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David Petraeus

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154-581: David Howell Petraeus ( / p ɪ ˈ t r eɪ . ə s / ; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus served 37 years in the United States Army . His last assignments in

308-581: A brigadier general , Petraeus returned to the 82nd, serving as the assistant division commander for operations and then, briefly, as acting commanding general. During his time with the 82nd, he deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Spring , the continuous rotation of combat forces through Kuwait during the decade after the Gulf War . From the 82nd, he moved on to serve as chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg during 2000–2001. In 2000, Petraeus suffered his second major injury, when, during

462-598: A status quo antebellum. Two weeks after a treaty was signed (but not ratified), Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and siege of Fort St. Philip with an army dominated by militia and volunteers, and became a national hero. U.S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane , Levant and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides (the United States and Great Britain) returned to

616-483: A 4-acre (1.6 ha) parcel of land. U.S. Route 9W , combined with NY Route 218 run north-south through West Point. New York Route 293 also runs northeast-southwest through the post. Running through the lower portion of the town is U.S. Route 6 , combined with the upper extent of the Palisades Interstate Parkway . The New York Central Railroad well into the 1950s operated several passenger trains

770-538: A bottom line up front, the military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met." He cited numerous factors for this progress, to include the fact that Coalition and Iraqi Forces had dealt significant blows to Al-Qaeda Iraq and had disrupted Shia militias, that ethno-sectarian violence had been reduced, and that the tribal rejection of Al-Qaeda had spread from Anbar Province to numerous other locations across Iraq. Based on this progress and additional progress expected to be achieved, Petraeus recommended drawing down

924-505: A cadet, Petraeus started dating the daughter of Army General William A. Knowlton (the West Point superintendent at the time), Holly . Two months after Petraeus graduated, they married. Holly, who is multi-lingual, was a National Merit Scholar in high school, and graduated summa cum laude from Dickinson College . They have a daughter and son, Anne and Stephen. Petraeus administered the oath of office at his son's 2009 commissioning into

1078-545: A campaign chronicled in detail by Pulitzer Prize -winning author Rick Atkinson of The Washington Post in the book In the Company of Soldiers , Petraeus led his division through fierce fighting south of Baghdad , in Karbala , Hilla and Najaf . Following the fall of Baghdad , the division conducted the longest heliborne assault on record in order to reach Nineveh Governorate , where it would spend much of 2003. The 1st Brigade

1232-552: A civilian skydiving jump, his parachute collapsed at low altitude due to a hook turn, resulting in a hard landing that broke his pelvis. He was selected for promotion to major general in 2001. During 2001–2002, as a brigadier general, Petraeus served a ten-month tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Forge . In Bosnia, he was the NATO Stabilization Force assistant chief of staff for operations as well as

1386-565: A continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775. The U.S. Army is a uniformed service of the United States and is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of

1540-725: A day on the West Shore Railroad through the academy's Gothic style station; both the limited stop trains bound for Albany and the local trains to Newburgh and Kingston made stops at the station. Service finally ended in 1958. Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District is the local school district. James I. O'Neill High School is its high school. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) maintains elementary and middle schools for children of military personnel on-post at USMA, but sends high school aged students who are dependents of on-base military personnel to O'Neill. In March 2022 USMA's contract with O'Neill

1694-482: A few Republican senators over the proposed implementation of the "Petraeus Doctrine" in Iraq, specifically regarding the troop surge, Petraeus was unanimously confirmed as a four-star general and MNF-I commander on January 27. Before leaving for Iraq, Petraeus recruited a number of highly educated military officers, nicknamed "Petraeus guys" or "designated thinkers", to advise him as commander, including Col. Mike Meese, head of

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1848-634: A few months. The war remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 men on both sides. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6.4% in the North and 18% in the South . Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army had the mission of containing western tribes of Native Americans on the Indian reservations . They set up many forts, and engaged in

2002-630: A friend that he was a Rockefeller Republican . Petraeus graduated from West Point in 1974, receiving a B.S. degree in Military Science . He earned the General George C. Marshall Award as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Class of 1983 at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . He subsequently earned an M.P.A. degree in 1985 and a Ph.D. in international relations in 1987 from Princeton University 's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs , where he

2156-483: A functional area. However, officers continue to wear the branch insignia of their former branch in most cases, as functional areas do not generally have discrete insignia. Some branches, such as Special Forces , operate similarly to functional areas in that individuals may not join their ranks until having served in another Army branch. Careers in the Army can extend into cross-functional areas for officers, warrant officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel. Before 1933,

2310-559: A hundred men at West Point. However, it was still the largest post in the army in the immediate years after the Revolutionary War. Favoring West Point due to its location and defenses, Henry Knox and Alexander Hamilton made the first official recommendation to establish a military academy at West Point in 1790. However, Congress rejected the proposal, although earlier in 1790, New York merchant and American Revolution patriot Stephen Moore sold his estate (known as "Moore's Folly") to

2464-528: A letter addressed to the troops he was commanding, Petraeus wrote that much military progress had been made, but that the national-level political progress that was hoped for had not been achieved. Petraeus's Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq was delivered to Congress on September 10, 2007. On August 15, 2007, the Los Angeles Times had stated that, according to unnamed administration officials ,

2618-462: A meeting with British Major John André to discuss information on West Point. A meeting was set for September 11, however, Arnold and André did not meet until September 21. Carrying the plans for West Point, André was captured on September 23 by three militiamen, and the information to West Point was found. After Arnold's betrayal, the fort, which was also known as Fort Arnold at the time, was renamed to Fort Clinton after General James Clinton. After

2772-690: A month – known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies (UTAs) – and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. Both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve are organized under Title 10 of the United States Code , while the National Guard is organized under Title 32 . While the Army National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped as a component of the U.S. Army, when it

