Which one of these historic Officers would you most like to deploy with?

2015-10-05T13:27:12-04:00

Your unit has been activated and told it will lead the charge into Afghanistan. You are lucky enough to be able to choose your leader into this battle. Who would you "allow" to lead you and why? And your Command Sergeant Major is the gentleman from We were Soldiers.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Oct 5 at 2015 1:30 PM

2015-10-05T13:30:35-04:00

Patton. He took no crap from anyone and got the job done.

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Oct 5 at 2015 1:34 PM

2015-10-05T13:34:21-04:00

General Petraeus USA...

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Oct 5 at 2015 1:37 PM

2015-10-05T13:37:47-04:00

I would go back to war with Gen Petraeus any day and twice on Sunday.

Response by SSG Michael Scott made Oct 5 at 2015 1:44 PM

2015-10-05T13:44:36-04:00

Patton, Powell , swarscolph

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 1:46 PM

2015-10-05T13:46:55-04:00

I would go to war with Gen. Schwarzkopf. Awesome soldier!

Response by SN Greg Wright made Oct 5 at 2015 2:01 PM

2015-10-05T14:01:50-04:00

SSG Warren Swan None of them. No squids! :)

Response by Sgt Spencer Sikder made Oct 5 at 2015 2:19 PM

2015-10-05T14:19:14-04:00

Of the three, Petraeus. By all accounts, very good tactician and compassionate about his troops.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 2:20 PM

2015-10-05T14:20:34-04:00

Patton!!!! He knew there was only one way to win a war and its not hearts and minds.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 2:21 PM

2015-10-05T14:21:43-04:00

I would follow Patton into Hell and back!!!

Response by SGT Dana Williams made Oct 5 at 2015 2:32 PM

2015-10-05T14:32:47-04:00

I'd have to opt for GEN Petraeus. Patton was great in maneuver warfare but stalemated at Metz when he lost the ability to move. Grant was rather sanguine in regard of casualties and Powell detached himself from the battlefield.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 2:45 PM

2015-10-05T14:45:40-04:00

I don't know .... maybe when bullets start flying ... my mind will make up for me ...

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Oct 5 at 2015 2:46 PM

2015-10-05T14:46:16-04:00

Francis Marion. You've probly never heard of this guy. You should google his exploits.

Response by Cpl Clinton Britt made Oct 5 at 2015 2:51 PM

2015-10-05T14:51:40-04:00

General Mad Dog Mattis

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Oct 5 at 2015 3:09 PM

2015-10-05T15:09:19-04:00

In my first tour in the Marines all everyone talked about was Chesty.. Old timers liked to swap tales about their time in his commands.. But more recently I have been following the career of General Dunford who went to my high school. He has been back there as a guest speaker and meet with the students.. So I have done some research about him and am very impressed ...He is no Chesty but there will never be another one like him..

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Oct 5 at 2015 3:09 PM

2015-10-05T15:09:46-04:00

That would depend on where the field of battle was and how the enemy was equipped. That being said Patton would be my overall choice.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 3:19 PM

2015-10-05T15:19:03-04:00

Frank D. Merrill.
His operations in Burma against vastly superior numbers were legendary.
What makes him my choice is the fact he had not one but two(!) heart attacks while in Burma, and returned both times to continue to lead his Marauders on raids in some of the most difficult terrain imaginable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill%27s_Marauders

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Oct 5 at 2015 3:42 PM

2015-10-05T15:42:09-04:00

I would actually pick GEN David Perkins. He is the current TRADOC CG. He was my BCT CDR (2BCT 3ID), during OIF I, when we took Baghdad. An awesome leader in my book. If it had to be one of the four it would be GEN Petraeus.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 4:12 PM

2015-10-05T16:12:06-04:00

Well, if CSM Plumley were running the show...would it make any difference? LOL!

Seriously though-Grant.

Patton was a winner, true enough...but he was also an egotistical nightmare and couldn't have handled an 'insurgency'...IMHO.

Response by CMDCM Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 4:28 PM

2015-10-05T16:28:09-04:00

Gen. Mattis...I served as his SEA at NATO HQ awesome leader who leads from the front and not with politics just good ole fashioned common sense

