3rd ACR Loses Its Famous Chief
McMaster, who used cultural and war strategy in Iraq, heads to think tank
By Tom Roeder, The Gazette
The most famous commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment since World War II hero George S. Patton will hand over the reins of the unit in a ceremony today at Fort Carson.
Col. H.R. McMaster, described in some circles as the Bush administration’s poster boy for the Iraq war, has led the regiment since 2004, earning presidential praise for tactics that drove insurgents from the city of Tal Afar.
His troops first surrounded the city and then ordered a mass evacuation, assuming that only the enemy would defy the order. Then the troops launched a house-tohouse sweep to root out insurgents.
The tactics in Tal Afar countered a problem that plagued American commanders in Iraq — insurgents who would evade capture by fleeing when the Army showed up. McMaster’s approach has been adopted by the Army and Marines in sectors of Baghdad and Ramadi.
President Bush praised McMaster’s success in Tal Afar...
McMaster’s next assignment is a think-tank job at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, where he’s charged with devising better tactics to battle terrorism...
Many of the 5,200 soldiers who served under McMaster in the 3rd ACR worship him as a leader whose sheer intelligence saved lives in Iraq.
Capt. Russ Nowels said McMaster was so well-studied in Arabic language, history and culture that he gained instant respect from the Iraqis he encountered...
McMaster, a 1984 graduate of West Point who holds a doctorate in military history, ordered his officers to complete an extensive reading list on the Middle East before their Iraq deployment and emphasized cultural training for his troops.
Nowels said the training ordered by McMaster better prepared soldiers for Iraq, where they are part-time warriors and part-time peacekeepers...
Between the two Iraq wars, McMaster stayed in the spotlight as a critic of American leadership during the Vietnam War.
His 1997 book, “Dereliction of Duty,” which outlined the failures of leadership that led to defeat in Vietnam, became a Pentagon must-read. Its criticism of military leaders who refused to speak out against disastrous policies set by the Johnson administration has emboldened military critics of the Iraq war, who have cited McMaster’s work as a reason generals should stand up to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
McMaster has also penned scholarly papers on the military’s modernization plans. He has labeled as nonsensical the military’s assumption of the possibility of total knowledge on future battlefields through technology...
McMaster is especially critical of the Air Force and its high-technology satellite and aircraft purchases.
“The Air Force has become a force that is marketing flawed ideas that harm our defense,” he said.
3rd ACR Loses Its Famous Chief
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