2926-487: A new Army Command (ACOM) in 2018. The Army Futures Command (AFC), is a peer of FORSCOM, TRADOC, and AMC, the other ACOMs. AFC's mission is modernization reform: to design hardware, as well as to work within the acquisition process which defines materiel for AMC. TRADOC's mission is to define the architecture and organization of the Army, and to train and supply soldiers to FORSCOM. AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable reform of

3080-455: A persistent presence, especially in Iraq's most threatened neighborhoods. He also noted the critical importance of helping Iraq increase its governmental capacity, develop employment programs, and improve daily life for its citizens. Throughout Petraeus's tenure in Iraq, Multi-National Force-Iraq endeavored to work with the Government of Iraq to carry out this strategy that focused on securing

3234-472: A predominantly combat support role. The army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training to specific performance standards driven by the reforms of General William E. DePuy , the first commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command . Following the Camp David Accords that was signed by Egypt, Israel that was brokered by president Jimmy Carter in 1978, as part of

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3388-455: A program of public works , reinvigorating the political process, and launching 4,500 reconstruction projects in Iraq . This approach can be attributed to Petraeus, who had been steeped in nation-building during his previous tours in nations such as Bosnia and Haiti and thus approached nation-building as a central military mission and who was "prepared to act while the civilian authority in Baghdad

3542-679: A quote that Petraeus "did it right and won over Mosul." In June 2004, less than six months after the 101st returned to the U.S., Petraeus was promoted to lieutenant general and became the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq . This newly created command had responsibility for training, equipping, and mentoring Iraq's growing army, police, and other security forces, as well as developing Iraq's security institutions and building associated infrastructure, such as training bases, police stations, and border forts. During Petraeus's fifteen months at

3696-400: A report to Congress by September 15, 2007, detailing their assessment of the military, economic and political situation of Iraq. In June 2007, Petraeus stated in an interview that there were "astonishing signs of normalcy" in Baghdad, and this comment drew criticism from Senate majority leader Harry Reid . In the same interview, however, Petraeus stated that "many problems remain" and he noted

3850-613: A role in the invasions of Grenada in 1983 ( Operation Urgent Fury ) and Panama in 1989 ( Operation Just Cause ). By 1989 Germany was nearing reunification and the Cold War was coming to a close. Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000. A number of incentives such as early retirement were used. In 1990, Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor, Kuwait , and U.S. land forces quickly deployed to assure

4004-587: A series of letters to Clinton, one of which was written on July 12, making explicit the offer to surrender West Point to the British , later for a finalized offer of £ 20,000. On August 3, 1780, Arnold obtained command of West Point, which also gave him command of the American-controlled portion of the Hudson. Arnold then intentionally started weakening the fort's defenses, and through a letter sent to Clinton, proposing

4158-412: A soldier tripped and his rifle discharged. He was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville , Tennessee , where he was operated on by future U.S. Senator Bill Frist . The hospital released him early after he did fifty push-ups without resting, just a few days after the accident. During 1993–94, Petraeus continued his long association with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as

4312-705: A strategy of seizing the coastline, blockading the ports, and taking control of the river systems. By 1863, the Confederacy was being strangled. Its eastern armies fought well, but the western armies were defeated one after another until the Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 along with the Tennessee River. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862–1863, General Ulysses Grant seized the Mississippi River and cut off

4466-580: Is ammunition, increasing the number of stakeholders is critical to success, success in a counterinsurgency requires more than just military operations, ultimate success depends on local leaders, there is no substitute for flexible and adaptable leaders, and, finally, a leader's most important task is to set the right tone. The intervening time between the Iraq commands was spent at Fort Leavenworth, where Petraeus further developed his military doctrine and pursued an important White House contact in Meghan O'Sullivan who

4620-448: Is due to be completed by 2028. The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations ), special operations forces , to set and sustain the theater for the joint force, and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land. The Continental Army

4774-587: Is located at 41° 23′ 42" N 73° 57' 18" W (41.395° N 73.955° W). According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 25.1 sq mi (65 km ); 24.3 sq mi (63 km ) land and 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km ) water. It is located in the town of Highlands and is in Orange County . West Point and the contiguous village of Highland Falls are on the western bank of

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4928-521: Is not in federal service it is under the command of individual state and territorial governors. However, the District of Columbia National Guard reports to the U.S. president, not the district's mayor , even when not federalized. Any or all of the National Guard can be federalized by presidential order and against the governor's wishes. The U.S. Army is led by a civilian secretary of the Army , who has

5082-670: Is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of brigade combat teams are: In addition, there are combat support and service support modular brigades. Combat support brigades include aviation (CAB) brigades, which will come in heavy and light varieties, fires (artillery) brigades (now transforms to division artillery) and expeditionary military intelligence brigades . Combat service support brigades include sustainment brigades and come in several varieties and serve

5236-752: Is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and the most senior in order of precedence. It has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself

5390-619: The 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) . He spent the next few years furthering his military and civilian education, including spending 1982–83 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, attending the Command and General Staff College. At graduation in 1983, he was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. From 1983 to 1985, he was at Princeton; and 1985–87 at West Point. After earning his Ph.D. and teaching at West Point, Petraeus continued up

5544-753: The Australian Army , who was working for the U.S. State Department . Kilcullen upon his return from Iraq published The Accidental Guerrilla , and has discussed the central front of the war and lessons learned in Iraq in The Washington Post . After taking command of MNF-I on February 10, 2007, Petraeus inspected U.S. and Iraqi units all over Iraq, visiting outposts in greater Baghdad , Tikrit , Baquba , Ramadi , Mosul , Kirkuk , Bayji , Samarra , Basrah and as far west as al-Hit and Al Qaim. In April 2007, Petraeus made his first visit to Washington as MNF-I Commander, reporting to President Bush and Congress on

5698-523: The Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance. After Operation Desert Storm, the army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s but did participate in a number of peacekeeping activities. In 1990 the Department of Defense issued guidance for "rebalancing" after a review of the Total Force Policy, but in 2004, USAF Air War College scholars concluded

