Is Eric K Shinseki the Next Great AA Leader? | Asian American Issues

ost who know of the brave sacrifices made by Japanese American fighting men during World War II -- while so many of their relatives had been interned as enemy aliens -- are surprised and moved to learn that today a JA occupies the U.S. Army's top job. General Eric K. Shinseki, West Point grad and thrice-wounded veteran of the Vietnam War, became the Army's 34th Chief of Staff on June 22, 1999.

Nor has Shinseki's rise to the top been at the expense of his heritage. As much a literate wordsmith as a decorated warrior, he was careful to infuse his arrival ceremony speech with an eloquent homage to the sacrifices that laid the foundation for his own ascension:

In this family are members who served with Senator Inouye in the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Though they never thought about it in this way, they and the other men of the 442nd, the 100th Battalion, the Military Intelligence Service, and the 1399th Engineers, bought for me and my generation our birthrights as American citizens. Because of what they, and others of their generation, did on those distant battlefields so many years ago, I have lived my life without suspicion, without limitation, with the full rights and privileges of citizenship, and with the opportunity to compete.

Three years into his four-year term, Shinseki has distinguished himself as a history-making Chief of Staff. Predecessors have generally kept a low profile while waging intra-service turf wars for budgets and weapons systems. Despite a measured, almost scholarly, personal style, Shinseki was quickly thrust into a high-profile role because of his ambitions for his beloved Army. His very first speech outlined his commitment to transforming the Army into a mobile fighting force configured to respond swiftly to farflung crises:

Today, our heavy forces are too heavy and our light forces lack staying power. We will address those mismatches. Heavy forces must be more strategically deployable and more agile with a smaller logistical footprint, and light forces must be more lethal, survivable, and tactically mobile.

     This objective put Shinseki on a collision course with the defense establishment which has seen the Army's primary role as staying ready to fight two simultaneous land wars using tanks and artillery pieces. This doctrine is a holdover from the Cold War when military planners worried about heavily armored communist-block armies overrunning central Europe and the Corean peninsula.

     But with the Soviet collapse a decade behind us, the U.S. military will more likely face threats from terrorists, criminal organizations, fratricidal upheavals and natural disasters, Shinseki has argued. He has pushed tirelessly to create momentum for an epochal transformation. His passionate and articulate testimony has prodded Congress to pass the appropriations needed to begin realizing the vision of a light but lethal elite army. Billions have been budgeted for exotic technologies like strength-enhancing body armor, exotic ammunitions and light-deflecting camouflage suits. More billions are being used to upgrade the capabilities of ordinary soldiers on a par with special forces.

     As a token of that goal, in October of 2000 Shinseki ordered morale-boosting black berets to replace the old standard-issue overseas caps and fatigue caps. That raised the hackles of the Army Rangers for whom black berets had become a symbol of their elite capabilities. It also triggered a congressional review of the uniform change. Shinseki solved that impasse by having the Rangers switch to tan berets only to be broadsided by a mass media expose that 16% of the Army's order of 4.8 million berets had gone to a British firm that would have them sewn in China in violation of a procurement law requiring military garments to be made in the U.S. The black berets and Shinseki's crusade for transformation of the Army weathered the fiasco. A sense of urgency was added to his vision by the horrendous events of 9/11 and its aftermath .

     Eric K. Shinseki was born November 28, 1942 in Lihue, Kauai. As a boy he was inspired by the stories of uncles who had fought in Europe with the 442nd and the 100th. He did well enough in high school to win admission to West Point. Within a few months of his graduation in 1965 he was a second lieutenant on his way to Vietnam to serve as an artillery forward observer. On a second combat tour he commanded a tank squadron. During those Vietnam tours he was wounded three times and displayed enough courage and leadership to earn the devotion of his men. His sergeant Les Cotton (now the sheriff of Navarro County, Texas) called him "the finest person and the best officer I have ever served with". On one occasion Shinseki's injuries were so severe that Cotton assumed he would die in the hospital . Only 30 years later did he learn that Shinseki had survived.
     Shinseki's valorous displays of leadership under fire won him two Distinguished Service Medals, the Bronze Star and several Purple Hearts -- and put him on the Army's fast track. As preparation for the climb to the top, he attended National War College and Duke University where he got a masters in English literature. That degree would give him the opportunity, among various assignments around the country, to teach at West Point. As he rose into the general ranks, Shinseki served 10 years at various commands in Europe.

     In 1994 Major General (two-star) Shinseki returned to take command of the illustrious 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. In July 1996, along with a promotion to lieutenant (three-star) general, he was brought into the Pentagon to serve as a deputy chief of staff of the Army -- equivalent to an executive V.P. at the headquarters of a major corporation. A year later he was given a fourth star and returned to Germany to assume command of the U.S. Army in Europe, then command of NATO land forces in Central Europe. In mid 1997 came a 15-month assignment that may have inspired his Army transformation crusade -- command of NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia.

     Around Thanksgiving of 1998 Shinseki was recalled to the Pentagon as Vice Chief of Staff, the penultimate step before winning the Army's top office in June, 1999.

     Eric Shinseki is married to the former Patricia K. Yoshinobu, a J.A. from Hanapepe, Kauai. They have two children, Lori and Ken.

     On his appointment to Chief of Staff, the media pegged Shinseki as a savvy political player who knows how to marshall support inside and outside the Army. That assessment has been borne out by the remarkable progress Shinseki has made in kicking off the large-scale transformation of a once hidebound Army. The big question is what Shinseki will do when his term as Chief of Staff expires in June, 2003. One possibility is to enter politics and seek the seat of elderly Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), himself a war hero who had lost an arm taking a hill in Italy during WW II.

