There are no doubt some supporters of President Donald Trump who remain disappointed after the sudden resignation of now-former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, though a quick glance at the man chosen as his replacement should help ease any despair.
Trump spent the weekend at the “Southern White House,” the Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where he interviewed several potential replacements for Flynn, ultimately deciding on Army Lt. Gen. Herbert Raymond “H.R.” McMaster to be his point man on national security, according to Fox News.
“He is a man of tremendous talent and experience,” Trump said in announcing the appointment Monday. “He’s highly respected in the military, and we’re lucky to have him.”
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“I’d just like to say what a privilege it is to be able to continue serving our nation,” McMaster replied, according to CNN. “I’m grateful to you for that opportunity. And I look forward to joining the national security team and doing everything I can to advance and protect the interests of the American people.”
So, what is it exactly about McMaster that led Trump to choose him as Flynn’s replacement?
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Here are just a few of the reasons why the 54-year-old general should prove to be a valuable asset in the role.
1) Question the status quo
Arguably, McMaster’s biggest claim to fame is the book he wrote in 1997 while earning his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina titled “Dereliction of Duty,” in which he harshly criticized the Vietnam War-era military leadership for not sufficiently challenging the civilian leadership regarding the failing strategies that were being employed in the ultimately futile effort to rid the southeast Asian nation of communism.
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“McMaster might be the 21st century Army’s pre-eminent warrior-thinker,” wrote Ret. Lt. Gen. David Barno of McMaster when he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2014, adding that he is “the rarest of soldiers — one who repeatedly bucked the system and survived to join its senior ranks.”
2) Experience
McMaster graduated from the West Point Military Academy and has served admirably and with distinction throughout his career. He commanded a troop of tanks for the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, served as special assistant to Gen. David Petraeus during the successful “surge” of troops in the Iraq War in 2007, and deployed to Afghanistan to oversee anti-corruption efforts in 2010.
The general is highly decorated for his service, having earned the Purple Heart, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and Joint Service Commendation Medal, not to mention service medals from the campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq and the broader global war on terror, as well as the NATO Medal of Freedom and the Kuwait Liberation Medal from both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
3) Understands the current challenges
McMaster’s eyes are fully open to the reality of our nation’s current diminished military capabilities, though he is not one to grant that reality as being acceptable. Not even a year ago, McMaster testified before the Senate regarding the potential that the Army was “out-ranged and outgunned” by our global adversaries, and that the reduced size of the military placed U.S. forces at risk of being incapable of effectively defending the nation from the threats we face.
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He has spoken at length about the need to not only grow the size of our nation’s fighting force, but also of the dire need to outfit that force with new and upgraded technologies, such as with improved armored fighting vehicles, tanks and battle drones.
4) Focused on cyber security
Another aspect of the current challenges our nation faces is that of cyber security and cyber terrorism, which McMaster views as a “significant threat.”
“I think cyber-terrorism — espionage as we are learning — is a significant threat. The fact is the cyber-domain is a contested space every day already,” McMaster explained in a 2014 interview with The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Georgia. “The key question is, how does this fit into the overall problems of future war?”
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5) Student of military history
Much like retired Marine General and Defense Secretary James Mattis, McMaster considers himself to be a continuing student of military history, constantly seeking out lessons from past successes and failures that can be applied to contemporary challenges.
Even as technology advances at a rapid pace, war and national security still remain “an inherently human endeavor,” a factor unlikely to change any time soon and one which has remained relatively constant throughout the history of military conflicts and engagements, meaning lessons learned centuries ago can still have applicability in modern times for those who fully understand them.
Army Gen. H.R. McMaster seems to be pretty much in line with President Trump’s agenda of rebuilding and reforming the military into an advanced and powerful fighting force that should serve as a deterrent to our nation’s enemies and rivals.
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H/T Heavy
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