[ARCHIVED THREAD] - General Officers in combat.... (Page 1 of 5)
Posted: 10/13/2012 2:05:46 PM EDT
| I'm watching The Longest Day....Robert Mitchum is playing a one star General and participating in the D-Day invasion. In recent times, do Generals still see boots on the ground combat? |
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Modern? No. God no.
Occasionally they'll be near incoming indirect or such, but they're not generally actively involved in planned combat. However, one example of a fighting General was Brigadier General James M. Gavin of the 82nd Airborne Division, in World War Two. He jumped in with his men on D-Day, carrying an M1 Garand rifle. 
Later, he would be promoted to Major General and command the entire Division, and jumped with them into Market Garden. |
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Modern? No. God no. Occasionally they'll be near incoming indirect or such, but they're not actively involved in planned combat. However, one example of a fighting General was Brigadier General James M. Gavin of the 82nd Airborne Division, in World War Two. He jumped in with his men on D-Day, carrying an M1 Garand rifle. Looks way too young to be a General......guess they were all too young |
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No. There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. The last time a US General was captured by the enemy was in Korea. Edit: This does not apply to aviators. Bullshit. Post em. Petraeus did battlefield circulation in AFG after he took over from shithead. Two INF companies, one Cav Trp, Sof guys on QRF, two MQ-9's, pair of apaches, pair of kiowas. All fucking hanging out in a village for a kle. It was a fucking shit show. I took an epic 12 hour nap and waited for him to leave. |
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However, one example of a fighting General was Brigadier General James M. Gavin of the 82nd Airborne Division, in World War Two. He jumped in with his men on D-Day, carrying an M1 Garand rifle. http://warandgame.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/gfngfhghf.jpg Later, he would be promoted to Major General and command the entire Division, and jumped with them into Market Garden. Jumpin' Jim. 
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I just did a quick search...
Who was the last American General to be killed in combat or to die of wounds as the result of enemy fire? Gen Keith Ware in Viet Nam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_L._Ware |
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I just did a quick search... Who was the last American General to be killed in combat or to die of wounds as the result of enemy fire? Gen Keith Ware in Viet Nam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_L._Ware 2LT to LTC in 2 years...... |
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It is a bad idea for General Officers to enter the battle field. That is what Colonels for. Generals would require a disproportional commitment of assets for their protection. One would hope that by the time one becomes a General, they have already served their country on the battle field. With all of the battle field situation awareness and surveillance equipment it would be a mistake for a General to enter the battle field.
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Bullshit. Post em. Petraeus did battlefield circulation in AFG after he took over from shithead. Two INF companies, one Cav Trp, Sof guys on QRF, two MQ-9's, pair of apaches, pair of kiowas. All fucking hanging out in a village for a kle. It was a fucking shit show. I took an epic 12 hour nap and waited for him to leave. Secured area in a combat zone does not equal battle zone. Strange that you were napping what with all that fighting going on, eh? |
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Bullshit. Cite. Sure thing. You provide me with a copy of all present Army regs and I will find it for you. So you made it up. Got it, and that's what I figured. I have personally witnessed Flag Officers in the field with their team in a combat zone. |
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No. There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. The last time a US General was captured by the enemy was in Korea. Edit: This does not apply to aviators. Bullshit. Cite. Quoted:
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Bullshit. Cite. Sure thing. You provide me with a copy of all present Army regs and I will find it for you. You cite an urban myth Army regulation that we know doesn't exist, but want others who disgree with you to run it down for you? 
