TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/082189/08218900.036

Text File | 1990-09-19 | 4KB | 66 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."