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May 21, 2004 |
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May 21, 2004 |
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Abizaid visits USMA
CENTCOM commander takes time to talk with firsties
By
Spc. Eric S. Bartelt
Features Editor
|
Hectic
would be an understatement describing the responsibilities that Gen. John
Abizaid has as commander of Central Command in Iraq.
Dealing
with the daily conflicts there and in Afghanistan consume most of Abizaid’s time, but when an important event bloomed at the
academy, he said he felt compelled to visit his alma mater. The Class of 1973
member traveled here, May 13 and took time to meet with firsties at Robinson
Auditorium.
He
told cadets to be smart,
compassionate and respectful.
“We've
got to be better trained, smarter and tougher than the enemy while we must be
compassionate with the people we’re dealing with,” Abizaid told the cadets.
“We must treat people with dignity and respect and bring the people in that
region in the direction that they want to go.”
Abizaid
described how today’s Soldiers are the most tactically savvy and skillful
group in history. He said he also knows that to keep that trend going, he needs
the new batch of young lieutenants to be focused on the mission and never sway
from the overall objective -- being a good leader.
“I
don’t expect you to walk into your platoon and be the best platoon leader on
earth,” Abizaid said. “But I do expect you to take responsibility, take
risks, learn your profession and do the right thing every day to the best of
your ability.”
Nowadays
there are lieutenants in units within 82nd Airborne Division on their third tour
of duty between Iraq and Afghanistan. They are doing missions the Delta Force
weren’t given 10 years ago, he said, but they’ve become so good at their
jobs it’s helping win the crucial wars on the battlefield. However, Abizaid
added, in the terrorism war, you’ve also got to deal with perception.
“The
most difficult thing to understand about this war is the terrorists don’t
worry about winning the military battle, they just want to win the battle of
perceptions,” Abizaid said. “Why do you think they cut the kid’s throat on
television in front of the whole world, it’s because they think we’re not
tough enough and not tough enough to stand up to them.”
The
general also wanted the cadets to understand that they can make a difference.
“We’re
involved in the biggest conflict that our nation has been involved in since the
end of World War II,” Abizaid told them. “We’re fighting for the life of
our country, for the people in Afghanistan so they can watch a soccer match
instead of an execution.
“We’re
fighting so someone like Saddam doesn’t fill up mass graves in Iraq with
300,000 people like he did the past 30 years,” he added. “This is not a
short-term battle, we need you to stay in the Army and to fight for a long time.”
Abizaid
said he has met many of the cadets he’s mentored and other alumni in theater
and is proud of the job they’re doing.
“It
makes me feel like the 200-plus years of this institution has been worth
everything, every step of pain and sacrifice that this institution has given the
country,” he said.
He
also said the most important lesson to true success on the battlefield is to put
trust in the noncommissioned officer.
“It’s
the noncommissioned officer that shapes good combat leaders, so as a new officer
you’re lucky to find a good noncommissioned officer to help mold you into a
better leader,” Abizaid said. “The key to the fighting spirit of the Army is
the NCO leadership.”
After
the lecture, Abizaid spent some time with the cadet brigade staff. With a visit
from one of the most powerful men in the military two weeks before graduation,
the top cadet said it helped bring focus back to the class.
“This
was what our class needed -- to meet Gen. Abizaid -- because he’s a role model
to look up to,” said Cadet First Captain Grace Chung. “To listen to him
about the reality of the war and what’s facing us makes it more serious and
helps keep us focused on the fight ahead.”