General Tommy Franks

American Soldier1945-

Chris Robbins Period 3

Mr. Mooney 4/27/07

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THESIS

Tommy Franks was a man who lead our nation’s toughest struggles. But was he a great leader with a plan or a man with no clue at all?

A quote from Donald Rumsfeld

“ when war comes, you look for certain special qualities in the people you will be working with, General Tom Franks embodies those qualities, strength, experience, a keen mind, energy, honor, good humor and a deep loyalty to his troops and to his country. Tom Franks is truly a soldier’s soldier.”

Childhood: (1950-1959)

• Lived in Wynnewood, Oklahoma at age 5• His father was Ray Franks, an optimistic

dreamer, who served as a plane engineer in WWII and could do almost any job he was given

• When he was 6, Tom and his family moved to Stratford

• In second grade he accidentally discovered he was adopted.

• Between fourth and fifth grade Tom Franks moved to Midland, Texas

Teenage Years: (1959-1963)• Completed high school at Robert

E. Lee High and finished one year ahead of Laura Welch, later known as First Lady Laura Bush.

• Spent his Senior year of high school quail hunting, playing on the football team, drag racing and getting ready for college

• June 1963 – received his high school diploma and was off to UT Austin in the summer of 1963

College Years: (1963-1965)• “my goal in college was to become a

chemical engineer.” (American Soldier pg 27)

• Entered the Delta Upsilon, a fraternity house known for its good academics and the fraternity of the legendary Longhorn football coach, Darrell Royal.

• Grades for the fall and spring semester were poor due to the constant parties, beer and flirting with girls.

• On June 1964 Tom received a letter placing him under scholastic probation.

• Once again after a lack of studying and more drinking, Tom was put on 6 months probation. After a night drinking Tom stumbled into the US Army recruiting station on Friday August 20, 1965 and signed up for the army

Joins the US Army: August 20, 1965

“Instead of food and sleep we got haircuts… we moved down a gauntlet, stopping at each counter to pick up a pair of fatigues, GI underwear, an Army Class A uniform, and a confusing batch of different hats and boots.” (A.S. pg 36)

Basic Training: August, 1965 – November, 1965

• On the gun firing range Tom managed to fire all his shots from his M-14 inside the 9 ring and multiple in the bull’s-eye, giving him the best shot in his platoon.

• Graduated Basic Training November 1965 with an Expert Rifleman badge.

Service from 1966 to 1969

• US Army Artillery Officer Candidate School: (August 20, 1966 – 1967)

• Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery: February 14, 1967 • Jungle Warfare School: August – late December• Served in Vietnam: (October 1967 – November 1969)• He Received 6 awards for Valor and three Purple Hearts

Down Time

• Gets Married: March 22, 1969

• Jacqueline Born: May 1971

• Graduates from the University of Texas: December 1971

Statements on Nuclear Attacks Against the United States

• Discussing the hypothetical dangers imposed on the US in the wake of 9/11 2001 attacks Frank said that,” ”the worst thing that could happen” is if terrorist acquire and use a biological or chemical weapon that inflicts heavy casualties. If that happens the western world loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom an liberty that we have seen for a couple hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy.”

Significant Military Record

• Stationed in West Germany: (February 1973-1984)• War College: (1984 - July 1985)• Colonel – Brigadier General: May• Operation Desert Shield/Storm: January

(17, 1991 - February 27, 1991)

Commander in Chief: (July 7, 2000 – May 2003)

• Recommended to be Commander-in-Chief by Tony Zinni the previous Commander-in-Chief of CENTCOM

• The most pressing military issue at that time was containment of Saddam Hussein

Perks of the Job

• “Tom, you’ll drink a lot of tea in this job and a lot of Vodka in the Stans, but it’s worth the heartburn when you can pick up the phone in Tampa and speak directly with a prime minister or a crown prince on a first name basis.” Tony Zinnia former CENTCOM Commander

In response to the bombing of the Cole before a press conference

• “the situation still is not clear Vern, I recommend we stick to the facts. Remember the old adage, ‘the first reports from the scouts are always wrong’”

General Tommy Franks p218

September 7, 20014 Days Before 9/11

“In response to a question a sergeant asked at a CENTCOM intelligence staff meeting, ‘General, what keep you awake at night?’, General Franks responded ‘a terrorist attack against the World Trade Center in New York, that is what keeps me awake.’”

Tommy Franks (A.S. Page 236)

9/11 to the Invasion of Iraq

• Within 11 days of the attack on 9/11, he had to have formed a full range of operational concepts for going to war with Afghanistan

• October 7 2001 – the war would begin in less than one month after the 9/11 attack

• November 27 – President Bush requested options for Iraq

• Was more set on reaching Baghdad and Saddam Hussein then establishing post war needs

• His quick drive to Baghdad was based off his beliefs that Saddam held weapons of mass destruction and biological weapons.

Tommy Franks Confirms Control Over all Branches of the US Military• In a meeting with Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld “I have to know before we take this briefing to the White House that unity of command prevails. I will follow every lawful order that you and the president give me, but I must have command authority to execute those orders.”

A New Type of Warfare

“this will be a campaign unlike any other in history, a campaign characterized by shock by surprise by flexibility by the employment of precise munitions' on a scale never seen before and by the application of overwhelming force…our plan introduces these forces across the breadth and depth of Iraq. In some cases simultaneously and in some case sequentially.”

Retires from the Army: August 1, 2003

A Soldier’s Soldier

Prestigious Awards

The following are Medals he achieved over the time he spent in service to the Military:

The Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), Legion Merit (four awards), Bronze Star Medal with Valor device and two oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart (two oak leaf clusters), Air medal with Valor device, Army Commendation Medal with Valor device, and a number of U.S. and foreign service awards

Prestigious Awards

• Also, he wears the Army General Staff Identification Badge and the Aircraft Crewmember’s Badge

• He is also a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civil award.

Mission Overview

General Tommy Franks was a decisive commander and had a well planned goal after 9/11. Everything was viewed as an outcome, leading to the swift and accurate takeover in Iraq.

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Works Cited • http://newleftreview.net/?view=2529• http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/

0,8599,216117,00.html• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/?

search=MSNBC&q=tommy+franks&submit=Search&id=11881780&FORM=AE&os=0&gs=1&p=1

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Franks• http://www.medaloffreedom.com/

TommyFranks.htm• http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/

27850/General_Tommy_R_Franks/index.aspx

• http://www.tommyfranks.com/Index.shtml• http://www.honorflight93.org/site/

c.8dJCKQNuFoG/b.1592879/k.43B9/General_Tommy_Franks__Biography.htm

• http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/franks/7.html

• American Soldier: General Tommy Franks Author: Tommy Franks