I wonder how that reg defines "battle zone", anyway... |
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Bullshit. Post em. Petraeus did battlefield circulation in AFG after he took over from shithead. Two INF companies, one Cav Trp, Sof guys on QRF, two MQ-9's, pair of apaches, pair of kiowas. All fucking hanging out in a village for a kle. It was a fucking shit show. I took an epic 12 hour nap and waited for him to leave. Secured area in a combat zone does not equal battle zone. Strange that you were napping what with all that fighting going on, eh? Secured area? You must have spent alot of time in Afghanistan. You bet your fucking ass I can sleep when every single peice of CAS in a province is on standby for one village, and ALL district ops were suspended to support His mission. Toc-roach 4 lyfe Oh, and I don't have a list of every army reg ever, but I've got the ability to find the applicable ones.....like when I'm quoting them to people. If you are .mil, you must be one of those guys who makes up regs to win arguments. |
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Bullshit. Post em. Petraeus did battlefield circulation in AFG after he took over from shithead. Two INF companies, one Cav Trp, Sof guys on QRF, two MQ-9's, pair of apaches, pair of kiowas. All fucking hanging out in a village for a kle. It was a fucking shit show. I took an epic 12 hour nap and waited for him to leave. Secured area in a combat zone does not equal battle zone. Strange that you were napping what with all that fighting going on, eh? Secured area? You must have spent alot of time in Afghanistan. You bet your fucking ass I can sleep when every single peice of CAS in a province is on standby for one village, and ALL district ops were suspended to support His mission. Toc-roach 4 lyfe Oh, and I don't have a list of every army reg ever, but I've got the ability to find the applicable ones.....like when I'm quoting them to people. If you are .mil, you must be one of those guys who makes up regs to win arguments. We call them sea lawyers in the Navy. There's little I enjoy more than demolishing a sea lawyer, especially at a DRB. |
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Teddy Roosevelt Jr Awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions on D-Day; BG Norman Cota, who landed in the second wave on Omaha was awarded a DSO and DSC. Of course Airborne general officers jumped in throughout the war, and both Leslie Mcnair and Simon Buckner, both LTGs at the time, were killed in action during the fighting in Normandy and Okinawa, respectively. Outside of Desert Storm, since Korea most US actions have been pretty decentralized and small-scale, even a COL is not a common sight on the battlefield when you're fighting mostly squad and platoon-level actions. I'm sure at least some of the generals in Desert Storm earned their combat pay though. I don't think I saw a general officer at all in Iraq, but while I was a fobbit in Afghanistan I was practically tripping over them. |
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Modern? No. God no. Occasionally they'll be near incoming indirect or such, but they're not actively involved in planned combat. However, one example of a fighting General was Brigadier General James M. Gavin of the 82nd Airborne Division, in World War Two. He jumped in with his men on D-Day, carrying an M1 Garand rifle. Looks way too young to be a General......guess they were all too young He was 37 years old when that picture was taken. But yes, he was a very young General Officer. He was a Major at the outbreak of WWII. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I just did a quick search... Who was the last American General to be killed in combat or to die of wounds as the result of enemy fire? Gen Keith Ware in Viet Nam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_L._Ware 2LT to LTC in 2 years...... I'm glad to see that promotion through attrition is not a new thing. |
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Bullshit. Cite. Sure thing. You provide me with a copy of all present Army regs and I will find it for you. Bullshit!!! Here you go: http://www.apd.army.mil/AdminPubs/BrowseRegulations.asp Here are all the Army Regs find which one says GOs can not be in "battle zones" (a term I NEVER heard during four combat deployments) |
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Quoted: Quoted: No. There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. The last time a US General was captured by the enemy was in Korea. Edit: This does not apply to aviators. Bullshit. Cite. Dunno about a Cite. But I know for a fact, that General Mattis got to be on a two way range in Fallujah a number of times. |
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There are plenty of examples of GO's hitting the ground in Iraq and afghanistan.
Dan Bolger used to go troll for contact with his PSD. He also had a tendency to roll up onto a PLT conducting operations and roll with them for the day. He carried a carbine and would tell the very suprised LT that he was along to be a Rifleman and to drive on. The 3ID commander during OIF got into the fight more than a few times. Many Marine Corps Flag Officers were even more aggressive. Yes, often when a GO/FO goes somewhere they are rolling heavy and into somewhat secure areas, but they still get out there. |
Everybody saying Generals don't get shot at can suck every dick on planet earth. General Volesky got in a firefight on one of my OPs. I was right next to him. Of course it might have had something to do with him wanting to land his helicopter on a 2 squad OP in Taliban territory in broad daylight but that's neither here nor there. 
