General Powell Truly Made America Great
October 18, 2021, our nation lost a great man to Covid & Cancer complications. Colin Luther Powell, the U.S. general and stateman held many high-ranking positions. He was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989-1993, Secretary of State from 2001-2005, and the first BIPOC to hold either position. He served in the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) at the City College of New York. After graduation he also served in Vietnam. Following his combat, he continued his education and then took his first political position as a White House fellow.
Like the corporate world, Colin Powell worked his way through the military job to job gaining more and more skills and experience until in April 1989, he earned the status of a four-star general. It was later that year, President George Bush nominated Powell as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After his time serving under George Bush, Americans hoped he would run for president, but instead joined the Republican party in 1996 and became somewhat of a spokesman for political issues.
This was about as close to the White House as I got when I was a White House Fellow in 1972 and 1973. The Fellowship was a unique program, which gave me invaluable insight into the workings of Washington. 
Colin Powell in Vietnam 
General Norman H. Schwarzkopf, commander-in-chief, U.S. Central Command, consults with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell as the men take part in a meeting regarding the Allied military coalition during Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia in 1991. Tech. Sgt. H. H. Deffner/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. 
Vietnam Memorial 
World Economic Forum
General Powell’s Organizational Legacy
According to jcs.mil (a military information page about the Joint Chiefs of Staff position and responsibilities produced by our nation’s Joint Staff of Public Affairs), “When General Powell retired on 30 September 1993, the role of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had been substantially enhanced due to his aggressive exercise of the expanded powers granted the Chairman in the Goldwater-Nichols Act. His tenure as Chairman subsequently became the subject of debate among some scholars and commentators concerned with the role of the military in policy development.”
His influence on our policy departments was strictly organizational. “Under the Goldwater–Nichols Act, military advice was centralized in the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as opposed to the service chiefs. … It increased the ability of the chairman to direct overall strategy [and] provided greater command authority to “unified” and “specified” field commanders. For more information on how the Goldwater Act affected America, click here.
General Colin Powell—A Household Name
Although our nation frowns on lifelong politicians, General Powel earned the respect of Americans no matter their party affiliation. Like for many of you, General Colin Powell was a household name in my childhood home, one that commanded respect and trust, even though he was not perfect. Whenever his name appeared in the list of candidates for any political position, my family sighed with relief knowing someone competent and trustworthy would be at the helm.
“It is not titles that honor men but men that honor titles.”
`Niccolo Machiavelli.
A Warning From a Man of War and Wisdom
General Powell was a servant of the United States of America is entire adult life, and he served us well. Early this year he gave America a wise warning. Even though he aligned with the Republican party in 1996 speaking out for political reason, after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, his views changed. Just five days later, Colin Powell publicly rescinded any affiliation with the party. In an interview with CNN, General Powell said, “We have a guy who’s going to be a President of the United States who I have known for many, many years [speaking of Biden], and [he] will give a completely different rational to what a president does…The big challenge is going to be, how do we convince all of our citizens…that we have to start changing our society again?”
From Trump whose slogan was “Make ‘Merica Great Again” to a man who actually made America great, General Powell has earned our attention. We ought to heed his council. Powell was the head of our nation’s Department of Defense (DOD). He was a man who once stood firmly with the Republican party and earned the four-star general status. Not only did he know how to make a nation great, he has left a legacy of how he did. His tireless efforts provided our military and departments of defense with government legislature that cooperation . He was vocally against the chaos and anarchy Trump created. He said, “We cannot have people running around with guns the way the run around now. I saw in one of the state houses a whole line of men with machine guns. Why are they allowed to do that? Why is that acceptable?” Watch it yourself.
General Colin Powell honored our country, he honored the White House, and he honored Freedom. American’s let us honor him but putting down our weapons and words against one another and rebuild our society of cooperation, not agreement, not unity, but cooperation. Mrs. Powell and family, Thank you for your support of this Great man, a true hero to America.