5852-563: The House Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos of California called Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker "two of our nation's most capable public servants " and said Democrats feel "esteem for their professionalism ." But he also said that "We can no longer take their assertions on Iraq at face value "; concluding, "We need to get out of Iraq, for that country's sake as well as our own." Republican Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter called

6006-831: The Hudson River . West Point has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ), with four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and humid, while winters are cold with moderate snowfall. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 27.5 °F (−2.5 °C) in January to 74.1 °F (23.4 °C) in July. The average annual precipitation was approximately 51.47 in (1,310 mm) from 1991-2020; snow averaged at 35.7 in (91 cm) from 1991-2020, although this total may vary considerably from year to year. Extremes in temperature range from 106 °F (41 °C) on July 22, 1926, down to −7 °F (−22 °C) on January 22, 1984. As of

6160-681: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom , until the 1990s in anticipation of a possible Soviet attack. During the Cold War, U.S. troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam . The Korean War began in June 1950, when the Soviets walked out of a UN Security Council meeting, removing their possible veto. Under a United Nations umbrella, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fought to prevent

6314-538: The Netherlands , and his mother was American, a resident of Brooklyn, New York. They met at the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey and married. Sixtus Petraeus commanded a Liberty ship for the U.S. for the duration of World War II. The family moved after the war, settling in Cornwall-on-Hudson, where David Petraeus grew up and graduated from Cornwall Central High School in 1970. Petraeus went on to

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6468-581: The Senate Armed Services Committee held Petraeus's nomination hearing, during which he testified on his ideas for Iraq, particularly the strategy underpinning the " surge " of forces. During his opening statement, Petraeus stated that "security of the population, especially in Baghdad, and in partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces, will be the focus of the military effort." He went on to state that security would require establishing

6622-528: The United States Military Academy at West Point . Petraeus was on the intercollegiate soccer and ski teams, was a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a "distinguished cadet" academically, graduating in the top 5% of the Class of 1974 (ranked 40th overall). In the class yearbook, Petraeus was remembered as "always going for it in sports, academics, leadership, and even his social life." While

6776-445: The census of 2020, there were 7,341 people, and 860 households residing in the CDP, with the average household size being 3.79 persons per household. The population density was 398.2 inhabitants per square mile (153.7/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 69.3% white , 5.4% African American , 0.2% Native American , 4.4% Asian , 0.2% Pacific Islander , and 10.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.0% of

6930-613: The guerrilla hit and run tactics of the communist Viet Cong and the People's Army Of Vietnam (NVA) . During the 1960s, the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve . In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in

7084-460: The Army (HQDA): See Structure of the United States Army for a detailed treatment of the history , components , administrative and operational structure and the branches and functional areas of the Army. The U.S. Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once

7238-510: The Army (SECARMY), and by a chief military officer , the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2022, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers;

7392-463: The Army National Guard members were considered state militia until they were mobilized into the U.S. Army, typically at the onset of war. Since the 1933 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916 , all Army National Guard soldiers have held dual status. They serve as National Guardsmen under the authority of the governor of their state or territory and as reserve members of the U.S. Army under

7546-411: The Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to eight divisions (one mechanized infantry, two armored, and five infantry), but increased the number of brigades from seven to 18 (one airborne, one armored, two mechanized infantry and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not sit well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and

7700-567: The Army after his son's graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . His son went on to serve as an officer in Afghanistan as a member of 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment , 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team . Petraeus's official residence in the United States is a small property in the small town of Springfield, New Hampshire , which his wife inherited from her family. Petraeus once told

7854-593: The Army were as commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and commander, U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from July 4, 2010, to July 18, 2011. His other four-star assignments include serving as the 10th commander, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) from October 13, 2008, to June 30, 2010, and as commanding general, Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I) from February 10, 2007, to September 16, 2008. As commander of MNF-I, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq. Petraeus

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8008-522: The Army's doctrinal manuals, training the Army's officers, and supervising the Army's center for the collection and dissemination of lessons learned. During his time at CAC, Petraeus and Marine Lt. Gen. James F. Amos jointly oversaw the publication of Field Manual 3–24, Counterinsurgency , the body of which was written by an extraordinarily diverse group of military officers, academics, human rights advocates, and journalists who had been assembled by Petraeus and Amos. At both Fort Leavenworth and throughout

8162-609: The British at Trenton and Princeton , but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became

8316-533: The CIA, citing his extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell , which was reportedly discovered in the course of an FBI investigation. In January 2015, officials reported the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors had recommended bringing felony charges against Petraeus for allegedly providing classified information to Broadwell while serving as director of the CIA. Eventually, Petraeus pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. He

8470-456: The Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops who had dubbed the U.S. Army "Regulars, by God!", were able to capture and burn Washington , which was defended by militia, in 1814. The regular army, however, proved they were professional and capable of defeating the British army during the invasions of Plattsburgh and Baltimore , prompting British agreement on the previously rejected terms of

8624-593: The Hudson River in November 1775, which first recommended occupying the land. Construction of the fort was begun under Captain Louis de la Radiere as chief engineer of the fort, however, New York Governor George Clinton thought that Radiere was "lacking" in the knowledge needed to hold his position. Thus it was completed under Polish Colonel Tadeusz Kościuszko between 1778–1780; it was a key defensive fortification, overlooking

8778-475: The Hudson. Early on in May 1779, General Benedict Arnold had met with a Philadelphia merchant named Joseph Stansbury. Afterwards, Stansbury had gone to Sir Henry Clinton, to whom he offered Arnold's "services". Clinton had been pursuing a campaign to take control of the Hudson River, so he had been interested in the plans and information of the defenses of West Point and other defenses on the Hudson River. Arnold wrote

8932-466: The Iraqi Army and Police and other employment programs. The strategy underpinning the "surge" of forces, as well as the ideas Petraeus included in U.S. Army Field Manual 3–24, Counterinsurgency , have been referred to by some journalists and politicians as the "Petraeus Doctrine", although the surge itself was proposed a few months before Petraeus took command. Despite the misgivings of most Democratic and

