The Cadet Leadership Series, Being What You Resolve to Be: Col William E. "Bill" Powell '61 - PART I

For William E. Powell '61, attending the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), and a life of service to his country, was not only a life-goal, but an imperative. Ever since he was a young boy, every time his family would drive past VMI, he would tell his parents "I am going to go there, that's my school". That little boy was not so little when he attended VMI and his time at VMI shaped him into the soldier, the father and the man he became. The lessons learned and friendships earned would be an integral part of the values Bill Powell took with him into his life and career eventually leading him to the elite status of membership in the United States Army Ranger Hall of Fame. Just as with VMI there is a Ranger ethos embodied in The Ranger Creed. With VMI there are those who embrace, live and embody the VMI ethos. They are "VMI Men and Women" while others who simply "wear the VMI ring." Powell was a VMI man in every respect. As the Brother Rat (BR) who penned Bill Powell's informal First Class write-up in the '61 Bomb wrote: "There comes, once in a great while, a man who distinguishes himself in everything he undertakes. Such a man is our Brother Rat Bill…the kind of guy a Brother Rat, or any other cadet, is proud to know… Bill can do just about anything and do it well." Bill Powell graduated VMI in 1961 and started his military career in the US Army. His first assignment was as an assistant advisor to the Vietnamese 35th Ranger Regiment. Life, and especially his time at VMI, had already taught Bill Powell that things don't always go your way, but you take what you have and make the best of it. Shortly after arriving, the senior advisor was wounded in one of Powell's first combat missions with his new regiment. Powell took over the job in his usual "can do" fashion. He swam across a rushing river to secure a rope to the other side. He then swam back across to get the men in his regiment, some of whom could not even swim, and lead them back to again attack the enemy camp. They readily followed him and were successful in taking the camp. This victory was so impressive, that after hearing of it, top Generals traveled from Germany to Vietnam to study the tactics he'd used. These "rope bridge" tactics were incorporated into training used by soldiers to this day. In Vietnam, he not only improved his unit, but he took great interest is helping the community as well. He was able to send his medics into villages twice a week so that villagers could get medical care. He learned the Vietnamese language so that he could communicate better, then took it a step further by teaching English classes to the Vietnamese soldiers on evenings and weekends. According to his military records Bill Powell was particularly adept at using the skill he mastered at VMI to reorganize operations and ensure continuity of operations by writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to establish more efficient use of supplies and men. This is another trait Powell carried throughout his military career with lasting impact on the Army, and especially Army Special Operations, to this day. In the same way there are VMI men and women compared to "ring wearers", in the tight-knit Army Ranger community there are Rangers who embrace, embody and live the Ranger Ethos and the Ranger creed and they are tab wearers, those who just wear the ranger tab as another badge on their uniform. Ranger history predates the revolutionary war, tracing its origins back to Robert Rogers' famous "Rogers' Rangers" use of unconventional battle tactics during the French and Indian War. From the start of his military career Bill Powell was a true Ranger. Just as he knew he wanted to go to VMI, Powell knew he was born to be a Ranger. The top graduate in his ROTC Summer Advanced Camp while at VMI, he was a "plank holder" in re-establishing the Army's elite 75th Ranger Regiment when, in Jan.1974, General Creighton Abrams, Army Chief of Staff, directed the re-activation of the Ranger Battalions. Powell served as the 2nd Battalion (Ranger) 75th Infantry Executive Officer (XO) after its formation in Oct. 1974 and later Battalion Commander from July 1979 until his death on Sept. 21, 1981. Although his military career was cut tragically short, Powell instilled a sense of brotherhood in his men that would stay with them always. If a barracks had issues, he moved in with them until the issues were resolved. He led his men by example and would not ask them to do anything that he would not do himself. He had a commonsense way of approaching situations and would put in the extra effort into helping others be the best they could be. He knew that he had only made it where he was because he worked so hard for it. He expected those he served with to do the same. Bill Powell's military exploits with the Rangers he led are literally legendary, if not, in some cases infamous. As Mark H. Morrissey, a Private First Class in 2/75th Ranger who later achieved the rank of Major in the Army recalled to Powell's daughter, Meagan (Powell) Bennett: "Your father, on my first day after graduating RIP [the Ranger Indoctrination Program new members of the Battalion were put through], demonstrated to this lowly Private - that "rank" truly had no place on the physical training (PT) field of play He did that by chasing me down, crossing my legs - from behind, thereby tripping me and causing me to bury my face in the cold, wet