Leading United States Central Command - with General Frank McKenzie
Summary
General Frank McKenzie (Biography, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss his new book, The Melting Point. General McKenzie was the 14th commander of the United States Central Command.
What You’ll Learn
Intelligence
- Combatant commands and their purpose
- Leading CENTCOM, Central Command
- The role of intelligence in military leadership
- The US withdrawal from Afghanistan
Reflections
- Learning from the lessons of history
- The importance and impact of leadership
And much, much more …
Episode Notes
This week on SpyCast, Andrew was joined in the studio by General Frank McKenzie, former Commander of the United States Central Command. After a 42 year long career in the U.S. Marine Corps, General McKenzie retired from service in 2022. Recently, he published The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century, a memoir of his time serving and leading during some of the most important and controversial operations in modern military history.
In this episode, Andrew and General McKenzie discuss the themes, lessons, and stories that emerge from the book, with a critical eye on the role that intelligence played within it all. He and Andrew share a couple of similarities: A fear of being trapped somewhere with nothing to read, a love for studying history, and a deep understanding of the importance of intelligence. Tune in to learn more.
And…
General McKenzie is a graduate of The Citadel, a military college founded in 1842. Naturally, students and alumni of The Citadel have been notable participants in every major US military conflict since the Mexican-American War. In fact, Citadel Cadets fired the first shots of the Civil War on January 9th, 1861, and 13 Citadel classmates gave their lives fighting on the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion of 1944.
Quotes of the Week
“What that leads you to is really, intelligence. It paints that picture and it describes the operational environment within which you can operate. So here's the risk. If you're an aggressive commander … There's a temptation to lean on intelligence to tell you what you want to hear, shape the information … In the back of your mind, you need to recognize, you can't go into it with what I would call confirmation bias.” – General Frank McKenzie.
Resources
SURFACE SKIM
*Spotlight Resource*
- The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century, Kenneth F. McKenzie (Naval Institute Press, 2024)
*SpyCasts*
- CIA Director, Defense Secretary, Gentleman with Leon Panetta (2024)
- David Petraeus on Ukraine & Intelligence with the former CIA Director & 4* General (2023)
- Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy with Michael Vickers (2023)
- Irregular Warfare & Intelligence with IWC Director Dennis Walters (2023)
*Beginner Resources*
- CENTCOM, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2024) [Encyclopedia entry]
- Why the Middle East is so important to the US, BBC World Service, YouTube (2024) [10 min. video]
- Combatant Commands, U.S. Department of Defense (n.d.) [Brief overviews of the 11 Unified Combatant Commands]
DEEPER DIVE
Books
- Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine, D. Petraeus & A. Roberts (Harper, 2023)
- The New Makers of Modern Strategy, H. Brands et al. (Princeton University Press, 2023)
- Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, L. Panetta & J. Newton (Penguin Books, 2014)
Articles
- Moving Israel to CENTCOM: Another Step Into the Light, A. Orion & M. Montgomery, The Washington Institute (2021)
- Afghanistan: No Real Peace Process and No Progress Towards Defining a Real Peace, A. H. Cordesman Center for Strategic and International Studies, (2020)
- U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces, M. Crowley, F. Hassan & E. Schmitt, The New York Times (2020)
- U.S. Forces Kill ISIS Founder, Leader Baghdadi in Syria, J. Garamone, U.S. Department of Defense (2019)
- Envisioning a Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Afghanistan, L. E. Miller & J. S. Blake, RAND (2019)
- A Short History of U.S. Central Command, J. Garamone, U.S. Department of Defense (2019)
Video
- General McKenzie Retires After 42 Years Of Service, CENTCOM Holds Change Of Command Ceremony, Forbes Breaking News, YouTube (2022)
Primary Sources
- Retirement Ceremony Honors CENTCOM Commander (2022)
- U.S. Central Command Statement on the Realignment of the State of Israel (2021)
- Memorandum Re: January 2020 Airstrike in Iraq Against Qassem Soleimani (2020)
- Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan (2020)
- Remarks by President Trump on the Death of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2019)
- Goldwater-Nichols Act (1986)
*Wildcard Resource*
- Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant (1863)
- In this famous letter, Lincoln congratulates Major General Grant on his leadership during the Siege of Vicksburg, a critical success for the Union army. Perhaps not often done by a president, Lincoln here admits his strategy was wrong, and praises the intellect and military prowess of Grant.
