History will treat him ambivalently given his role in two very expensive (human and financial) wars, but as he retires from the Army, Joe Klein at Time describes his big innovation.
"the general's most important legacy may lie in the role he has played in transforming the Army from a blunt instrument, designed to fight tank battles on the plains of Europe, into a "learning institution" that trains its troops for the flexibility and creativity necessary to fight guerrilla wars in the information age."
"Petraeus told me about visiting the artillery school at Fort Sill, Okla., early in his tenure. "They had this remarkable simulator there," he said, describing a video-game-like device that enabled artillery officers to respond to the sort of threats they might face in Iraq. They showed Petraeus a scenario in which American troops were trapped in a building by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades from several armed pickup trucks. In the scenario, the U.S. captain called in mortar fire, which destroyed the vehicles. "I said, 'Wait a minute. We don't shoot mortars in Baghdad. They're too inaccurate. By using this scenario, you're putting our troops at terrible risk in the field.'" After his visit, the general told me, they shut down the school, quickly retooled the course and reopened with a curriculum that reflected the realities of war in Iraq."
Time (subscription required)
Comments