9086-573: The McLaughlin Group's 2008 Year-End Awards, when Monica Crowley nominated Petraeus for the most honest person of the year, stating, "[H]e spoke about the great successes of the surge in Iraq, but he always tempered it, never sugar-coated it." In July 2007, the White House submitted to Congress the interim report on Iraq , which stated that coalition forces had made satisfactory progress on 6 of 18 benchmarks set by Congress. On September 7, 2007, in

9240-545: The National Guard, while all states maintain regulations for state militias . State militias are both "organized", meaning that they are armed forces usually part of the state defense forces, or "unorganized" simply meaning that all able-bodied males may be eligible to be called into military service. The U.S. Army is also divided into several branches and functional areas . Branches include officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers while functional areas consist of officers who are reclassified from their former branch into

9394-565: The ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve . The Army of the United States was re-established for the Korean War and Vietnam War and was demobilized upon the suspension of the draft . Currently, the Army is divided into the Regular Army , the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard . Some states further maintain state defense forces , as a type of reserve to

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9548-527: The Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States , established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796. In 1798, during the Quasi-War with France, the U.S. Congress established a three-year " Provisional Army " of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons . In March 1799, Congress created an "Eventual Army" of 30,000 men, including three regiments of cavalry . Both "armies" existed only on paper, but equipment for 3,000 men and horses

9702-427: The Social Sciences Department at West Point and Col. H.R. McMaster , famous for his leadership at the Battle of 73 Easting in the Gulf War and in the pacification of Tal Afar more recently, as well as for his doctoral dissertation on Vietnam-era civil-military relations titled Dereliction of Duty . While most of Petraeus's closest advisers were American military officers, he also hired Lt. Col. David Kilcullen of

9856-441: The Southwest. Grant took command of Union forces in 1864 and after a series of battles with very heavy casualties, he had General Robert E. Lee under siege in Richmond as General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and marched through Georgia and the Carolinas . The Confederate capital was abandoned in April 1865 and Lee subsequently surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House. All other Confederate armies surrendered within

10010-438: The U.S. Army Counterinsurgency Field Manual drafted with Petraeus's oversight. In February 2004, the 101st was replaced in Mosul by a portion of I Corps headquarters, but operational forces consisted solely of a unit roughly one quarter its size—a Stryker brigade. The following summer, the governor of Nineveh Province, Osama Youssef Kashmoula , was assassinated, and most of the Sunni Arab Provincial Council members walked out in

10164-482: The United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army , consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina . For the first two years, Confederate forces did well in set battles but lost control of the border states. The Confederates had the advantage of defending a large territory in an area where disease caused twice as many deaths as combat. The Union pursued

10318-405: The United States Army was maintained as a small peacetime force to man permanent forts and perform other non-wartime duties such as engineering and construction works. During times of war, the U.S. Army was augmented by the much larger United States Volunteers which were raised independently by various state governments. States also maintained full-time militias which could also be called into

10472-580: The United States of America.‌ The United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. Armed Forces . Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as: In 2018, the Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028. While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to corps and division -level echelons. The Army Futures Command oversees reforms geared toward conventional warfare . The Army's current reorganization plan

10626-470: The United States, following an Act of Congress that solidified the sale on September 10, 1790, for $ 11,085, which meant Congress had gained full possession of the fort. The United States Military Academy was established at West Point in 1802. It is the nation's oldest service academy, and is metonymically called "West Point" as well. West Point has the distinction of being the longest continuously occupied United States military installation. West Point

10780-421: The War, Losing the Peace , "under the very noses of the security transition command, officials both inside and outside the ministry of defense were planning to embezzle most, if not all, of the procurement budget of the army." The Washington Post stated in August 2007 that the Pentagon had lost track of approximately 30% of weapons supplied to the Iraqi security forces. The General Accounting Office said that

10934-423: The acquisition process for the future. In order to support the Army's modernization priorities, its FY2020 budget allocated $ 30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years. The $ 30 billion came from $ 8 billion in cost avoidance and $ 22 billion in terminations. The task of organizing the U.S. Army commenced in 1775. In the first one hundred years of its existence,

11088-491: The agreement, both the United States and Egypt agreed that there would be a joint military training led by both countries that would usually take place every 2 years, that exercise is known as Exercise Bright Star . The 1980s was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 created unified combatant commands bringing the army together with the other four military services under unified, geographically organized command structures. The army also played

11242-633: The army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft . In 1910, during the Mexican Revolution , the army was deployed to U.S. towns near the border to ensure the safety of lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa , a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico , prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918. The United States joined World War I as an "Associated Power" in 1917 on

11396-554: The authority of the president, in the Army National Guard of the United States. Since the adoption of the total force policy, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, reserve component soldiers have taken a more active role in U.S. military operations. For example, Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War , peacekeeping in Kosovo , Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq . [REDACTED] Headquarters, United States Department of

11550-641: The building, as part of the September 11 attacks . In response to the 11 September attacks and as part of the Global War on Terror , U.S. and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, displacing the Taliban government. The U.S. Army also led the combined U.S. and allied invasion of Iraq in 2003; it served as the primary source for ground forces with its ability to sustain short and long-term deployment operations. In

11704-466: The combatant commanders for use as directed by the secretary of defense. By 2013, the army shifted to six geographical commands that align with the six geographical unified combatant commands (CCMD): The army also transformed its base unit from divisions to brigades . Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan

11858-447: The combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders ". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of

12012-514: The conclusion of the American Revolution, West Point was used as a storage facility for cannon and other military property used by the Continental Army and until November 28, 1779, was used as the temporary headquarters to George Washington, who called it "the most important Post in America" in 1781. Viewing a standing army as "dangerous", Congress demobilized American forces but left fewer than