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Oct 5 at 2015 5:10 PM

2015-10-05T17:10:45-04:00

Patton was the US General the Nazis feared the most, and for good reason. He read widely anything of military importance like the devil, and he was probably our most brilliant tactician and General Level combat leader in theater at the time. He was very un-American in some of his views and behaviors and his Occupation (post-war) Coddling of former Nazis was a real scandal. He did try to warn us of the Evil Soviet Union and the threat they posed to the Freedom of Europe and to the US. He was amazingly brave, and the stories of him shooting down two of Pancho Villa's men in a Bar during the Pershing Punitive Expedition are legend. I don't think he would last long in today's politically correct Military, he was the epitome of the Politically Incorrect General (so was MacArthur which is why he got fired by Truman). But when it came to a fight, and giving the US Battlefield victories, there was really no one in Europe that could match Patton. The way he pivoted the Third Army to respond to the Germans Ardennes Offensive was probably the best US Maneuver in the European War. Patton inspired his men to do great things in Battle, and he imbued them with confidence. Patton wanted to push the Soviets back with military force if need be, and He had to be muzzled at the end of WWII, because the US Public was War Weary and we still needed to fight the Japs to Victory in the Pacific. Patton remains an American Enigma, and probably one of the best battlefield generals we ever produced right up there with Lee, Grant, Sherman, and Jackson. Patton would kick ass in Afghanistan and the Taliban would fear him and the men he led. He would never fight under the restrictive ROEs that strangle our military in Afghanistan. Patton's message to the Taliban would be pretty simple, leave the country, surrender, or prepare to met the after life (this last choice I think he would favor the most). He was a fearsome killing machine, when America's enemies needed to die.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 7:51 PM

2015-10-05T19:51:24-04:00

CSM probably. He seems like a no non-sense kind of CSM that would take no crap from anyone and take care of his troops.

Response by SPC George Long made Oct 5 at 2015 10:21 PM

2015-10-05T22:21:02-04:00

Grant

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Oct 6 at 2015 12:34 AM

2015-10-06T00:34:43-04:00

If you went with old Blood & Guts, he'd be relieved of command after the first engagement (poor magnificent bastard).

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Oct 6 at 2015 2:36 AM

2015-10-06T02:36:10-04:00

Of these? Patton I guess. Although I will say that you almost can't take SGM Plumley without General Moore.

Response by SFC Dr. Joseph Finck, BS, MA, DSS made Oct 6 at 2015 8:18 AM

2015-10-06T08:18:21-04:00

SSG Warren Swan With SGM Basil Plumley you would desire balance in Command, General David Petraeus was the MNF-I Commander when I served in Iraq and I augmented his Protective Services Detail on a couple of occasions. He was a for the troops leader who never missed an opportunity to recognize excellence. While I never met General Collin Powell, I have read so much favorable commentary, I cannot help but want to be lead by someone with his experience and leadership capability. Consequently, I would nominate General Petraeus as the CG and General Powell as the DCG Maneuvers.

Response by MGySgt Marty Pack made Oct 6 at 2015 8:30 AM

2015-10-06T08:30:38-04:00

Patton or Mattis

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 6 at 2015 12:10 PM

2015-10-06T12:10:02-04:00

If I had to choose, Smedley Butler, that man knew who to win counter insurgency, with minimal assets and manpower.

Response by GySgt Joseph Jay Johnston made Oct 6 at 2015 2:31 PM

2015-10-06T14:31:54-04:00

GEN>LEWIS B.PULLER (CHESTY) A MARINES, MARINE....NEED I SAY MORE.?

Response by Sgt Schuyler Rossi made Oct 6 at 2015 8:04 PM

2015-10-06T20:04:23-04:00

Mad Dog

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made Oct 6 at 2015 8:39 PM

2015-10-06T20:39:00-04:00

I have two questions of my own.
What is this doing under Marine Corps? I really don't see its place here.
Why is it that the Marine Corps header has a redundant eagle covering the globe of the insignia, who saw fit to do this re-design?

Response by SGT John Cruz made Oct 6 at 2015 10:17 PM

2015-10-06T22:17:47-04:00

Patton

Response by Sgt Cody Dumont made Oct 6 at 2015 10:26 PM

2015-10-06T22:26:30-04:00

Where the heck is Chesty Puller??

Response by Cpl Kevin Zimmermann made Oct 8 at 2015 8:33 AM

2015-10-08T08:33:04-04:00

It would be Patton even though it has been widely reported his troops thought he was too reckless. There is no disputing, however, that he was a talented tactician.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 8 at 2015 5:38 PM

2015-10-08T17:38:52-04:00

I would have been honored to have been under the command of General George Patton. William Westmoreland wouldn't be a wrinkle on Patton's ass. Patton was a soldiers soldier.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Oct 8 at 2015 5:42 PM

2015-10-08T17:42:35-04:00

General Petraeus or Powell since the other two are long gone. I will not go to war with a leader who has been dead for decades or centuries.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 9 at 2015 8:32 AM

2015-10-09T08:32:15-04:00

My choice among those shown is Omar Bradley.

Response by SSG Katherine Likely made Oct 15 at 2015 10:50 PM

2015-10-15T22:50:04-04:00

I'll take the civil war guy - they may not have much in weapons - but cunning and good maneuvering can win almost any war.

Patton left our boys to a death march and though he promised to come back - he forgot to mention it would be years. He didn't properly prepare his troops.

