Colin Powell

Colin Powell
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This article is about the American politician. For the English football (soccer) player, see Colin Powell (footballer).
General
Colin Luther Powell



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65th United States Secretary of State
In office
January 20, 2001 – January 26, 2005
President George W. Bush
Deputy Richard Armitage
Preceded by Madeleine Albright
Succeeded by Condoleezza Rice

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12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
In office
October 1, 1989 – September 30, 1993
President George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Deputy Robert T. Herres (1989)
David E. Jeremiah (1989-1993)
Preceded by William J. Crowe
Succeeded by David E. Jeremiah

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16th National Security Advisor
In office
November 23, 1987 – January 20, 1989
President Ronald Reagan
Deputy John Negroponte
Preceded by Frank Carlucci
Succeeded by Brent Scowcroft

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Born April 5, 1937 (1937-04-05) (age 72)
New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Alma Vivian Johnson Powell
Alma mater City College of New York (B.S.)
George Washington University (M.B.A.)
Profession Soldier
Statesman
Religion Episcopalian
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1958-1993
Rank General
Unit 3rd Armored Division
23rd Infantry Division
Commands V Corps
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
U.S. Army Forces Command
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Invasion of Panama
Gulf War
Awards Defense DSM (4)
Army DSM (2)
Defense Superior Service Medal

Legion of Merit (2)
Soldier's Medal
Bronze Star
Purple Heart


Colin Luther Powell (born April 5, 1937) is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-2005), serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position.[1][2][3][4] During his military career, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987–1989), as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War. He was the first, and so far the only, African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Military career
2.1 Dates of ranks
2.2 Awards and decorations
2.2.1 Badges
2.2.2 Military medals and ribbons
2.2.3 Foreign decorations
3 National Security Advisor
4 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
5 Potential candidate
6 Secretary of State
7 Life after diplomatic service
8 Political views
8.1 View of the U.S. war in Iraq
8.2 Role in presidential election of 2008
9 Personal life
10 Civilian awards and honors
11 See also
12 References
13 Further reading
14 Video
15 External links


Early life
Colin Luther Powell was born on April 5, 1937[5] in Harlem, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, to Jamaican immigrant parents Luther Theophilus Powell and Maud Arial McKoy and was raised in the South Bronx. He also has Scottish and Irish ancestry.[6][7] Powell attended Morris High School, a former public school in the Bronx, from which he graduated in 1954. While at school, he worked at a local baby furniture store where he picked up Yiddish from the shopkeepers and some of the customers.[8] He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the City College of New York in 1958, attaining a C average, according to his 2006 graduation address at Marymount University. He later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from The George Washington University, after his second tour in Vietnam in 1971.

Despite his parents' pronunciation of his name as /'kɑlɪn/, Powell has pronounced his name /'koʊlɪn/ since childhood, after the heroic World War II flyer Colin P. Kelly Jr.[9] Public officials and radio and television reporters have used Powell's preferred pronunciation.

Military career
Powell joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at City College and later described it as one of the happiest experiences of his life; discovering something he loved and could do well, he felt he had "found himself." Cadet Powell joined the Pershing Rifles, the ROTC fraternal organization and drill team begun by General John Pershing. Even after he had become a General, Powell kept on his desk a pen set he had won for a drill team competition. Graduating from City College, he received a commission as an Army second lieutenant.[10] He was a professional soldier for 35 years, holding a variety of command and staff positions and rising to the rank of General.[11]

Powell was a captain during the Vietnam War, serving as a South Vietnamese Army adviser from 1962 to 1963. While on patrol in a Viet Cong-held area, he was wounded by stepping on a punji stake.[12] He returned to Vietnam as a major in 1968, serving in the Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division), then as assistant chief of staff of operations for the Americal Division. He was charged with investigating a detailed letter by Tom Glen (a soldier from the 11th Light Infantry Brigade), which backed up rumored allegations of the My Lai Massacre. Powell wrote: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's assessment would be described as whitewashing the news of the massacre, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public. In May 2004 Powell said to Larry King, "I mean, I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored." [13]

Powell served a White House fellowship, a highly selective and prestigious position, under President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1973.

In his autobiography, My American Journey, Powell named several officers he served under that inspired and mentored him. As a lieutenant colonel serving in South Korea, Powell was very close to General Henry "Gunfighter" Emerson. Powell said he regarded Emerson as one of the most caring officers he ever met. Emerson was reputedly eccentric; he insisted his troops train only at night and made them repeatedly watch the television film Brian's Song to promote racial harmony. Powell always professed, however, that what set Emerson apart, was his great love of his soldiers and concern for their welfare.

In the early 1980s, Powell served at Fort Carson, Colorado. There, he had a major clash with General John Hudachek, his commander, who said in an efficiency evaluation that Powell was a poor leader who should not be promoted. Powell's rising military career was unhindered by Hudachek's evaluation report. After he left Fort Carson, Powell became senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, whom he assisted during the 1983 invasion of Grenada and the 1986 airstrike on Libya.

In 1986, he took over the command of V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany, from Robert Lewis "Sam" Wetzel. Following the Iran Contra scandal, Powell became Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989. In 1989, Powell was promoted to General and briefly served as the Commander in Chief, Forces Command headquartered at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Later that year, Reagan selected him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dates of ranks
Second Lieutenant: June 9, 1958
First Lieutenant: December 30, 1959
Captain: June 2, 1962
Major: May 24, 1966
Lieutenant Colonel: July 9, 1970
Colonel: February 1, 1976