mud of the November PT field - whilst taking MY soccer ball, and heading back up field. So, being the RANGER that I AM, proceeded to sprint up to him - after pulling the mud from my face, crossing HIS legs AND tackling him - along with rubbing his face into the mud - for full measure, taking MY soccer ball - and scoring." What Morrissey did not know at the time, having just reported to 2/75th Ranger and never having seen his commanding officer, was that the fellow Ranger he made his statement with was his Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Bill Powell. In most situations, especially today, embarrassing one's Battalion Commander's face in the mud would have terrible consequences. Not so with Powell. "I don't know what he did, or whom he said what to," Morrissey continues: "but, as long as I didn't screw up - I was given 'free reign' to excel, and excel I did. Your Dad, being the leader he was, during my time in the 2nd Ranger Battalion - always found me (knew where I was going to be) during each training exercise, and always managed to visit with me briefly. After leaving the Ranger Battalion, and hearing of his passing - I cried, as I'm doing now - writing this...It was an honor to know your father, he helped me in becoming the man I've become..." Powell not only believed in the VMI Honor Code and ethos, he lived it, holding all under his command to the highest standards. As Lt. Gen. Jim Dubick recounts: "[Powell] did not tolerate his Rangers acting foolish or unprofessional. The standards to remain in his unit were very high and even included financial management. If a Ranger went down to the PX and wrote a hot check [bad check], that Ranger would be heavily disciplined and most often resulted in dismissal from the Ranger Battalion or as we referred to it, "being sent down the road." The standard of dress, how we conducted ourselves in the general public, financial management, and professional growth were all required." Powell never changed his moral code or the Honor system he learned at VMI to adapt to changes in society, but, rather, provided the leadership for those under his command to achieve these high standards regardless of their backgrounds. "For a battalion of young warriors," Dubik recalls, "some of these standards were foreign and required many of us to adhere to things that had never been a part of our lives. Not only did your father improve us as professional Soldiers, he improved us as good citizens. Your father's character has a ripple effect. I have adhered to all your father required of us and those traits became my standard that I also energetically enforced for myself and all who I served with and for.... to include my only child." "In what may have been a throwback to his days in the VMI Rat Line, Powell was known in the 2/75th for what became known as "Battalion Death Runs". In many circles unit runs were merely to showcase that a particular commander was "in charge" under the guise of "building morale", but for Powell everything had a purpose with both a very defined leader and soldier development outcome. "In the fall of 1980 we deployed from Ft Lewis Washington to Ft Sherman Panama for Jungle Warfare School," recalls "Ranger Ben", a former officer under Powell's command in the 2/75th Ranger: "The temperature change hit us hard going from the cold damp Pacific Northwest to the high temperatures and humidity of the tropics. We came in from the first week in the field thankful for some relief from the environment. The next morning LTC Powell had us formed up for PT. 'How bad could this be?' we naively mused. We ran just under ten miles to Gatun Locks and it wasn't pretty." A culminating point for the battalion was a trans-Isthmus of Panama run. When we got back, LTC Powell overheard several members of the battalion bellyaching about the run. He called all of the officers together for an impromptu lecture on loyalty. Although he didn't have to as the Battalion Commander, Powell explained his training philosophy to his officers: "Your average Ranger is just as smart if not smarter than you are," Powell stated. "He has been to just as many schools as you have and probably more. He has some college if not a master's degree and has deployed in combat around the world. The only way you are going to get a Ranger's attention is to be able to physically hurt him. I am a runner so I take the battalion on death runs to get everyone's attention. If you are strong at pushups or flutter kicks, make your Rangers cry. They will whine and complain but you will get their attention. I don't want to hear any more talk disloyal to the chain of command -- now get out of here!" It had a lasting impact. "I learned a lot about leadership from that lecture," says Ben. "Over the years everything that he said and implied wound up being spot on and I quoted him often, still do." While unwaveringly holding himself and those under his command accountable to the highest standards, Powell was ahead of his time in creating an environment that enabled those of widely differing beliefs to be part of one team. He created an environment of inclusion simply through leadership and example without overt displays designed more for visibility and perception than actual impact as seen in many areas today. One particularly illustrative and humorous example was then Second Lieutenant Timothy G. Connolly who later rose, after his military career, to the position of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (OASD SO/LIC). Connolly's first encounter