (wartime) commander in our history to be awarded a fifth star. But David Petraeus, who begins his eighth year as a combatant commander (currently as theater commander in Afghanistan), will soon eclipse Washington's tenure. In appropriate recognition of his long and extraordinary wartime service, the new Congress should authorize a fifth star for Gen. Petraeus, thereby promoting him to "General of the Army"—just below Washington's rank of "General of the Armies" (plural).
After George Washington, the only other five-star "General of the Armies of the United States" was John Pershing, who was promoted to the rank after commanding U.S. forces in World War I. The nine remaining five-star generals in our history were branch-specific commanders during World War II: Gens. Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Omar Bradley and Henry Arnold were each "General of the Army." Navy Adms. Chester Nimitz, William Halsey, Ernest King and William Leahy served as five-star "Fleet Admirals." Each of these officers received the honor during wartime, with the exception of Halsey, who was awarded the fifth star three months after World War II ended, and Bradley, who was awarded his fifth star in 1950.
Like these great leaders, Gen. Petraeus's breadth of experience and outstanding results deserve to be recognized and honored. His wartime tenure began as the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, responsible for over 10,000 combat troops during the initial invasion of Iraq. He led the 101st in an airborne assault into northern Iraq and then quieted the city of Mosul.
Gen. Petraeus then oversaw the creation and training of the new Iraqi Army, a Herculean task that was accomplished amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation. By the time he was through, he had stood up, equipped and trained over 100,000 Iraqi soldiers. They would be crucial in winning the peace in the years to follow...