Re: Media - Some things never change
I was in the 101st with then Major General Patraeus when he was in Iraq the first time. Little known facts about General David Patraeus.
He commanded one of the 101st Airborne Aviation Battalions in Gulf one.
He has a BS and MS in International relations.
He has a Ph.D from Princeton, in International Relations I beleve.
He was shot by one of his own soldiers on a rifle range at Campbell, and almost lost a lung. The doctor turned senator from Vandy in Nashville saved his life, and his lung. (Frist?)
He dropped from the sky like a stone when he had a major canopy malfunction at Bragg when in the Eighty Duece and broke a leg.
The man is 54 and still runs a 2 mile PT test in 12 minutes, even AFTER the leg and lung incident.
When we were in Iraq in 2003, we didn't have insurgents or IED's in Mosul. As soon as we pulled out, and a new command and commander came in, they started getting bombed and attacked.
Patraeus isn't Patton, but he is the closest thing we now have. An intellectual in a uniform . He accepted the job because he thought he could make a difference. The Hill is now trying to thwart that effort. They say it is to send a message to the President. The message they'll end up sending is to the troops and the American people. If they allow Patraeus a chance, HE will make a diference where no one else can. If they pull the plug, we'll lose the best military mind we have in this fight, and in the process, the fight itself.
I'm retired now, going on 3 years. But one son is a USAF Staff Sergeant and one is an Army 2nd Lieutenant. Isn't it sad that a long dead, honorable, General Officer and member of the long gray line could see 143 years ago that the press was a problem?
Support the troops!