12166-663: The deputy commander of the U.S. Joint Interagency Counter-Terrorism Task Force, a command created after the September 11 attacks to add counterterrorism capability to the U.S. forces attached to the NATO command in Bosnia. In 2004, he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 2007, he was promoted to General. On April 23, 2008, Secretary of Defense Gates announced that President Bush was nominating General Petraeus to command U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), headquartered in Tampa , Florida. In 2010, Petraeus

12320-423: The difficulties that would follow the fall of Baghdad. In Mosul , a city of nearly two million people, Petraeus and the 101st employed classic counterinsurgency methods to build security and stability, including conducting targeted kinetic operations and using force judiciously, jump-starting the economy, building local security forces, staging elections for the city council within weeks of their arrival, overseeing

12474-682: The division's assistant chief of staff, G-3 (plans, operations, and training) and installation director of plans, training, and mobilization (DPTM). In 1995, he was assigned to the United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff as its chief operations officer during Operation Uphold Democracy . His next command, from 1995 to 1997, was the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division , centered on the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment . At that post, his brigade's training cycle at Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center for low-intensity warfare

12628-667: The effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder more of the load for their own security, something they are keen to do." Some of the challenges involved in building security forces had to do with accomplishing this task in the midst of a tough insurgency—or, as Petraeus wrote, "making the mission akin to repairing an aircraft while in flight—and while being shot at." Other challenges included allegations of corruption as well as efforts to improve Iraq's supply accountability procedures. For example, according to former Interim Iraq Governing Council member Ali A. Allawi in The Occupation of Iraq: Winning

12782-622: The end of FY2017. From 2016 to 2017, the Army retired hundreds of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopters, while retaining its Apache gunships. The 2015 expenditure for Army research, development and acquisition changed from $ 32 billion projected in 2012 for FY15 to $ 21 billion for FY15 expected in 2014. By 2017, a task force was formed to address Army modernization, which triggered shifts of units: CCDC , and ARCIC , from within Army Materiel Command (AMC), and Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), respectively, to

12936-407: The end of the war. A great iron chain was laid across the Hudson at this point in 1778 in order to prevent British Navy vessels from sailing further up the Hudson River, which was never tested by the British. The site comprised multiple redoubts , as well as Fort Putnam , situated on a high hill overlooking the river. Named after its builder, Revolutionary War General and engineer Rufus Putnam ,

13090-439: The end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. However, no reduction in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968. The Total Force Policy

13244-508: The ensuing selection of the new governor, leaving Kurdish members in charge of a predominantly Sunni Arab province. Later that year, the local police commander defected to the Kurdish Minister of Interior in Irbil after repeated assassination attempts against him, attacks on his house, and the kidnapping of his sister. The largely Sunni Arab police collapsed under insurgent attacks launched at

13398-405: The fact that throughout their time in Iraq, Petraeus and Crocker remained circumspect and refused to classify themselves as optimists or pessimists, noting, instead, that they were realists and that the reality in Iraq was very hard. They also repeatedly emphasized the importance of forthright reports and an unvarnished approach. Indeed, Petraeus's realistic approach and assessments were lauded during

13552-520: The following years, the mission changed from conflict between regular militaries to counterinsurgency , resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members (as of March 2008) and injuries to thousands more. 23,813 insurgents were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Until 2009, the army's chief modernization plan, its most ambitious since World War II, was the Future Combat Systems program. In 2009, many systems were canceled, and

13706-569: The forces that landed in French North Africa and took Tunisia and then moved on to Sicily and later fought in Italy . In the June 1944 landings in northern France and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany , millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role. In 1947, the number of soldiers in the US Army had decreased from eight million in 1945 to 684,000 soldiers and

13860-418: The fort is still preserved in its original design. Parliament sent instructions to General Sir Henry Clinton to force George Washington out of West Point. Clinton decided to capture the strategically important posts Stony Point and Verplanck's Point, which were twelve miles south of West Point. Clinton captured the forts on June 1, 1779. To block the British advance, Washington moved his troops further up

14014-661: The geographical status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict. The army's major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles . It took long wars (1818–1858) to finally defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma. The usual strategy in Indian wars was to seize control of the Indians' winter food supply, but that was no use in Florida where there

14168-466: The guidance would reverse the Total Force Policy which is an "essential ingredient to the successful application of military force". On 11 September 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of

14322-441: The helm of MNSTC-I, he stood up a three-star command virtually from scratch and in the midst of serious fighting in places like Fallujah, Mosul, and Najaf. By the end of his command, some 100,000 Iraqi Security Forces had been trained; Iraqi Army and Police were being employed in combat; countless reconstruction projects had been executed; and hundreds of thousands of weapons, body armor, and other equipment had been distributed in what

14476-569: The implementation of the new counterinsurgency doctrine in Iraq, he published both in Iraq as well as in the Sep/Oct 2008 edition of Military Review his "Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance" to help guide leaders and units in the Multi-National Force-Iraq. Upon his graduation from West Point in 1974, Petraeus was commissioned an infantry officer. After completing Ranger School (Distinguished Honor Graduate and other honors), Petraeus

14630-746: The last of the American Indian Wars . U.S. Army troops also occupied several Southern states during the Reconstruction Era to protect freedmen . The key battles of the Spanish–American War of 1898 were fought by the Navy. Using mostly new volunteers , the U.S. forces defeated Spain in land campaigns in Cuba and played the central role in the Philippine–American War . Starting in 1910,

14784-599: The military believed "the situation on the ground was so urgent, and the agency responsible for recording the transfers of arms so short-staffed, that field commanders had little choice in the matter." The Pentagon conducted its own investigation, and accountability was subsequently regained for many of the weapons. Following his second tour in Iraq, Petraeus authored a widely read article in Military Review , listing fourteen observations he had made during two tours in Iraq, including: do not do too much with your own hands, money

