H. R. McMaster
Herbert Raymond "H. R." McMaster (born July 24, 1962) is a United States Army officer and currently the U.S. National Security Advisor. His immediate past military assignment was as Director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, and Deputy Commanding General, Futures of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
McMaster's prior assignments include Commanding General, Ft. Benning Maneuver Center of Excellence, and Director of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force-Shafafiyat at the International Security Assistance Force Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is known for his roles in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. McMaster authored the book Dereliction of Duty in 1997, which criticized the actions of high-ranking U.S. military leadership during the Vietnam War.
Early life and education
McMaster was born in Philadelphia on July 24, 1962.[1] 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.[2]
Dereliction of Duty (book)
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.[3] 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 was widely read in Pentagon circles and included in military reading lists.
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.[4] 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 company destroyed twenty-eight Iraqi Republican Guard tanks[5] without loss in twenty-three minutes.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
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,[9] 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.[7][10]
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."[11]
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.[12] 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.[7][10]
McMaster was passed over for promotion to Brigadier General in 2006 and 2007, despite his reputation as one of "the most celebrated soldiers of the Iraq War."[13] 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 media attention.[14][15][16] 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.[7][17] The demographics for this board's candidates showed that the predominant Year Group of colonels selected for promotion was 1982,[18] and McMaster was the second officer of his 1984 West Point class promoted to the general officer ranks.[19]
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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]
Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey remarked in 2011 that McMaster was "probably our best Brigadier General."[23] 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."[24] 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."[25] 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."[26]
National Security Advisor
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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.[27][28] McMaster indicated that he "intends to remain on active duty while he serves as national security adviser."[29][30]
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.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33]
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 |
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Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) |
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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) |
Notes and citations
- ↑ Clancy, Tom (1994). Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment. New York, NY: Berkley Books. p. 255.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- 1 2 3 4 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.
- 1 2 Tim Harford (May 23, 2011). "Lessons from war's factory floor". The Financial Times. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- ↑ International Institute for Strategic Studies – H.R. McMaster. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ↑ Tisdall, Simon. Military chiefs give US six months to win Iraq War. The Guardian. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
- ↑ Kaplan, Fred (August 26, 2007), "Challenging the Generals", New York Times, retrieved September 2, 2007
- ↑ "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 21 February 2017.
- ↑ Diamond, Jeremy. "Trump picks Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as new national security adviser". CNN. Retrieved 21 February 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.
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
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to H. R. McMaster. |
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: H. R. McMaster |
- "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
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Keith Kellogg Acting |
National Security Advisor 2017–present |
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