Schwarzkopf, H. Norman
Schwarzkopf, H. Norman (1934–). U.S. Army general.Born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of a professional army officer, Schwarzkopf graduated from West Point in 1956. After serving with an airborne unit, he returned to the academy as an instructor. But he interrupted that assignment to serve during the Vietnam War as an adviser (1965–66) to a South Vietnamese Airborne brigade, winning two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart. After completing his faculty assignment and a year at the Army Command and General Staff College, he returned to Vietnam in 1969, soon taking command of the First Battalion, Sixth Infantry Regiment in the American Division along the northern coast near Chu Lai. In 1970, he earned another Silver Star and Purple Heart.
Back in the United States, Schwarzkopf graduated from the Army War College, then commanded an infantry brigade. As a brigadier general in 1978, he served as an assistant division commander in Germany, later as director of military personnel management at the Pentagon, and in 1983–85 as commander of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). In October 1983, he became deputy commander of the U.S. intervention in Grenada, but was highly critical of the operation's shortcomings.
Between 1985 and 1988, Schwarzkopf served two tours in the Pentagon in operations and plans and also commanded a corps for a year. In 1988, as a full general, he took charge of the U.S. Central Command, with responsibility for possible deployment to the Middle East from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
In August 1990, after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Schwarzkopf was given overall command of all U.S. and non‐Arab Coalition forces, responsible for the massive mobilization and deployment to the Persian Gulf, and for the planning and execution of the containment and then defeat of the Iraqi forces in Kuwait. The burly general hailed by the press as “Stormin' Norman” developed the so‐called fast envelopment—the flanking ground offensive that led to the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991. Subsequently, he retired and wrote his memoirs, explaining his strategy and defending the controversial decision to halt at the Iraqi border.
[See also Persian Gulf War.]
Back in the United States, Schwarzkopf graduated from the Army War College, then commanded an infantry brigade. As a brigadier general in 1978, he served as an assistant division commander in Germany, later as director of military personnel management at the Pentagon, and in 1983–85 as commander of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). In October 1983, he became deputy commander of the U.S. intervention in Grenada, but was highly critical of the operation's shortcomings.
Between 1985 and 1988, Schwarzkopf served two tours in the Pentagon in operations and plans and also commanded a corps for a year. In 1988, as a full general, he took charge of the U.S. Central Command, with responsibility for possible deployment to the Middle East from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
In August 1990, after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Schwarzkopf was given overall command of all U.S. and non‐Arab Coalition forces, responsible for the massive mobilization and deployment to the Persian Gulf, and for the planning and execution of the containment and then defeat of the Iraqi forces in Kuwait. The burly general hailed by the press as “Stormin' Norman” developed the so‐called fast envelopment—the flanking ground offensive that led to the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991. Subsequently, he retired and wrote his memoirs, explaining his strategy and defending the controversial decision to halt at the Iraqi border.
[See also Persian Gulf War.]
Bibliography
Roger Cohen and and Claudio Gatti , In the Eye of the Storm: The Life of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, 1991.
Bob Woodward , The Commanders, 1991.
H. Norman Schwarzkopf , It Doesn't Take a Hero, 1992.
John Whiteclay Chambers II
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Schwarzkopf, H. Norman