Hungarian Heritage Review, 1991 (20. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1991-09-01 / 9. szám
The Hungarian-born American whose Military Genius was "Show-Cased" in Operation Desert Storm: Brigadier General Huba Wass de Czege It was he who, as one of the "Jedi Knights", helped to plan the brilliant military strategy for Operation Desert Storm which ended the Persian Gulf War within 100 hours! This former Chief of the Arms Control Branch of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and now reassigned as Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Infantry Division stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, was Brigadier General Huba Wass de Czege, the son of Dr. Albert Wass de Czege, who is well known by every Hungarian in America. Brigadier General Huba Wass de Czege was bom in Kolozsvár, Hungary, on August 13,1941. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1960, and graduated in 1964 as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. His military career after being commissioned alternated between troop assignments and faculty positions at West Point and the Command and General Staff College. His troop service in Vietnam included Company Command and as a Ranger Battalion Senior Advisor. From June 1983 to May 1985, he served as the Director of the Advanced Military Studies Program of the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Following the command of an infantry regiment in Fort Ord, California, from November1985 to April 1988, he became the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of SHAPE (SPACOS) from June of 1988 to June of 1989. Brigadier General Wass de Czege assumed his former position of Chief of the Arms Control Branch, Office of the Supreme Allied Commander, SHAPE, in Belgium in June of 1989. Among the many awards he has received, are the Silver Star, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with two "V" devices (four oak leaf clusters), the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Senior Parachutist Badge and Ranger Tab. His military education includes the U.S. Army War College. He has also earned a Masters Degree in International Politics and Economics at Harvard University. During his military service, he has also published numerous articles on doctrine, tactics, operational art, simulations, and military training. He is married to the former Sharon K. Payson, and they have two children, Margaret age 9 and Matthew age 17. The fight to change how America fights. Fifteen years ago, a small group o f military officers set out to reunite the book on war. A massive amphibious assault force that never hits the Kuwaiti beach. A U.S. Marine attack that slithers, rather than charges, through Iraqi lines. A mechanized division that circles behind the Iraqis instead of hitting them headon. A cavalry regiment that fakes an attack. And a force of 530,000 that loses only 124 in combat. Even to some participants, what the allies did in the gulf didn't seem like war. In fact, the tactics that crushed Iraq's Army are part of an ongoing revolution in the way Americafights. Instead of trying to take ground and overpower enemy forces - the doctrine that had evolved since World War II - gulf commanders emphasized speed, leverage, fluidity, deception, surprise - and initiative at the lowest levels. This new style of warfare was the fruit of a guerrillalike battle that a small cadre of staff officers and planners fought over a decade within the Army and Marine Corps. In the Marine Corps, the first advocates of change were derided as "maneuverists"; in the Army, they were called "Jedi Knights." —continued next page 15 SEPTEMBER 1991 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW
