Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf

"Retired General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991, has died.
The 78-year-old succumbed to complications from pneumonia on Thursday in Tampa, Florida, where he lived in retirement.
His large personality and public prominence during the nation's first live-broadcast war made him the the most recognizable, and acclaimed, military commander since Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur.
A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as 'Stormin' Norman' for his notoriously explosive temper.
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he became the public face of the coalition troops who ousted Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.
He was also the mastermind behind the mechanics of Operations Desert Storm, co-authoring the official strategy of the defense of Saudi Arabia, as well as the combat operations in Kuwait and Iraq.
He was offered the job of Chief of Staff - the top position in the U.S. Army - but turned it down. He retired from active duty in August 1991 - just six moths after the conclusion of the war.
He lived in retirement in Tampa, where he had served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command. That is the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.
Schwarzkopf became Commander-in-Chief of 'CENTCOM' in 1988 and when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait three years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, he commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by then-President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.
At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf - a self-proclaimed political independent - rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC."
General Norman Schwarzkopf who led troops in Persian Gulf War dies age 78 | Mail Online

 

RIP...

 

He kicked ass . May he rest in peace

 

He was a figure you did not forget,ever. R.I.P. Norman!

 

No messing with Norman....RIP yank.

 

Always liked this: Ha. As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, I want you to know he is a great military man, I want you to know that.

 

RIP sir.12 gun salute!

 

He will be remembered and honored by all Americans, and time.

 

He's going where everybody knows his name, eh, Clint?

Be at peace, General. :S!

 

Well said, Sir! I could not agree more.

 

One of the best one of the last...He won't just be remembered by Americans Clint...He was much admired by many of us around the world..

 

I remember he did an interview on Radio1 with Steve Wright In The Afternoon back in late '91 or maybe '92.
Sounded a really great bloke.

 

I always admired General Schwarzkopf.

Have any of you read General Hal Moore's book "We Were Soldiers"? There's a few Schwarzkopf references. Here is one them (exact wording not from the book, but courtesy of a 1991 LA Times article).

"On another, his profanity could have melted the radio when he had helicopters overhead carrying VIPs but couldn't get any of them to pick up a badly wounded soldier."