Most U.S. Army generals wear pistols on the battlefield. Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, a decorated paratrooper who next month takes over as the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, packs an M4 rifle.
A physically imposing but modest man who is little known outside Army circles, Austin's hands-on style reflects a connection with front-line troops and a breadth of combat leadership that senior officers say make him ideal for his new job: running the day-to-day operations of the Iraq war.
Whereas the top U.S. commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, must serve as much as a diplomat and public face of the war as a military leader, Austin must master the gritty details of Iraq's battlefield geometry -- constantly prioritizing the use of dozens of U.S. and Iraqi combat units as well as aircraft, unmanned drones and other military forces to carry out the U.S. strategy. |