TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/082189/08218900.036

Text File | 1992-09-23 | 3.6 KB | 75 lines

                                                                                NATION, Page 24

A "Complete Soldier" Makes It


This time Colin Powell got the job he always wanted


    General Colin L. Powell has had a tough time staying out of
Washington. Since he was first spotted as a bright young comer
while a White House Fellow in 1972, Powell has shuttled in and
out of Pentagon and civilian desk jobs. No sooner had he finally
won command of the prestigious V Corps in West Germany in 1986
than Washington beckoned again, asking him to trade his coveted
flag post for duty as Deputy National Security Adviser.

    It took a personal appeal from Commander in Chief Ronald
Reagan to get Powell to take the NSC job. Powell requested and
received permission to retain his Army commission so he could
stay on the career track he hoped would lead to the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. As Reagan's term drew to its close, Powell, by then
head of the NSC, anxiously scotched rumors that Bush would ask
him to stay on. He gratefully accepted the U.S. Forces Command
in Fort McPherson, Ga.

    Last week Powell, 52, happily agreed to return to
Washington once more, his fears of being sidetracked dispelled
for good. George Bush, calling Powell a "complete soldier,"
jumped him over dozens of more senior candidates and nominated
him to replace retiring Navy Admiral William Crowe as JCS
Chairman.

    In the end, it was Powell's West Wing experience that took
him over the top. Aided by his teddy-bear good looks, Powell
projected a relaxed sociability among Reagan-Bush Republicans
as effectively as he has done through his 31 years of Army
service. But he was also able to slip seamlessly into a cool,
no-nonsense demeanor when needed. Subordinates learn not to
waste words in meetings he chairs. "Powell has many of the
qualities that Bush admires," said a White House aide. "He's a
team player, highly capable but modest. And he knows how
Government works from the inside."

    When he takes the Joint Chiefs job, Powell will need all
these skills and more. The Pentagon budget, flat since 1986, is
likely to undergo cuts that threaten not only major weapons
programs but also the delicate interservice balance that a JCS
Chairman must maintain.

    The son of immigrant Jamaicans, Powell won his commission
after graduating from City University of New York. He served two
tours in Viet Nam, where he won a Bronze Star for valor and a
Purple Heart. Like all good soldiers, Powell has subordinated
his political views. He has never shied from projecting military
force and was instrumental in implementing Reagan's
controversial naval-escort policy in the Persian Gulf. But
Powell is also a realist whose thoughtful analysis helped wean
Reagan from overly aggressive support for the Nicaraguan
contras.

    Colleagues find Powell's strength of feeling on civil
rights issues apparent but not obtrusive. At the Pentagon, he
kept watch over promising black officers, and he makes a special
effort to encourage young black soldiers. He informally advised
Jesse Jackson during the past presidential campaign, while
maintaining his loyalty to the Reagan national security team.

    Some see Powell's nomination as a political salvage job for
Bush, since it comes close upon the Senate's rejection of
another black nominee, William Lucas, as head of the Justice
Department's civil rights division. Yet the honor Powell brings
to his fellow black Americans comes from the virtual irrelevance
of race to his appointment. Said Tom Griscom, a former Reagan
White House colleague: "No one ever thinks of Colin as being
black; they think of him as being good."