f the Second Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In 1979 he became executive assistant to the Secretary of Energy and senior military assistant to the deputy Secretary of Defense. Powell served as assistant commander of the Fourth Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado from 1981 to 1983, when he became deputy commander of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. From 1983 to 1986 he served as military assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Powell went to Germany in 1986 to become commanding general of the 5th Army Corps. He became an assistant to the President for national security affairs in 1987. Powell left that post in 1989 to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is the highest military command in the United States. From this position, Powell received international recognition as one of the chief architects of the successful 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. Powell retired from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993. During this tenure in the military, Powell was a recipient of several service medals, including the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star (1963), Legion of Merit Award (1969 and 1971), Distinguished Service Medal, Soldiers Medal, and the Secretary's Award (1988). In 1993, former president Ronald Reagan presented Powell with the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award. That same year, he received an honorary doctoral degree from Yeshiva University. On January 20, 2001 President George W. Bush swore in Powell as Secretary of State. He is the first African American to hold this position.
             While few question Powell's integrity and principles, many of his adversaries call to question his effectiveness as Secretary of State for an Administration that he constantly disagrees with. In order to fully comprehend that this isn't true and that Colin Powell has Made significant contributions with positive results, it is useful to first review Powell's opinion's of what makes a success...