14938-523: The military efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt . On June 30, 2011, Petraeus was unanimously confirmed as the director of the CIA by the U.S. Senate 94–0. Petraeus relinquished command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan on July 18, 2011, and retired from the U.S. Army on August 31, 2011. On November 9, 2012, he resigned from his position as director of

15092-438: The military's schools and training programs, Petraeus integrated the study of counterinsurgency into lesson plans and training exercises. In recognition of the fact that soldiers in Iraq often performed duties far different from those for which they trained, Petraeus stressed the importance of teaching soldiers how to think and how to fight, and the need to foster flexibility and adaptability in leaders. Petraeus called this change

15246-403: The most significant part of The Surge , saying in 2016, "the surge that mattered most was the surge of ideas. It was the change of strategy, and in many respects, this represented quite a significant change to what it was we were doing before the surge." Petraeus has been called "the world's leading expert in counter-insurgency warfare". Later, having refined his ideas on counterinsurgency based on

15400-458: The navigation of Hudson river was at West Point." A fort there, Fort Clinton, named after the governor 's brother, Colonel James Clinton (whose brigade built the main fort), was built as well. The southern and western walls were nine feet high and twenty feet thick. Three redoubts and batteries on the south were named Forts Meigs, Wyllys, and Webb. West Point was staffed by a small garrison of Continental Army Soldiers from early in 1776 through

15554-479: The need to help the Iraqis "stitch back together the fabric of society that was torn during the height of sectarian violence" in late 2006. Petraeus also warned that he expected that the situation in Iraq would require the continued deployment of the elevated troop level of more than 150,000 beyond September 2007; he also stated that U.S. involvement in Iraq could last years afterward. These statements are representative of

15708-449: The new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General Nathanael Greene , it hit where the British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against

15862-592: The new nation's sole ground army, except a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans , it was soon considered necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, where more than 800 soldiers were killed,

16016-404: The office of the chief of staff to Fort Campbell , Kentucky , where he commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) 's 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment , known as the "Iron Rakkasans", from 1991 to 1993. During this period, he suffered one of the more dramatic incidents in his career; in 1991 he was accidentally shot in the chest with an M-16 rifle during a live-fire exercise when

16170-523: The one the entire U.S. Army in Iraq was trying to adopt in 2006." Time columnist Joe Klein largely agreed with Ricks, writing that the Stryker brigade that replaced the 101st "didn't do any of the local governance that Petraeus had done." Moving away from counterinsurgency principles, "they were occupiers, not builders". The New York Times reporter Michael Gordon and retired General Bernard Trainor echoed Ricks and Klein, including in their book Cobra II

16324-674: The population is below the poverty line . In 1937, the West Point Bullion Depository was constructed and in 1938 opened to store silver bullion . In 1988, it became the West Point Mint , as a branch of the United States Mint and gained official status as a branch of the United States Mint on March 31 of that year. The West Point Mint has a deep storage of 54,067,331.379 fine troy ounces of gold. It sits on

16478-417: The population. Doing so required establishing—and maintaining—persistent presence by living among the population, separating reconcilable Iraqis from irreconcilable enemies, relentlessly pursuing the enemy, taking back sanctuaries and then holding areas that had been cleared, and continuing to develop Iraq's security forces and to support local security forces, often called Sons of Iraq , and integrate them into

16632-426: The population. The age distribution is 23.5% under the age of 18, and 0.4% who were 65 years of age or older. There were 860 households, out of which 79.5% were a married couple family household, 16.4% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 3.3% had a male householder with no spouse present. The average household size was 3.79. The median income for a household in the CDP was $ 121,219. About 2.3% of

16786-409: The present, West Point has been occupied by the United States Army. It comprises 25.1 sq mi (65 km ) land and water including the campus of the United States Military Academy , which is commonly called "West Point" as well. West Point is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Highlands in Orange County , located on the western bank of the Hudson River. The population

16940-425: The progress of the "surge" and the overall situation in Iraq. During this visit he met privately with members of Congress and reportedly argued against setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. By late May 2007, Congress had not imposed any timetables in war funding legislation for troop withdrawal. The enacted legislation did mandate that Petraeus and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker , deliver

17094-535: The protection of Saudi Arabia . In January 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced, a U.S.-led coalition which deployed over 500,000 troops, the bulk of them from U.S. Army formations, to drive out Iraqi forces . The campaign ended in total victory, as Western coalition forces routed the Iraqi Army . Some of the largest tank battles in history were fought during the Gulf war. The Battle of Medina Ridge , Battle of Norfolk and

17248-663: The remaining were swept into the BCT modernization program . By 2017, the Brigade Modernization project was completed and its headquarters, the Brigade Modernization Command, was renamed the Joint Modernization Command, or JMC. In response to Budget sequestration in 2013 , Army plans were to shrink to 1940 levels, although actual Active-Army end-strengths were projected to fall to some 450,000 troops by

17402-574: The report "a candid, independent assessment given with integrity." Republican senator Jon Kyl of Arizona stated, "I commend General Petraeus for his honest and forthright assessment of the situation in Iraq." Anti-war Republican senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska criticized the report while praising Petraeus, saying "It's not your fault, general. ... It's not Ambassador Crocker 's fault. It's this administration's fault." A USA Today / Gallup poll taken after Petraeus's report to Congress showed virtually no change in negative public opinion toward

17556-478: The report "would actually be written by the White House , with inputs from officials throughout the government." However, Petraeus declared in his testimony to Congress that "I wrote this testimony myself." He further elaborated that his testimony to Congress "has not been cleared by, nor shared with, anyone in the Pentagon, the White House, or Congress." In his September Congressional testimony, Petraeus stated, "As

17710-680: The rungs of the command ladder, serving as military assistant to Gen. John Galvin , the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe . From there, he moved to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) . During 1988–1989, he served as operations officer to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment . He was then posted as an aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Carl Vuono , in Washington, D.C. Upon promotion to lieutenant colonel , Petraeus moved from

