“ FAREWELL TO A SOLDIER'S SOLDIER

“ American GIs are not toy soldiers to be moved around on some global game board”

-Colin Powell

Colin Powell, Who Shaped U.S. National Security, Dies at 84 (18 Oct), marks the passing of a man who was the “ first” in many of the task he undertook during an incredible career. In the Army we call certain officers “ Water Walkers”, because they seem to have the intelligence, focus patience and ability to solve problems and form the effective relationships with people up and down the chain of command to lead from the time that they become 2nd Lt. Platoon leaders until the time that, if they are really good, like Colin Powell, become generals.

General Powell often said, “ I want to be remembered as a successful soldier who served his best”. He was that and far more. If he was a “ Water Walker” he walked on waters that were sometimes shark infested. The US military is to a large degree a meritocracy, but it is not exempt from the same prejudices that are prevalent in so much American life. The very sort of prejudices that Donald Trump exploited to win the Presidency.

Colin Powell’s career path could have taken an entirely different path had it not been for another black New Yorker, Clifford Alexander. Mr. Alexander, a graduate of Ethical Culture & Fieldston, Harvard & Yale Law, was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be Secretary of the Army. Alexander had served with the 369th Field Artillery battery of the New York National Guard and he understood how the military promotion system works. The late General John Forte, who General Powell & I both had the pleasure of knowing, once described the officer promotion system as a personnel system that finds reasons “ Not to promote officers”. General Forte meant that by doing so the Army got the best leadership the further up the chain of command officers went. In the military company & field grade officers must be promoted within a proscribed period of time or they are involuntarily separated from the service. All officer promotions to General and Flag rank, which are the generals & admirals require Congressional approval. The recommendations are put forward by the respective service chiefs through the service secretaries and are usually voted out of the Senate Defense committee with little fanfare. When Secretary Alexander, a champion of diversity, got his first list of colonels that were eligible for promotion to Brig. General, he asked how many of them were African Americans. “None”, he was told. He then directed the Army chief of staff to look at the career path of every black Col. With enough time in grade to be eligible for promotion to General. He then further asked the chief of staff to determine of a negative Officer Efficiency Rating at any point during those black colonels careers had been a factor in keeping them off of the promotion list. He wasn’t finished. He then asked the chief of staff to determine if those negative OERs had been written by superior white officers whose ratings of their subordinate officers showed a pattern of discrimination. Colin Powell came off the new revised list.

Colin Powell knew where he came from, He continued Secretary Alexander’s efforts to make the Army more diverse As Secretary of State he felt that the US should always act when it was in or interest to do so. He often said that leadership was about solving problems. He did just that.

Well done sir. Well done indeed.

Roland Nicholson, Jr.

Towson, MD

+01.646.752.9329

The writer is former US Army officer