“Everybody Is Looking For Leadership”: Insights From Grenada And Panama To the Global War On Terror

Tony Thomas was born in October 1958 and grew up in the Philadelphia area, the oldest of six (2 boys and 4 girls). His parents were both teachers. His father taught chemistry and served in the Coast Guard, and his mother taught history and English. As a boy, he was active in “every sport,” but had no plans to attend college. Chaperoning his brother’s cub scout trip to West Point sparked his interest in attending the Academy. His Cadet experience began during the bicentennial year and he remembers tall ships in New York City for the celebration. He recalls representatives of “every walk of life” arriving for R-Day and the parade that transformed them into Cadets. The Class of 1980 was the first class with women, and he feels that the cadre and faculty lacked the appropriate training to deal adequately with such a change. During Beast, he “started to become a student of leadership.” He was “mediocre” in academics, but enjoyed Spanish and Latin American electives, and even participated in an exchange with the Mexican Military Academy in 1978. Militarily, he noticed the lack of NCOs around the Academy but states the mix is “better now” with more senior enlisted modeling leadership for Cadets. Physically, he was a good distance runner and excelled in boxing. During his Plebe Year, the Class of 1977 experienced an honor incident that “shook the Academy as an institution.” As a Cow and Firstie, Tony served as an Honor Representative, which helped to make him self-aware because “I could be persuasive on a board.” He experienced “shared hardship” on the Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track Teams, and remembers qualifying for nationals, calling it “the race of our lives.” His company, C3, was very tight, and positive mentors like Tac Officer Bob Harkins made Infantry seem the natural choice. The Army was in rough shape during his Lieutenant years, and he recalls carrying a pistol on staff duty as well as dealing with drug use and racism. As a young officer, he kept a journal and recorded notes about leadership. He remembers that his first company commander was a terrible leader who illustrated “what not to do.” He was worried if he would be “successful if I go to combat,” and remembers there was no discussion of Vietnam or Operation Eagle Claw at West Point. By September 1982, he had been selected to serve as a Platoon Leader in A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Creighton Abrams had established the Ranger Battalions as Chief of Staff of the Army, and Tony recognized the differences in training, with every task ending with live-fire training and strict adherence to “task, conditions, standards.” In October 1983, the Rangers began preparing for Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada, and by this time Tony was serving as an Executive Officer. When a Platoon Leader and Platoon Sergeant were fired, he continued his work as XO, but also took over the 2nd Platoon. When his unit was alerted for the Operation, they deployed initially to Hunter Army Airfield. They were prepared to jump, but the plan was to airland. As the operation unfolded, the Rangers executed a low-level parachute assault from 500 feet with no reserve in daylight. To make matters worse, they had not prepared for a jump like this. His mission was to seize the Cuban compound at the Point Salines Airfield and rescue the Americans at the True Blue Medical Campus. Following Urgent Fury, AARs highlighted both the “sustains” and the “improves,” especially in the realm of planning. This was the first major operation since the end of the Vietnam War and the American military was still not ready as a Joint Force. During the operation, he lost three Soldiers. After commanding A Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, he took command of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in June 1987. Having had quite a bit of experience leading Soldiers at the Company level, he noted a universal truth that “everybody is looking for leadership,” training, and standards. On December 20, 1990, he participated in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama. Unlike Operation Urgent Fury, Just Cause was well-planned and preceded by a “fabulous rehearsal” at Eglin Air Force Base prior to execution. Following the invasion of Panama, he was selected to serve as the Aide-de-Camp to the Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, Wayne A. Downing, a “Ranger icon.” During this period, JSOC was continually improving as a joint force. Following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm occurred. Initially, there were no plans to use JSOC for these operations, but Saddam’s Scud Missiles changed that, and Special Operations was used for deep patrols and scouting in the desert. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment earned their first kill during the Gulf War. In May 1992, Tony joined the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment (Delta), which he had not anticipated. Later, from July 2002 to July 2003, as Brigade Commander, he led Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras, following his time commanding 1st Ranger Battalion. He thought it was the end of his career, and commanding JTF Bravo gave him time to reflect. The Global War on Terror changed all of that, and from 2001 to 2013 he served in Afghanistan three times and Iraq two times. In Afghanistan he commanded 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (JUL00-JUL02), served as the Director of Operations for Joint Special Operations Command (JUL03-APR05), and commanded the Special Operations Joint Task Force (JUN12-JUL13). In Iraq, he served as the Assistant Division Commander for Support for 1st Armored Division (JUL07-FEB09), and later as the Deputy Commander for Operations, Joint Special Operations Command (FEB09-AUG09). Based on his experience in Afghanistan, he observed a straightforward operation become more open-ended as the mission progressed because the American strategic approach was anchored on a poor government. While the employment of Special Operations in Afghanistan became “more enlightened” over time, there was not a coherent approach until after 2012. Unfortunately, there was a level of corruption in Afghanistan that hampered operations, but throughout his experience in that country, Americans were able to build Afghan capability. In Iraq, the question was “do we want this more than they do.” Concerning Iraq, he asserts “never trust a straight-line country,” referencing the borders of modern Iraq that were the creation of WWI-era colonial cartographers and politicians who ignored traditional tribal lands. He sensed strategic ambiguity as to whether Afghanistan or Iraq was the national priority. From November 2013 to July 2014, he served as the Associate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Military Affairs, which he found “fascinating,” remarking that John Brennan was “very transparent.” That experience prepared him for his final two assignments in the Army from July 2014 to March 2019. First, he commanded the Joint Special Operations Command, which he considered “the pinnacle of command,” and then he commanded the United States Special Operations Command. He discusses the types of missions undertaken by those organizations during his tenure. Near the end of the interview, he talks about being a West Point Parent (Raymond Thomas IV, USMA ’07, and Michael Thomas, USMA 08), and what he has done since retiring from the military. Finally, he reflects on what his service to the nation and West Point mean to him.