For John, BLUF: In life one sometimes meets and works with a person who is impressive in his actions and contributes. General Meigs was such a person. Nothing to see here; just move along.
From The Stars and Stripes, by Reporter John Vandiver, 9 July 2021.
Here is the lede plus one:
Retired Gen. Montgomery Meigs, a combat veteran who commanded the Army in Europe for four years and hailed from a storied line of military officers, died Tuesday in Texas. He was 76.Back when I knew him, as Monty, he was an Army Colonel Section Chief in the Joint Staff (J-5) Strategy Division. In that position he was not just innovative, buyt creative. It was his work that changed the US Military Current Strategy to anticipate an Iraqi Attack on the critical oil facilities of the Arabian Peninsula. Soon after the next Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan President Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait. By that time Monty had moved on to be Commander of an Armored Brigade..Meigs led U.S. Army Europe from 1998 to 2002, overseeing about 60,000 soldiers on the Continent. He also commanded NATO's peacekeeping force in Bosnia, when thousands of U.S. soldiers fanned out across the Balkans.
I remember Colonel Meigs, a fine officer who adapted and created and worked well with people, above him, below him and as his peers.
He had the academic training to learn from the past, having a History PhD, which resulted in a book on the World War II Battle of the Atlantic, Slide Rules and Submrines. My youngest Son, Randy, played a very small part, helping to retrieve the manuscript off of a computer hard drive that had crashed.
Farewell friend and patriot.
Regards — Cliff
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