It is rarely a good idea to get ahead of an official investigation. However, before the mainstream press destroys the reputation of one of America’s best and most effective generals, someone should speak up in his defense, particularly as the officers who work with him night and day are probably forbidden to do so until the investigation ordered by General Petraeus is complete.
Lieut. Gen. William Caldwell, despite his tremendous performance in Iraq and Afghanistan, is not a household name. He is one of the quiet warriors this country is counting on to win its current war. As one very senior general told me, “The Army has a few hundred generals, but less than 50 of them are trusted for assignments where the shooting is.” Everyone who knows Caldwell places him high on that short list.
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If he is known to most Americans at all, it is for his achievements in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. At the time, Caldwell commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, which provided the nation’s first effective response to the disaster. Caldwell gathered thousands of paratroopers, most of them exhausted from recently completed combat tours in Iraq, and placed them on the streets of New Orleans only 13 hours after he received the order to do so. Before the 82nd left New Orleans, it had fed and sheltered thousands, provided medical aid to 2,000 more, and cleaned up over 200 city blocks. Lieut. Gen. Russel Honoré (“Don’t get stuck on stupid”) garnered the headlines, but Caldwell and his men did the work.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have met General Caldwell on two occasions, although I doubt he remembers me. Both times, I walked away thinking, “That was one smart sonofa . . . ” — and I hardly ever walk away from a conversation thinking such things.
That is why, when I heard the first reports that Caldwell may have ordered an Information Operations (IO) campaign aimed at visiting U.S. senators, I was dumbfounded. After all, Caldwell’s last assignment in Iraq was as director of strategic effects. That meant that everyone involved in IO, PSYOPS, and Public Affairs worked for him in one way or another. There is no doubt that he knew that aiming an IO operation at any American audience or citizen is illegal under the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. As I say, I was dumbfounded. How could someone as smart and savvy as Caldwell do something as stupid as to order the use of IO against visiting senators?
Short answer: He didn’t.
The story first surfaced when Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings — looking for fresh blood after getting Gen. Stanley McChrystal fired from command in Afghanistan — published a story in Rolling Stone claiming that Caldwell ordered an IO cell, led by Lieut. Col. Michael Holmes, to conduct a campaign against visiting VIPs, including Sens. Carl Levin, Joe Lieberman, and John McCain. Remarkably, according to Holmes, Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also targeted — as if no one in the sprawling command would have mentioned that to the chairman at some point.
According to Hastings’s article, Holmes’s IO team was tasked with preparing in-depth briefings on the visiting senators so as to “refine the general’s message,” “get these guys to give us more people,” and help tell Caldwell “how to plant ideas inside their heads.” Now, another way to phrase that would be: “Tell me how I can best let these guys know I need more troops, so they don’t forget it when they get home.” Doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?
Good coverage of the facts and circumstances. Sure, there could be a smoking gun, but this cannot be as serious as the sensation fueling the narrative.
Of course, there are also technicalities and errors in testimony to negotiate. If the brass find it uncomfortable enough, he could be gone regardless of how indispensable he is. The focus of the administration is more on image and leaving after presenting the image of trying.
While I can't comment on what LTG Caldwell did in Afghanistan I believe it is true. Rather than selfless service, what I saw of LTG Caldwell at Fort Leavenworth is an individual consumed with ambition. He reorganized the Combined Arms Center inventing a new position, the Deputy Commanding General, so that he would not have to do the common tasks that previous Combined Arms Center commanding generals had done. This cost the American taxpayer an additional $180,000+ a year for a new senior executive service (SES) position salary alone. The aids and secretary to support the SES run the cost up another $250,000+ each year.
From my low vantage point he seemed to only concentrate on doing things that he thought would get him promoted to 4-stars. For example in his two years at Fort Leavenworth he could never be bothered to visit the building in which the organization to which I am assigned is housed. My director always had to go to his headquarters building. This is not the battlefield circulation called for the Army's leadership and mission command field manuals. His naked ambition is why I have writen to both my US senators asking that they put a hold any promotion for LTG Caldwell. However, since LTG Caldwell had the Trophy Lounge in the Lewis and Clark Building renamed for Senator Pat Roberts in violation of regulations I don't expect any support from my senators.
That said it doesn't mean that the LTC in question is not a low piece of work.
1477230- If you don't mind can I ask what rank you are? I don't want to belittle your comments, because obviously you seem to think LTG Caldwell was not a good leader.
The reason I ask your rank is because it seems to me that you may be Jr Enlisted or a Jr Officer, and there is nothing wrong with that. My point is that your point of view seems to come from someone who has not had much experience in the military, and sees things from a level that may not have the time in service required to see the "Big Picture"
Yes it would be nice if the Commanding General could vist your organization once in a while. They wish they could do it to, but more often than not, their lives revolve around administrivia, especially in an assignment such as the one you describe. You boss, the O-6 SHOULD be the one going to see the General, not the other way around. We call that RHIP (Rank Has Its Privledges) Gen Caldwell had to attend to the senior officers he worked for when he was lower ranking, that's just he way it works.