     Is Eric K. Shinseki the likely successor to Daniel Inouye? Or will he go even further to attain the national ledership role that has eluded Inouye?

CONTINUED BELOW

WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. Vote and continue this and related discussions at the new Interactive Area. --Ed.]

General Shinseki is the US Army Chief of Staff. As such, he is the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Army and reports directly to the Secretary of the Army, indirectly to the Secretary of Defense and President, and sits on the Joints Chiefs of Staff (highest level military advisors to the President).

However, in times of global military action, he does not, necessarily, assume a high level role as far as the media is concerned.

During World War II, US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, stayed in Washington DC and allowed Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander in the European theater) to control media relations and get most of the attention. Many times, FDR dealt directly with Eisenhower, and Marshall just sat by and read reports, although I'm sure appropriately included.

It's not odd for the Commander-In-Chief of the US Central Command, Tommy Franks, to handle media relations and get most of the attention. This is his operation. He is commanding the troops. There's an array of military personnel who are responsible for "nuts n' bolts" work who can intelligently and aptly comment on military operations matters without Shenseki getting on TV.

In military ranks, there's no question about who's at the top, General Shinseki.

Also, let's remember that Donald Rumsfeld is a very commanding, hands-on Secretary of Defense. He could very well be holding certain uniformed commanders in "check" so that his favorites get the spotlight.
Geoff DB
GeoffDB02@aol.com Monday, March 24, 2003 at 20:00:44 (PST) [172.193.189.150]

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Why isn't Gen Shinseki ever on TV while all the other Army officers are? Shinseki is the highest ranking mil officer in the U.S. Army, but other lower ranking officers, some not even a one star, are on tv. Shinseki is not even on cnn.com in the commanders section.
where's shinseki?
Sunday, March 23, 2003 at 14:36:01 (PST) [66.126.229.197]

My hat's off to Gen Shinseki. He's got an awesome job with an even more awesome amount of responsibility. Well done Sir!
Brian
Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 22:10:18 (PST) [208.151.96.119]

Regarding Shinseki's switch to the black beret as standard issue - my cousin was in the Army, and he hated the beret, too. He said it was the most useless uniform item he had ever owned, including his necktie, which he jokingly said he could at least use to wipe his mouth at mess.

I applaud his decision to reorganize our forces to deal with 21st century threats, and not continue preparing for the World War III that had dictated US military doctrine ever since the end of WWII. However, with regard to uniform wear, uniforms should be as utilitarian as possible, but in the case of elite units, exceptions should be made. If a uniform looks cool, believe me, people want to join that unit. It sounds silly, but I know several high-school classmates who wanted to join the Marines simply because of their ultra-cool Class A uniforms (you know, the one you always see on TV with the Mameluke sword and all).
"B" as in "bictory"
Thursday, December 26, 2002 at 22:03:36 (PST) [63.98.74.2]

Shinseki desecrated the Rangers by forcing them to give up their black berets. This was done to make the new troops "feel better" about themselves.

I was airborne, and wore the maroon beret. I would prefer the BDU cap any day of the week. Berets are terribly uncomfortable to wear in the sun...and berets should not be the linchpin for making the Army's soldiery "feel better about itself."

This was a boneheaded move. It was meaningless, and was done at the Rangers' expense.

I have not spoken to a single soldier who says his self-image was increased by the beret...they all tell me it's murder to wear in the sun, and since it's black, they have to spend twice as much time taking care of it.

Just some thoughts from the real military world. Shinseki's race has nothing to do with this, by the way. But it was a bs decision that resulted in only more bs.
Apache Driver
Friday, November 29, 2002 at 13:51:54 (PST) [67.84.132.190]

USS Chung-Hoon DDG-93
keep it real
Tuesday, November 26, 2002 at 09:25:57 (PST) [63.209.94.173]

It is great to see asian american make it to the top of the military food chain. Has any one ever heard of Rear Admiral Chung-Hoon (two stars) first chinese american to graduate Anapolis. He was the captain on the USS Sigsbee during world war two. Next year in January 2003 they will christen the ship that will bear his name.The ship is a Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer DDG-93. USS Chung-hoon.
TangoUniform
Monday, November 25, 2002 at 11:23:19 (PST) [65.59.31.101]

Gen Shinseki is a true patriot, leader of men, and compassionate leader. He would make a great leader in any capacity. I am honored to have known him.
Master Scout
Tom@taylortel.net Thursday, November 07, 2002 at 09:20:40 (PST) [208.203.140.229]

I saw the general talking with Bush Jr. on a CNN clip the other day. I thought it was pretty cool. I wonder if anyone else noticed he was Asian?

I didn't notice who else was standing with them, don't really care either.
huu76
Sunday, September 15, 2002 at 19:55:02 (PDT)

In the most recent Census conducted for the Year 2000, there were roughly 12 million people who classified themselves as Asians in a country estimated at 280 million. I state these numbers to illustrate the point that we have to marshal every individual to encourage and support Asian candidacy for public office or else our destiny will be dictated by others. If Gen. Shinseki runs for office and I am in the position to support him, I will gladly do so, regardless of his political affliation.
80-20 initiative
Friday, June 07, 2002 at 20:10:03 (PDT)

I'm terrifically proud of Gen. Shinseki...it's pretty awesome to see a Asian face up there. Though I'm Indian, I hold great respect for East Asian achievements also...I hold respect for any Asian achievements. I'm really glad to Colin Powell as our Secretary of State...G.W. couldn't have chosen anyone better. I hope and pray that someday Sec. Powell will run for President. I'm also proud to see Norman Mineta and Elaine Chao up there as well. We should all be proud to see a more diverse America.
bringittogether
Friday, June 07, 2002 at 12:27:34 (PDT)

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