December 3, 2024
by Stephen T. Messenger
The last exceptional BRAG+1 leader we’ll study, and our only contemporary case, is General Stanely McChrystal. He lived a career of slow and quiet advancement in positions of greater responsibility culminating as Commander of all forces in Afghanistan during a tumultuous time in 2009.
His story is one of continuous success as a warrior-scholar. He navigated diverse assignments from conventional military, special operations, and key educational opportunities to rise as one of the most influential generals to affect progress in the Middle East post-9/11.
One of his key attributes was speaking plainly and truthfully to paint an accurate and realistic picture on the ground. This trait gained him the respect of national leadership and peers as he reframed the conduct of counterinsurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a sudden end to his military career, a reporter from Rolling Stones Magazine embedded within his command and reported the frank words by him and his staff about political leaders resulting in McChrystal’s resignation to President Obama. However, this event did not define his legacy nor success, and he continues to have an impact to this day.
The Warrior Scholar
McChrystal began his career as an infantry platoon leader in the 82d Airborne Division in 1976 where he learned the basics of leadership of being with men and on the ground. He completed the Special Forces Operations Course and excelled in small unit leadership as a special forces operator, an operations and intelligence officer in South Korea, and mechanized infantry and ranger regiment company commander.
He then rejoined the special operations community and saw his first combat in Desert Storm. In all these military roles, McChrystal understood the importance of placing service over self and placing his boots in the mud with his soldiers.
In his final roles before becoming a general officer, McChrystal commanded an 82d Airborne Division Battalion, Ranger Regiment Battalion, and the 75th Ranger Regiment in its entirety. No one achieves this level of military success without being highly engaged with their people and constantly achieving success after success.
Sprinkled between these assignments, McChrystal was focused on education. He attended the Naval War College, earned a Master of Science Degree in International Relations, and was a senior service college fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Finally, he spent a year at the Washington Think Tank Council on Foreign Relations in a military role.
This balance of key leadership assignments and educational experiences shaped a broad worldview of how McChrystal acted and thought. The best leaders continuously learn, study, and grow, and McChrystal spent a career both doing and learning, a key trait we should all emulate as warrior scholars.
General Success
Promoted to Brigadier General in 2001, McChrystal held a number of pivotal assignments to include Assistant Division Commander of the 82d Airborne and Chief of Staff of the XVIII Airborne Corps as America entered its post-9/11 conflict. In March of 2003, he was chosen for his poise to represent the Pentagon on nationally televised press events on current operations in Iraq.
These positions led to his time at Joint Special Operations Command. In this capacity, McChrystal used a career of operational and educational acumen to capture Sadaam Hussein in 2003, kill Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and capture or kill countless high-profile insurgents. His keen mind and ability to combine tactical and strategic thinking coalesced into battlefield gains.
After a short stint as Director of the Joint Staff, the Senate confirmed McChrystal’s appointment as Commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan. He quickly made his mark by conducting large-scale offensive operations and requesting tens of thousands more troops to guide the now seven-year-old war.
McChrystal, every consistent, maintained his aggressiveness as when he started his military career. He took the initiative, knocked down targets, spoke the truth, and valued success above all.
The Stone Rolled Hard
But even when we do everything right, we can still do it wrong. McChrystal let his private words be made public, a problem we all have in keeping our internal monologue to ourselves, and this became his downfall. After a career of literally putting boots on the ground, serving the nation at the expense of his personal life, fighting the enemy, and achieving great victories, he let the cavalier words of him and his staff be made public.
Rolling Stones reporter Michael Hastings began a two-day trip with McChrystal in 2010 which turned into a month-long engagement with the general and his staff. During this time, Hastings overheard several comments from the group that weren’t for public consumption. This tale of loose lips is a cautionary tale of always being appropriate. We have to continuously act like the cameras are on and the mics are hot.
In the Rolling Stones article, Hastings reported several disparaging comments by McChrystal and his team. Among them, a key McChrystal advisor relayed the general was not impressed with President Obama calling him unengaged in their meeting. Another aide compared the National Security Advisor to a clown. McChrystal himself stated that he felt the U.S. Ambassador to Kabul betrayed him. Moreover, McChrystal made disparaging comments towards the Vice President and the State Department’s liaison.
In a final point of many others, McChrystal requested a 40,000-troop surge in Afghanistan stating that without those extra forces, it would result in a strategic failure. While his request was not inappropriate by itself, it was leaked to the press forcing Obama’s hand. In what should have been private recommendation to the President was a public attempt to force a Presidential decision.
These items in totality led to President Obama summoning McChrystal to the White House and a pressured resignation. This entire incident falls under not having a hint of impropriety about us. We all have thoughts in our heads that should never come out. McChrystal learned this the hard way.
Resilient to Life’s Attacks
Stanley McChrystal had an exceptional career as a warrior scholar, a trait we should strive to achieve in operational and academic success. However, we can have all the success in the world, but one incident can cause significant chaos. In this case, it was allowing an inner monologue to be overheard by others. Our words can have significant effects, and it’s so important to monitor our thoughts in public.
I try hard, and fail often, to keep my negative thoughts inside my head. What can seem like healthy venting to others can often be damaging comments to those we truly want to succeed. When in charge, we have the responsibility to lift others up in public and chastise in private. With social media, cameras, thin walls, email forwards, and a host of other issues, our words travel faster than ever before. It’s important we control them in every and all circumstances.
This was not the end of the story for Stanley McChrystal. He took responsibility for his actions and continued his career out of the military. He taught at Yale University, joined numerous boards, advocated for national service, wrote four books, is a prolific public speaker, and continues to serve in other capacities.
McChrystal showed resiliency through this attack and came out on the others side in a positive position. I imagine he learned a great lesson about the impact seemingly private words can have in public. This lesson is critical for all of us to keep our words in check.
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This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:
Boots: Put Boots on the Ground
Regimentals: Place Service over Self
Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks
Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy
+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety
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