As for his reorganization, all I see is you saying how much a new position cost. Did you bother to do any research on wether or not money was saved in this effort? Very rarely does the DoD allow something like that to happen, without first proving that there are cost savings in a reorg.
Once again, not wanting to diminish what you see as a wrong, but trying to inform you that there is oftern a Bigger Picture.
I worked with Gen Caldwell, getting the 82nd Airborne into New Orleans. I have personally briefed him, and found him to be and outstanding senior officer. I was floored when I read the charges this LTC was bringing against the General in the Court of Public Opinion. Having spoke with others that know the General very well, and know the details of this LTC's complaints, and what was written in this article shows. This was a disgruntled LTC who feels he was wronged, even though he was found guilty of all the offenses brought against him, and he is trying to get even. Pretty disgusting, but given the history of this individual, not surprising.
The anarchistic Left (represented by Rolling Stone in this case) is delighted to exploit the petty issues of malcontents.
How such an article could have any impact on decision making is a reflection of standard bureaucratic make work under the pretense of careful enforcement.
As to 1477230; ambition is only a concern when manifested by self-interested petty individuals. Supporting the ambitions of the capable and competent becomes increasingly difficult when the insipid insist on interfering.
It is difficult to form an opinion of the man because as happens so often, many times an effective leader can be one nasty piece of work otherwise.
It is indeed rare that a person is both decent and effective. One simply doesn't seem to be conducive to the other.
Exceptions exist, but again are quite rare.
Fair and informative article. As an attorney who specializes in military justice matters, I would add that the LTG needs to carefully consider the political dimension of the investigation in determining his level of participation and cooperation with the investigating officer. In the arena of military justice, potential charges go well beyond the Smith-Mundt Act, and can include nebulous charges of dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer, etc. Even if the underlying allegations are baseless, the subject of any inquiry needs competent legal advice early in the process. The understandable temptation for a senior officer in Gen Caldwell's position will be to cooperate fully and make detailed statements. That would be a mistake.
Outstanding article from Jim Lacey.
I'm an Army lieutenant colonel with over 20 years of active service, and in my last job with NATO I sat in weekly video teleconferences in which LTG Caldwell or someone from his command briefed; he also attended a counter-insurgency forum that my command hosted, so I've had a lot of opportunity to see him in action. The man knows his job cold, and he is also extremely professional.
That Caldwell would sanction any operation, covert or otherwise, to influence civilian US leadership (supportive civilian US leadership at that!) is so far out of the ballpark it's almost not worth addressing. If not for the fact that a disgruntled and poorly performing officer made foundless accusations to a journalist with a history of twisting facts to make them fit his low opinion of the US Armed Forces, this story would be a non-story.
Holmes is an absolute embarrassment as a commissioned officer, and it's a stretch to consider Hastings a journalist - propagandist is a more fitting description. Trust me folks, I've been around the Army a long time, and I can count on one hand minus a few fingers how many legitimate "whistle blowing" cases I've seen over the years. The majority of the time, the "whistle blower" turns out to be in trouble for something else and has decided to muddy the water by making accusations (and in my experience, most of the time these accusations have turned out to be completely false and self-serving...) If Holmes was carrying on an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and consuming alcohol in the theater of operations, he has betrayed the commissioned officer corps and his credibility is less than zero. My suggestion: send his sorry butt back to Kabul, and ask Karzai to try him for fornication and alcohol consumption in contravention to Sharia Law...
Funny -- the minute I heard about this story the image of a psyops hypnotist dangling a swinging watch in front of a senator shot through my head, whereupon I concluded, "This is ridiculous. I'll bet the general tasked some information geeks to put together a briefing package."
Wow....everyone has an opinion. But take it from someone who knows...LTG Caldwell loves this country, loves the Army and loves every soldier in it. To a fault at times.
There is not one person who has written any expletives or criticisms of him who could ever remotely begin to do the job he is doing today, or the jobs he has done for the last 35 years. They wouldn't have the fortitude, commitment, energy or intellect to do them.
Any military personnae who would speak to a Rolling Stone correspondent after McChrystal is definitionally too stupid to carry firearms. Bigger issue-the point of the Afghan mission is now...help me here...keeping a corrupt sharia opium cartel in power, perhaps.
It does seem curious that the General's command couldn't find something better for the "IO" team to do considering the primary purpose of Special Operations Forces such as MISO is to "capacity build" host nation forces and that's precisely what the General is there to do.
Just one error I see: You say "For over five years the North Vietnamese used torture and every psychological trick in the book to break McCain. They failed."
My understanding is that at one point they did break McCain, and he admitted it. Or am I wrong?
mjdifabio, you're correct on the purpose of the MISO guys there in theater. However, if I was LTG Caldwell and a lousy officer like Holmes was assigned to my MISO team, I would've put him on admin-duties, too - when you're a commander down-range you have to play the hand that's dealt to you, but you don't always have to play the cards where they were originally intended...