For what it's worth, he was cool as shit and very reasonable. |
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No. There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. The last time a US General was captured by the enemy was in Korea. Edit: This does not apply to aviators. Bullshit. Cite. Dunno about a Cite. But I know for a fact, that General Mattis got to be on a two way range in Fallujah a number of times. friend of mine was on his personal staff. he went looking for them |
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No. There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. The last time a US General was captured by the enemy was in Korea. Edit: This does not apply to aviators. Bullshit. Cite. Dunno about a Cite. But I know for a fact, that General Mattis got to be on a two way range in Fallujah a number of times. friend of mine was on his personal staff. he went looking for them Don't fuck with a General with a rifle in his hands.
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Quoted: Everybody saying Generals don't get shot at can suck every dick on planet earth. General Volesky got in a firefight on one of my OPs. I was right next to him. Of course it might have had something to do with him wanting to land his helicopter on a 2 squad OP in Taliban territory in broad daylight but that's neither here nor there. For what it's worth, he was cool as shit and very reasonable. My CG was getting into firefights when he was 3rd ID's XO in 2003. Dude is a 6'6" plus or so giant. Intimidating as hell. |
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General Ware was one of the finest officers I served under, he would always worry about the men under him and did everything he could to make sure they got what they needed. The day he was shot down he was ahead of the columns calling in arty. We were notified about the shoot down and headed towards the crash site, we were on the right flank, B company was in the center and C company was on the left, we were hit with massive small arms fire and suffered 3 KIA and 6 WIA, B company reached the site first and recovered the bodies.
Loch Nihn was a huge operation fire fights day and night, ambushes, a ground attack on the special forces camp, and many casualties. 3 days later I was pulled from the field and sent to MACV because of the NCO losses they were having, and spent my last 3 months in country teaching ARVN rangers how to ambush. |
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Bullshit. Cite. Sure thing. You provide me with a copy of all present Army regs and I will find it for you. here you go |
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Bullshit. Post em. Petraeus did battlefield circulation in AFG after he took over from shithead. Two INF companies, one Cav Trp, Sof guys on QRF, two MQ-9's, pair of apaches, pair of kiowas. All fucking hanging out in a village for a kle. It was a fucking shit show. I took an epic 12 hour nap and waited for him to leave. Secured area in a combat zone does not equal battle zone. Strange that you were napping what with all that fighting going on, eh? Secured area? You must have spent alot of time in Afghanistan. You bet your fucking ass I can sleep when every single peice of CAS in a province is on standby for one village, and ALL district ops were suspended to support His mission. Toc-roach 4 lyfe Oh, and I don't have a list of every army reg ever, but I've got the ability to find the applicable ones.....like when I'm quoting them to people. If you are .mil, you must be one of those guys who makes up regs to win arguments. We call them sea lawyers in the Navy. There's little I enjoy more than demolishing a sea lawyer, especially at a DRB. Barracks lawyers in the Army |
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Quoted: Quoted: I'm glad to see that promotion through attrition is not a new thing. Never said it was. Thats a pretty fast pace though, I'm sure you'll admit That is beyond fast. When I was in, we got promoted because a lot of guys got broken. In WWII, it was because they were dying. We got the better end of that deal, definitely. |
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No. There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. The last time a US General was captured by the enemy was in Korea. Edit: This does not apply to aviators. This might be the single dumbest thing I've ever heard. ETA: When O-6s are selected for GO/Flag, they get a molar removed and a hollowed-out tooth installed that contains a cyanide capsule. That way they can go forward without fear of being captured. |
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Gen Odierno coming to say hi to us in Doura Market circa Mar 2007 http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu160/robplumm/Iraq%20-%20Sept%2007/Doura026.jpg [sarcasm] Bullshit. Didn't happen. Didn't you see where AnarchyRd said: There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones.
Seriously, you want us to believe your picture over some anonymous poster that can't even cite a reg? [/sarcasm] |
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Quoted: Quoted: Gen Odierno coming to say hi to us in Doura Market circa Mar 2007 http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu160/robplumm/Iraq%20-%20Sept%2007/Doura026.jpg [sarcasm] Bullshit. Didn't happen. Didn't you see where AnarchyRd said: There are specific regs against O-7 and above being in battle zones. Seriously, you want us to believe your picture over some anonymous poster that can't even cite a reg? [/sarcasm] Yup...big O was obviously honey badger before honey badger...he didn't give a shit.  ETA: He did have a nice contingent with him... |