U.S. Army Leader, Lt. Gen Moore

One of many objective in the U.S. Army is create leader, no matter if is an officer or NCO the Army develop the skills of the soldiers for they can do excellent jobs. The Army definition of a leader is a person that provides purpose, direction, and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. An example of this definition of a leader is the Lt. Gen. Moore and his glorious career.

Lt. Gen. Moore born in Bardstown, Kentucky in February 13, 1922, son of Harold Moore, that was an insurance agent and Mary Moore a homemaker. Some people know him by “Hal” or “Yellow Hair” that was his nicknames in battlefield. He was married in 1949 with Julia Compton Moore and has six children: Greg Moore, Steve Moore, Julie Moore Orlowski, Cecile Moore Rainey, and David Moore. Two of them are retired of the Army as Lt. Coronel and Coronel. He studied in West Point (U.S. Army University) where he was the first in his class to be promoted to Brigadier General, Major General, and Lieutenant General. He read too much and this activity increased the knowledge of him. For example when he went to Vietnam, he knew about the enemy strategies, territory, weather and other relevant things that helped him to keep his troop secure. Also he was a team worker and accepts opinions of his soldiers.

Lt. Gen. Moore was 32 service years in the U.S. Army in different areas as: 1^st Battalion, 7^th Cavalry Regiment, 7^th Infantry Division, Fort Ord Army Training Center, and Military Personnel Records Center. He participates in two different wars: Korea War (1952) and Vietnam War (1965). The most recognize battle of him was the battle of Ia Drang where he fought encircled by enemy soldiers with no clear landing zone. After this battle, Lt. Gen. Moore was promoted to coronel and took over command of the Garry Owen 3^rd Brigade for his meritorious actions in battle.

As a leader Lt. Gen. Moore always expressed some characteristics of leaders as: determination and vision, loyalty, integrity and respect. He demonstrated the motivation of join to the Army with determination and always had the vision of his future. In the entire career he won the respect of his soldiers and the Army gives him the opportunity of work in different areas inside the Army because they knew the high responsibility and respect of him. As important contribution at 1970 Lt. Gen. Moore moved to Camp Casey, South Korea as Commanding General of the 7th Infantry Division. He was responsible of resolve the drugs problem and racial strife that was prevalent at in this division. His plan established was: Officer’s Leadership Schools, NCO Leadership School and “Equal Opportunity Policy”. He promised to punish those leaders who discriminated base on race, ethnicity or creed.  Also he influenced and developed some soldier. An example was when in 1952 he educated Norman Schwarzkopf, general in the U.S. Army and who led the U.N. coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. General Schwarzkopf called Moore one of his "heroes," and cites Moore as the reason he chose the infantry branch upon graduation.

I selected the Lt. Gen. Moore because is one of the leaders inside the Army that I respect for his actions. I began read about him after the premier of the movie “We Were Soldier” and I follow his live since that moment.  As you can see, the career of is a perfect example of good leader characteristics. He followed the Army definition of leader step by step and protects his soldier and the Army Values. He is a perfect example for every soldier for develops their skill of leader.   

Lt.Gen. Harold G. Moore. (n.d.) Command Posts, a Focus on Military History, Policy, and Fiction. March 16, 2015. Compiled from: http://www.commandposts.com/author/lt-gen-harold-g-moore/

Hal Moore: A Soldier Once… and Always (2013) Mike Guardia. Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors. March 16, 2015. Printed.