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Gen. Colin Powell comments on CAT 1987

 

An Excerpt from "My American Journey"
(Powell's 1995 autobiography)

I had commanded V Corps for just over five months [before reporting to White House duty in January, 1987]. Had I stayed for a full tour, I might have had a shot at promotion to four stars and command of all U.S. Army forces in Europe. I had taken over a crack corps from [Lt. Gen] Sam Wetzel, and my team had made it even better.

Two initiatives that I had set in motion paid off soon after I left. V Corps won the next two major NATO competitions, the Boselager Cavalry competition, which the United States had never won before, and the Canadian Army Cup tank competition, which we had not won recently, even with the M-l Abrams tank, the best in the world.

These competitions may mean little to the layperson, but in NATO this was the equivalent of winning the World Series and the Super Bowl in one season. My successor. [Lt. Gen.] Jack Woodmansee, was kind enough to call me at the White House and share the credit. But I sure wish I had still been in Germany to watch the trophies being presented.

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