General David Patraeus

General David Patraeus

Robert Karban

BA/150

July 20, 2013

Pattie Williams

General David Patraeus

This research paper will introduce Army Veteran General David Patraeus’s leadership triumphs and tribulations from the beginning to the end of his successful military career. This paper will also describe what his leadership views are, how they developed throughout the years, what his motivational theories are, and what he has done to gain a strong reputation as one of the greatest military leaders.

Introduction / Background Information

David Patraeus’s career began at the United States Military Academy (West Point) where he was commissioned in the infantry after graduating as “distinguished cadet” in 1974 (Department of Defense). Following his graduation he went to Ranger School, which is an intense combat leadership course and one of the most demanding schools in the world. After he graduated with winning top honors, he went on to several assignments in leadership positions such as in an airborne unit, a mechanized unit, and Air Assault Infantry units in Europe (Patraeus biography, 2012). His high achievements in the required leadership courses and his presence in prestigious units led him to move up through the military ranks and on to the United States Army Command and General Staff College, which is a graduate school for officers. This school is a 10 month long school for educating and developing leaders into the full spectrum of instruction on advanced leadership skills, leadership philosophy, military planning and decision making processes (Patraeus biography, 2012). He graduated and won the General George C. Marshall Award for being the top leader in his class. He went on to earn his masters degree and his doctoral. He was then asked to spend his next three years as a professor at the West Point Academy, which he did in an exemplary manner and from there he continued to rise to the top by being recognized by Washington after he took command in Iraq in 2003 (Biography Channel, 2013). He was sent back to Iraq in 2007 to implement his new counter-insurgency ideas. He was sent as Commanding General of Multi-National Forces in Iraq, which indicates how well respected and how effective he was as a leader. Very few generals ever get the opportunity to command in a combat environment, which only enforces the idea that he was an exceptional person and a leader. After his deployment he was diagnosed with cancer and won that battle and less than a year later he was selected to command U.S. Forces in Afghanistan (Biography Channel, 2013).

Organizational