I know this is a very strange diary for Daily Kos, but as an old infantryman who had the opportunity to work for 2 men who worse thru the ranks to both wear 4 stars, when I worked for Barry McCaffrey he was a Battalion XO of the 2/30 Inf, at Ledward Barracks in 1979, he was a Major.
He was a very intense man, educated, and an historian, who was writing books about military leaders of the past. A few years later I came under the command of a Colonel at Fort Irwin, his name was Wesley Clark, most of us know who he is today, he has become very political since leaving the military and formed a PAC to consider running for President, he now endorses candidates all across the nation from Congressman to Presidential Candidates.
But from what I have seen from David Petraeus over the past decade is a man who rose from obscure Colonel and Brigadier ranks to become the most famous General in the Army today
Petraeus was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, the son of Miriam and Sixtus Petraeus. His mother was an American citizen and his father was a sea captain who had immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands during the initial phase of World War II.[13] Sixtus settled in Cornwall-on-Hudson, where David Petraeus grew up and graduated from Cornwall Central High School in 1970. Residents called him 'Peaches' in reference to his often-mispronounced last name[14] and the nickname stuck with him as a cadet.[15]
Petraeus then went on to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Petraeus was on the intercollegiate soccer and ski teams, was a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a "distinguished cadet" academically, graduating in the top 5% of the Class of 1974 (ranked 43rd overall). In the class yearbook, Petraeus was remembered as "always going for it in sports, academics, leadership, and even his social life."[16]
Two months after graduation Petraeus married Holly Knowlton, a graduate of Dickinson College and daughter of Army General William A. Knowlton, who was superintendent of West Point at the time.[17] Holly, who is multi-lingual, was a National Merit Scholar in high school, and graduated summa cum laude from Dickinson College. They have a daughter and son, Anne and Stephen. Petraeus administered the oath of office at his son's 2009 commissioning into the Army after graduating from MIT.[18][19]
General Petraeus graduated from West Point a year after I enlisted, like myself he spent most of his career in the "peacetime" Army except for a few small skirmishes Panama, Grenada a few border incidents in Korea etc, Gulf War One in other words nothing to bring the best out of anyone, until Sep 11, 2001, and then like many others he was able to expand his knowledge and expertise, especially in the area of COIN counter insurgency where he was given the credit for writing the "book" on how to do it. This was while he was the Commander of Fort Leavenworth and the Command and Staff College which is located there. There is far more to Leavenworth than just the prison.
The Army has only had 3 5 star Generals Douglas MacArthur, Dwight David Eisenhower and Omar Bradley they like most men had their supporters and their detractors. If any man in recent history is deserving of promotion to General of the Army (5 stars) it is David Petraeus , he agreed to give up command of Central Command a nice soft berth in Florida where he was home most nights with his wife and friends. He has spent five of the past 9 years overseas deployed to war zones, as a Major General, a LT General and a General, now to give up a major command (Centcom) to agree to go back and become a field Commander with the responsibility for the men and women who will die on a daily basis in Afghanistan, because his President asked him to. After 36 years of service I could just as easily have seen him say thanks but no thanks. My wife and kids don't deserve this now, I owe them, I have given my entire adult life to this nation, I owe them some at home time.
He didn't, the President should nominate him for his fifth star and the Senate should confirm it, and on his return from Afghanistan he should replace Admiral Mullens upon his retirement as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military can survive having a field Commander that have 5 stars and a Chief of Staff of the Army that only has 4 stars, during WW2 General Marshall Chief of Staff of the Army was a 4 star and commanded the Army he dealt with both General of the Army Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur but since they both out ranked him he could only "confer" with them if he wanted any orders given to them, they had to come from F.D.R. at that level all of the players in the Pentagon and the White House know how to play the game.
David Petraeus has put his duty to this nation first, and he should be appropriately recognized for this giving him the wreath of stars would be the RIGHT thing to do.