Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:12 | Longtime Ranger Commander General Stanley McChrystal recalls the mentors from his long career, chiefly his first commander in the Ranger Battalion and the NCO's who taught him his job.
Keywords : Stanley McChrystal Ranger John Vines 3rd Ranger Battalion Joe Madison Craig Nixon Mike Hall
General Stanley McChrystal grew up in a military family, where service was part of the culture. At West Point, he spent a summer with a Ranger company, which made him keen on becoming a Ranger. Eventually he commanded a Ranger battalion, where he instituted "The Big 4," four training principles which were essential.
According to General Stanley McChrystal, the establishment of the modern Army Rangers during the post-Vietnam period helped build a new Army from the center out. As they became a premier light infantry unit, the growing terror threat pulled them into the area of special operations, where they must balance those two responsibilities.
To General Stanley McChrystal, the Ranger practice of sending officers and NCO's to other units throughout the Army was a huge success. There was a nagging problem with Special Operations units, however. They didn't want the Rangers to ever leave!
It's hard to say what Ranger School does to someone. It's definitely a journey of self-discovery. General Stanley McChrystal should know. He took a particular interest in the school when he commanded the Ranger Regiment.
When General Stanley McChrystal took command of the Joint Special Operations Command, he countered the old notion that Rangers were inflexible. In every assignment outside the Ranger Regiment, he tried to spread the Ranger philosophy of discipline and standards.
General Stanley McChrystal felt no need to make a drastic change in his lifestyle and habits when he left the military. He just took his Ranger sensibilities into the marketplace where those values lead to success.
The Ranger Creed is more than a mindless mantra to General Stanley McChrystal. It is a solemn promise to every other Ranger.
In a time when only thirty percent of young people qualify to enlist in the armed forces, General Stanley McChrystal has become part of the Service Year Alliance, a group which promotes a paid year of national service.
Task Force 714 was a Joint Special Operations Command organization tasked with finding high value targets during Operation Iraqi Freedom. First and foremost was Saddam Hussein and his inner circle. General Stanley McChrystal recalls a more routine mission which centered around some phone calls from the enemy.
