Who is General Petraeus

On June 23, 2010 General Stanley McChrystal was relieved of duty as the commander in Afghanistan, after some derogatory comments about the chain of command and the commander in chief in an interview in Rolling Stone Magazine. President Obama replaced him with General David Petraeus who was McChrystal's boss. Obama stressed that this was a change in personnel but not in policy.
Petraeus had been serving at the Chief of Central Command, responsible for the wars in Afghanistan and Iran, but will be leaving that post as soon as he is confirmed as the new general in Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has announced that General David Petraeus has been chosen to become Chief of the U.S. Central Command, where he will he will oversee U.S. forces in all the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army Lt. General Ray Odierno has been tapped to take over Petraeus's job as Commanding General in Iraq.

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David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a United States Army general and the 10th and current Commander of the United States Central Command. Petraeus previously served as Commanding General of Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) from January 26, 2007 to September 16, 2008.Gates Notes Shift in Mission as Iraq Command Changes Hands As Commander of MNF-I, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq.

Petraeus has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy from which he graduated in 1974 as a distinguished cadet (top 5% of his class).

Bahrain (Dec. 13, 2009) Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, puts on a Navy ball cap during an all-hands call at Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Petraeus was presented the cap after the U.S. Naval Academy beat the U.S. Military Academy in the 110th Army-Navy collegiate football game the previous night. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Felix Garza Jr./Released)

General Petraeus speaks to the sailors on the USS Nimitz during an all-hands call. The Nimitz is deployed to the Central Command's area of responsibility.

While on board, General Petraeus oversaw reenlistment and award ceremonies. He also rode along in an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the "Black Aces" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41. Petraeus called it a "Top Gun" moment. He took a helo over to the USS Sampson and visited with the sailors there. Upon returning to the Nimitz he carved a turkey and had Thanksgiving dinner with the Nimitz sailors. My son said the consensus of those who met General Petraeus is that he is a "cool guy."

Some quotes from General Petraeus:

"Each and every person that wears our country's uniform is indeed, in a sense, 'An Army of One,' or a Sailor of one," said Petraeus. "Each of us has enormous intrinsic worth and can be the most important person in the life of a fellow Sailor or others with whom we work."

Petraeus expressed thanks and gratitude for the job Nimitz Sailors are doing in support of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

"I'm so thankful to be out here with over 4,000 great Americans who are engaged in important missions and working together to accomplish them," said Petraeus. "There's no greater source of energy than the 4,000 plus members of the crew and air wing that are on one of these great ships."

Source: navy.mil

In addition to 1,000 pounds of traditional Thanksgiving turkeys, Nimitz' food service team served up 600 pounds of ham, 15 roasted pigs, roast-steamship rounds of beef, broiled lobster, and 150 one gallon cans of cranberry sauce.

Source: navy.mil