17864-588: The same time Coalition Forces attacked Fallujah in November 2004. There are differing explanations for the apparent collapse of the police force in Mosul. The Guardian quoted an anonymous U.S. diplomat saying, "Mosul basically collapsed after he [Petraeus] left." Former diplomat Peter Galbraith criticized Petraeus's command of the 101st, saying his achievements had been exaggerated and his reputation inflated. He wrote for The New York Review of Books that "Petraeus ignored warnings from America's Kurdish allies that he

18018-588: The service chiefs from each of the four military services belonging to the Department of Defense who advise the president of the United States , the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on operational military matters, under the guidance of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In 1986, the Goldwater–Nichols Act mandated that operational control of

18172-479: The service of the army. By the twentieth century, the U.S. Army had mobilized the U.S. Volunteers on four occasions during each of the major wars of the nineteenth century. During World War I, the " National Army " was organized to fight the conflict, replacing the concept of U.S. Volunteers. It was demobilized at the end of World War I and was replaced by the Regular Army, the Organized Reserve Corps, and

18326-456: The services follows a chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the unified combatant commanders , who have control of all armed forces units in their geographic or function area of responsibility, thus the secretaries of the military departments (and their respective service chiefs underneath them) only have the responsibility to organize, train and equip their service components. The army provides trained forces to

18480-470: The side of Britain , France , Russia , Italy and the other Allies . U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces. In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength ranged between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal 's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in

18634-430: The staff of the 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) , at Fort Stewart , Georgia . In 1979, he assumed command of a company in the same division: A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), and then served as that battalion's operations officer, a major's position that he held as a junior captain. In 1981, Petraeus became aide-de-camp to General John Galvin , then commanding general of

18788-529: The standard support role in an army. The U.S. Army's conventional combat capability currently consists of 11 active divisions and 1 deployable division headquarters (7th Infantry Division) as well as several independent maneuver units. West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States . Located on the Hudson River in New York , General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in

18942-443: The state militias. In the 1920s and 1930s, the "career" soldiers were known as the " Regular Army " with the "Enlisted Reserve Corps" and "Officer Reserve Corps" augmented to fill vacancies when needed. In 1941, the " Army of the United States " was founded to fight World War II. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, the National Guard, and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously. After World War II,

19096-527: The states of California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Arizona , Wyoming and New Mexico . The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states , located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States , the Confederate States Army , led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of

19250-412: The statutory authority to conduct all the affairs of the army under the authority, direction, and control of the secretary of defense . The chief of staff of the Army , who is the highest-ranked military officer in the army, serves as the principal military adviser and executive agent for the secretary of the Army, i.e., its service chief; and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , a body composed of

19404-524: The summer and fall of 1779 during the American Revolutionary War , and later called it "the most important Post in America" in 1781 following the war's end. West Point also was the site of General Benedict Arnold 's failed attempt at treason during the Revolutionary War. West Point was first occupied by the United States Armed Forces in January 1778, when Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade occupied West Point. From then to

19558-488: The surge forces from Iraq and gradually transitioning increased responsibilities to Iraqi Forces, as their capabilities and conditions on the ground permitted. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada argued Petraeus's "plan is just more of the same" and "is neither a drawdown or a change in mission that we need." Democratic Representative Robert Wexler of Florida accused Petraeus of " cherry-picking statistics" and "massaging information". Chairman of

19712-525: The takeover of South Korea by North Korea and later to invade the northern nation. After repeated advances and retreats by both sides and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army 's entry into the war, the Korean Armistice Agreement returned the peninsula to the status quo in July 1953. The Vietnam War is often regarded as a low point for the U.S. Army due to the use of drafted personnel ,

19866-641: The total number of active divisions had dropped from 89 to 12. The leaders of the Army saw this demobilization as a success. In the Pacific War , U.S. Army soldiers participated alongside the United States Marine Corps in capturing the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy

20020-563: The turn in the Hudson River and the Great Chain . On January 27, 1778, Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade, including elements of Connecticut Colony 's patriot militia , crossed an iced over Hudson River and climbed to the plain on West Point. General George Washington watched the construction of the fort closely and considered the fort to be General Alexander McDougall 's "first priority". In 1778, Major General Israel Putnam wrote, "The place agreed upon to obstruct

20174-1056: The two defeated nations. Two years after World War II, the Army Air Forces separated from the army to become the United States Air Force in September 1947. In 1948, the army was desegregated by order 9981 of President Harry S. Truman . The end of World War II set the stage for the East–West confrontation known as the Cold War . With the outbreak of the Korean War , concerns over the defense of Western Europe rose. Two corps, V and VII , were reactivated under Seventh United States Army in 1950 and U.S. strength in Europe rose from one division to four. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops remained stationed in West Germany, with others in Belgium ,

20328-444: The university's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs . Petraeus has repeatedly stated that he has no plans to run for elected political office. On June 23, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Petraeus to succeed General Stanley McChrystal as commanding general of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan , technically a step down from his position as Commander of United States Central Command , which oversees

20482-604: The unpopularity of the war with the U.S. public and frustrating restrictions placed on the military by U.S. political leaders. While U.S. forces had been stationed in South Vietnam since 1959, in intelligence and advising/training roles, they were not deployed in large numbers until 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident . U.S. forces effectively established and maintained control of the "traditional" battlefield, but they struggled to counter

20636-417: The war. A Pew Research Center survey, however, found that most Americans who had heard about the report approved of Petraeus's recommendations. United States Army The United States Army ( USA ) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces . It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services , and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution . The Army

20790-538: The weapons distribution was haphazard, rushed, and did not follow established procedures—particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security training was led by Petraeus and Iraq's security forces began to see combat in places like Najaf and Samarra. Over a hundred thousand AK-47 assault rifles and pistols were delivered to Iraqi forces without full documentation, and some of the missing weapons may have been abducted by Iraqi insurgents . Thousands of body armour pieces have also been lost. The Independent has stated that