with Powell was his summons to report to his office in November 1980 for the traditional new arrival meeting with the battalion commander. As the newly assigned Assistant Intelligence Officer (AS2), the fact Connolly was only a 2nd Lieutenant, by way of Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning, already marked him as "unique" in his command that only accepted more senior 1st Lieutenants who'd already successfully proven themselves in conventional infantry units. Connolly recalls: "I entered his office, sat down across from him and, at his request, began my story. Raised in Kentucky. Originally studied to be a kindergarten teacher before switching to political science; graduated from Vassar College (a pioneer for women's education and liberal arts education in the United States that had only opened its enrollment to men in 1969); and served as a production stage manager for a touring Broadway theater company immediately prior to joining the Army. As Connolly ran through his list, Powell leaned forward, listening, but not visibly reacting to what Connolly had to believe was not the usual story he hears when meeting with his new officers. Connolly then told Powell he's been a member of the 1972 Presidential campaign of Senator George McGovern, a South Dakota Democrat who had run against then-President Richard Nixon largely on an anti-Vietnam War platform. At that point Powell leaned back in his chair, a broad smile on his face, and said "Lieutenant, I am pretty sure you are the only officer in my command who can say he worked for George McGovern." It left a lasting impression on Connolly who, years later would write: "Colonel Powell was a wise and learned man, one who understood that being a Ranger required more than the ability to hump a rucksack on a 20-mile road march. I shall always be honored and grateful for having had the opportunity to serve under him." Powell had a witty sense of humor and was known to ask newly assigned Lieutenants and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) to be sure to check his office while they served as the night duty officer in order to be "all was secure." What he failed to tell them was that his office was the home of Powell's pet rattlesnake. Many a night young officers and NCOs had what Powell referred to as "a significant emotional experience" after suddenly finding themselves in a small dark office with the ominous rattle of "Jake the snake". Powell was a strong proponent of Murphy's Law. He knew from experience that events rarely go as planned, but there is always a lesson to be learned when things do go wrong. These two things would serve him well in his career. He would take a mistake, learn from it and use it to be better prepared next time. This extended to the soldiers and officers under his command who were given "freedom to fail so rare in today's military and society. As he once told one young officer: "There is doing the right thing personally, professionally, morally and ethically, and there is the right thing to do 'by the book' They are not always the same. I will always defend you if you do the right thing." Perhaps the greatest example of this is the story of Captain John Cray for whom Powell applied the Brother Rat ethos even with those who never attended VMI. On May 13, 1981 Captain John Cray, newly installed commander of Company B, 2/75th Ranger departed with one of his platoons on one of the first Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters off the assembly line to conduct one of the first training insertions using only Night Vision Goggles (NVG). As the aircraft descended to 40 feet over the landing zone (LZ), its doors wide open, sudden turbulence caused Cray to be thrown from the hovering helicopter. In what Powell would later humorously refer to in teasing Cray, who survived the fall, as the army's first "high level, high speed, no rope rappel", Cray sustained life-threatening injuries including a dislocated spine, broken hip, pelvis, right ankle, left wrist, head injury, bruised heart and multiple internal injuries. With months in a full body cast and multiple surgeries the army's solution was to medically discharge Cray. Powell would have none of it. Cray, by coincidence, would always be "away" on some unknown project when any medical retirement board was scheduled. Knowing one of Cray's dreams was to attain his Master Parachutist wings, Powell steadfastly refused to process any paperwork separating him from the battalion during Cray's long period of rehabilitation. When he thought Cray was well enough, Powell arranged for a local lake on Fort Lewis, WA – the home of the 2/75th -- to be designated a "Drop Zone"; had his operations staff secure a helicopter and a small truck of parachutes; and had Cray proceed to spend the day jumping out of the helicopter into the water, a landing much less likely to aggravate Cray's injuries. After each jump, a team of Rangers pulled Cray from the water and brought him to shore, where he was met by yet another team of Rangers, who would remove the now soaked parachute and replace it with a fresh one, before escorting him back to the helicopter now standing by to take him airborne again. By the end of the day, Cray had completed the number of jumps needed to qualify for his Master Parachutist wings; Powell later personally worked to secure him his next assignment, from which Cray went on to a successful military career. SEE PART II - Powell's Impact on Army Special Operations and the loss of a true hero on page 10.