“A leader is the one, who knows the way, goes the way and show the way”, this was stated by John C. Maxwell. When reading this phrase, you would think the quality of being a leader isn’t something bequeathed upon you on astronomical; rather, it’s something you react to unwillingly. How you analyze, distribute, and affiliate shows what a person you are, so do what come naturally and let your work display outright. What does it take for someone to listen to another person guidance and also what triumphant did they display to become known as a leader. I choose this individual, because the attribute he displays throughout his tenure within the military, everybody benefited with his guidance throughout all branches. Within the Vietnam War the man who became known as “Stormin” Norman served two tours in Vietnam, first as an advisor to the South Vietnamese in 1965 and later as commander of the 23rd Infantry Division. The reason behind this was because while teaching at the Command and General Staff in Leavenworth. The body count was increase in Vietnam, and he felt that his pass experienced would benefit and save lives there. At one point during his time in Vietnam he embarks a remarkable incidents. At this moment received word that men under his command had encountered a minefield, he rushed to the scene in his helicopter. He found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. Schwarzkopf urged them to retrace their steps slowly. Still, one man tripped a mine and was severely injured but remained conscious. As the wounded man flailed in agony, the soldiers around him feared that he would set off another mine. Schwarzkopf, also injured by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down so another could splint his shattered leg. One soldier stepped away to break a branch from a nearby tree to make the splint. In doing so, he too hit a mine, killing himself and the two men closest to him, and blowing the leg off of Schwarzkopf’s liaison officer. Eventually, Colonel Schwarzkopf led his surviving men to safety. He was awarded a Silver Medal, but privately blamed the government for becoming involved in a war with unclear objectives and a misconceived strategy.
After his time in the Vietnam War he felt the need to change the relationship between journalists and the military, feeling that the news media’s negative portrayal of the Vietnam War had degraded troops there. When he took command during the Gulf War, he sought an entirely different strategy which was ultimately successful, where he favored greater media coverage, although subject to strict controls on the battlefield. Schwarzkopf favored the intense press surrounding the Gulf War conflict, feeling that blocking the news media as had been done in Grenada would contribute to negative public view of the war in the United States. His dealings with the press were thus frequent and very personal, and he conducted regular briefings for journalists. He would usually not attack media coverage, even negative coverage, unless he felt it was blatantly incorrect. He staged visible media appearances which played to patriotism. In fact, Schwarzkopf believed in widespread press coverage which would help build public support for the war and raising morale. In certain press conferences, he showed and explained advanced war-fighting technology the U.S. possessed to impress the public. These also allowed to distract the public from focusing on U.S. casualty counts or the destruction wrought in the war. Schwarzkopf’s strategy was to control the message being sent, he therefore ordered media on the battlefield to be escorted at all times. In spite of this, several high-profile reports publicized the CENTCOM strategy. After the war Schwarzkopf was very critical of military analysts who scrutinized his operation, feeling that some of them were poorly informed on the factors involved in his planning, and that others were violating operations security by revealing too much about how he might plan the operation. With this opportunity his was able to relieve the pressure between the military and the media, while still conducting his mission upright.
With his background he showed very diverse attributes, when dealing with difficult tasks. He ran into multiple obstacle but was able to overcome them with the experience he developed in the past. Schwarzkopf executed a classic campaign and left no messes within the scope of his task. He understood his orders and performed them with few casualties and received much praise from the world community. Overall since General Schwarzkopf’s death, much has been written about his leadership, with his influence with the troops and his time in the military. With that being said his legacy will always be the forefront of other when people discuss about his leadership.