20944-568: The world in size. General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff in September 1939 and set about expanding and modernizing the Army in preparation for war. The United States joined World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Some 11 million Americans were to serve in various Army operations. On the European front , U.S. Army troops formed a significant portion of

21098-492: Was 7,341 at the 2020 census . It is part of the New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area . The site for West Point was originally picked because of the pronounced S-curve in the Hudson River at that point during the American Revolutionary War , and was the subject of a committee reporting on fortifications in

21252-511: Was adopted by Chief of Staff of the Army General Creighton Abrams in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and involved treating the three components of the army – the Regular Army , the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve as a single force. General Abrams' intertwining of the three components of the army effectively made extended operations impossible without the involvement of both the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in

21406-475: Was appointing the wrong people to key positions in Mosul's local government and police." On the other hand, in the book Fiasco , The Washington Post reporter Tom Ricks wrote that "Mosul was quiet while he (Petraeus) was there, and likely would have remained so had his successor had as many troops as he had—and as much understanding of counterinsurgency techniques." Ricks went on to say that "the population-oriented approach Petraeus took in Mosul in 2003 would be

21560-492: Was assigned to the 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team , a light infantry unit stationed in Vicenza , Italy. Ever since, light infantry has been at the core of his career, punctuated by assignments to mechanized units , unit commands, staff assignments, and educational institutions. After leaving the 509th as a first lieutenant , Petraeus began a brief association with mechanized units when he became assistant operations officer on

21714-601: Was called away early to serve in Haiti as the Chief of Operations for NATO there in early 1995. From late 2005 through February 2007, Petraeus served as commanding general of Fort Leavenworth , Kansas, and the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC) located there. As commander of CAC, Petraeus was responsible for oversight of the Command and General Staff College and seventeen other schools, centers, and training programs as well as for developing

21868-505: Was chronicled by novelist and military enthusiast Tom Clancy in his book Airborne . From 1997 to 1999, Petraeus served in the Pentagon as executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs , Gen. Henry Shelton , who described Petraeus as "a high-energy individual who likes to lead from the front, in any field, he is going into." In 1999, as

22022-556: Was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain , with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape

22176-499: Was described as the "largest military procurement and distribution effort since World War II", at a cost of over $ 11 billion. In September 2004, Petraeus wrote an article for The Washington Post in which he described the tangible progress being made in building Iraq's security forces from the ground up while also noting the many challenges associated with doing so. "Although there have been reverses – not to mention horrific terrorist attacks," Petraeus wrote, "there has been progress in

22330-441: Was later sentenced to two years of probation and fined $ 100,000 for the unauthorized removal and retention of classified material he gave to Broadwell. Petraeus was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York , the son of Miriam Sweet (née Howell; 1912–1991), a librarian, and Sixtus Petraeus (1915–2008), a sea captain. His father was a Dutch merchant mariner who emigrated to the United States at the start of World War II, from Franeker ,

22484-469: Was mentored by Richard H. Ullman. At that time, he also served as an assistant professor of international relations at the U.S. Military Academy from 1985 to 1987. His doctoral dissertation was titled "The American Military and the Lessons of Vietnam : A Study of Military Influence and the Use of Force in the Post-Vietnam Era". He completed a military fellowship at Georgetown University 's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 1994–1995, although he

22638-436: Was no winter. The second strategy was to form alliances with other Indian tribes, but that too was useless because the Seminoles had destroyed all the other Indians when they entered Florida in the late eighteenth century. The U.S. Army fought and won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which was a defining event for both countries. The U.S. victory resulted in acquisition of territory that eventually became all or parts of

22792-425: Was nominated to command the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan , which required Senate confirmation . He was confirmed on June 30, 2010, and took over command from temporary commander Lieutenant-General Sir Nick Parker on July 4, 2010. In 2003, Petraeus, then a major general, saw combat for the first time when he commanded the 101st Airborne Division during V Corps's drive to Baghdad . In

22946-528: Was procured and stored. The War of 1812 , the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. The U.S. Army did not conquer Canada but it did destroy Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest and stopped two major British invasions in 1814 and 1815. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U.S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh , which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U.S. victories in

23100-415: Was responsible for the area south of Mosul , the 2nd Brigade for the city itself, and the 3rd Brigade for the region stretching toward the Syrian border. An often-repeated story of Petraeus's time with the 101st is his asking of embedded The Washington Post reporter Rick Atkinson to "Tell me how this ends", an anecdote he and other journalists have used to portray Petraeus as an early recognizer of

23254-398: Was still getting organized", according to Michael Gordon of The New York Times . Some Iraqis gave Petraeus the nickname ' King David ', which was later adopted by some of his colleagues. In 2004, Newsweek stated that "It's widely accepted that no force worked harder to win Iraqi hearts and minds than the 101st Airborne Division led by Petraeus." One of the General's major public works

23408-419: Was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College class of 1983. He later served as assistant professor of international relations at the United States Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University . Since 2022, he has taught courses in international relations at Yale University as a Kissinger Senior Fellow of

23562-542: Was the principal adviser to the president on the war. In January 2007, as part of his overhauled Iraq strategy, President George W. Bush announced that Petraeus would succeed Gen. George Casey as commanding general of MNF-I to lead all U.S. troops in Iraq. In his memoirs, President Bush likened his selection of Petraeus to the elevations of other great generals of American history, writing, "Lincoln discovered Generals Grant and Sherman. Roosevelt had Eisenhower and Bradley. I found David Petraeus and Ray Odierno." On January 23,

23716-429: Was the restoration and re-opening of the University of Mosul . Petraeus strongly supported the use of commanders' discretionary funds for public works, telling Coalition Provisional Authority director L. Paul Bremer "Money is ammunition" during the director's first visit to Mosul . Petraeus's often repeated catchphrase was later incorporated into official military briefings and was also eventually incorporated into

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