Response by MSgt Daniel Attilio made Oct 31 at 2015 5:07 PM

2015-10-31T17:07:56-04:00

Gen Zinni, Gen Mattis again anytime anywhere. From history - Gen Puller and FldMrshl Rommel (I know he's not American but he is freak'n amazing, I've read many of the books about him and all that served with him held him in highest regards - as did his opponents)

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 31 at 2015 6:50 PM

2015-10-31T18:50:21-04:00

Any Marine would follow Gen Mattis to hell and back

Response by 1SG Nick Baker made Oct 31 at 2015 6:52 PM

2015-10-31T18:52:36-04:00

From the list you provided, Colin Powell and Basil L. Plumley would have been a great team.

Response by Cpl Rc Layne made Nov 1 at 2015 6:00 PM

2015-11-01T18:00:01-05:00

Chesty Puller by write in.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 28 at 2016 1:18 AM

2016-01-28T01:18:36-05:00

I served under Petraeus and I think he's the best qualified to deal with the enemy in that battle space.

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Jan 28 at 2016 7:01 AM

2016-01-28T07:01:26-05:00

I knew a few Senior Staff NCOs who served under Chesty Puller in both WW2 & Korea and their opinions of him were mixed. I think Chesty knew this and when he retired in 1955, he had his retirement party at the Staff NCO Club at Camp Lejeune so he could thank all of the guys who served in his commands. The criticisms of Chesty were because he often pushed his troops to extremes that some guys thought was just too much especially at Cape Gloucester and Pelilieu .. Chesty was also critical of the USMCR in Korea who he thought were not combat ready. He testified about this at the senate investigations after S/Sgt McKeon marched his recruits into Ribbon Creek at Parris Island. I served under Chesty when he commanded FMF Atlantic from January to August 1955.

Response by LTC Bob Church made Jan 28 at 2016 8:03 PM

2016-01-28T20:03:37-05:00

General Powell

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 28 at 2016 11:48 PM

2016-01-28T23:48:51-05:00

I personally would love to have served under COL Robert Gould Shaw. He led his unit (the first paid, all black unit established during the Civil War) to numerous victories. He and his fellow officers overcame racism and discrimination, earned the respect and loyalty of their men, and established a precept of leadership and service the day it was always intended to be. And for a commander to achieve such great strides and also he so effective on the field makes him stand out incredibly in history. And so he is my pick for Commander.

Response by CPL Joseph Thompson made Feb 12 at 2016 7:41 PM

2016-02-12T19:41:48-05:00

US Grant

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Mar 18 at 2017 11:17 AM

2017-03-18T11:17:50-04:00

Grant, even Sherman passed up a fourth star to stay with Grant

Response by SSG Diane R. made Jul 15 at 2017 11:40 AM

2017-07-15T11:40:06-04:00

Patton. Old Blood and Guts himself.

Response by SGT Christopher Stokes made Jul 15 at 2017 4:04 PM

2017-07-15T16:04:15-04:00

Col. Steele was a hell of a leader

Response by PVT Raymond Lopez made Jul 15 at 2017 5:38 PM

2017-07-15T17:38:18-04:00

HARRY WILLIAM OSBORNE KINNARD I would follow that man into hell any day of the week!!!!

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Jul 15 at 2017 8:43 PM

2017-07-15T20:43:17-04:00

Mad Dog

Response by Sgt Timothy Kinney made Oct 21 at 2017 8:27 AM

2017-10-21T08:27:32-04:00

Gen. Al Gray, he was a Bad Ass back in the day. I meet him at El Toro in the mid 80's.

Response by PFC Donnie Harold Harris made Nov 28 at 2017 7:54 PM

2017-11-28T19:54:08-05:00

There is only one general there. Patton.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Dec 24 at 2017 1:13 PM

2017-12-24T13:13:57-05:00

Grant, he and Sherman seemed to be the only ones who understood how to wage war

Response by Capt Hansel Bumgarner made Dec 24 at 2017 2:01 PM

2017-12-24T14:01:03-05:00

Not Grant. He was one of the original “Killer Angels”.

Response by SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter made Dec 24 at 2017 2:15 PM

2017-12-24T14:15:37-05:00

I would take General Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf any day and any place!

Peace!

Response by SPC Tim Cook made Jan 27 at 2018 8:45 PM

2018-01-27T20:45:27-05:00

The meanest sumbitch to ever wear the EGA, Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2018 1:20 PM

2018-04-16T13:20:49-04:00

Ok, then let's do to Nam, we've already got CSM, Lt.Gen Harold G. Moore is my pick, when he was fit to fight, first to step on and last to step off. That's leadership!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2018 7:39 PM

2018-04-16T19:39:34-04:00

Main thing I would want is a very concrete, clear, simple, quantitatively-measurable definition of victory. Then, not to be the uber-narcissist here, but can I pick me? I just know me really, really well. After me, can I choose from among foreign military officers just because of the nature of the area, I'm inclined to choose Fitzroy MacLean, who did some interesting things for the British in World War 2.