B&C Member Spotlight - General Norman Schwarzkopf

As the coalition commander who drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991, General Norman Schwarzkopf was also an avid hunter and advocate for grizzly bears.

Norman Schwarzkopf knew he would be a general when he was just ten years old. When asked why he had such a stern look as he posed for a photo, he replied that he wanted to be taken seriously when he became a general. Once a general, he stood over six feet tall and was a bear of a man, both in stature and spirit. In fact, “Bear” is a nickname he came to appreciate, both in the military and in retirement.

He was born August 22, 1934, in Trenton, New Jersey. His father was a West Point graduate and veteran of World War I, who later became the founding superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. When Norman was eight, his father returned to active duty during WW II, leaving him and his two older sisters behind.

In 1946, at age 12, Norman moved with his father to Tehran, Iran, where he learned shooting, horseback riding, and hunting. In Iran, he hunted ibex, mouflon sheep, and gazelle when he was 13. The family then moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1947, and Schwarzkopf accompanied his father on military duties to Italy and Germany. It was in Germany where he hunted red stag and boar. His father died in 1958, and from a young age, Schwarzkopf wanted to follow in his footsteps as a military officer.

Schwarzkopf attended various international schools in Tehran, Geneva, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg before graduating from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1952 as the valedictorian of his class. He then attended West Point, where he played football, wrestled, and sang in the choir. He graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree and later earned a Master of Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Stormin’ Norman

As a second lieutenant in the Infantry, Schwarzkopf served in various roles, such as platoon leader and staff officer, in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. His first combat experience was during the Vietnam War, when he advised the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division. He was awarded two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart. Schwarzkopf served a second tour in Vietnam as a battalion commander.

After Vietnam, Schwarzkopf rose steadily through the ranks, taking on assignments like teaching at West Point, serving as a brigade and division commander, and working at the Pentagon. Key roles included commanding the 24th Infantry Division and being the deputy commander of the 1983 Invasion of Grenada. This operation highlighted the need for better joint military cooperation and planning, which Schwarzkopf would emphasize going forward.

In 1988, Schwarzkopf took command of United States Central Command (CENTCOM). As tensions built with Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, he oversaw the deployment of over 700,000 troops to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. Schwarzkopf planned the air campaign and ground offensive that made up Operation Desert Storm to repel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991, coordinating an international coalition force.

Left: Commander in chief, U.S. Central Command, puts his arm around NBC News correspondent Katie Couric while visiting with members of the media during Operation Desert Storm. Right: U.S. Central Command commander-in-chief, visits with a local official during Operation Desert Shield

Operation Desert Storm was an overwhelming success, with Iraqi forces defeated in just 100 hours of ground operations. Schwarzkopf negotiated the ceasefire and was hailed as a hero upon returning to the U.S., though he declined promotion to become Army Chief of Staff. After parading troops in Washington D.C., the highly decorated Schwarzkopf retired from the military in August 1991, settling in Tampa, Florida.

Hunter and Grizzly Advocate

After retirement, Schwarzkopf didn’t trade his boots for golf shoes. He became a champion for a number of charitable causes, from raising money and awareness for children with chronic pain and illness to conservation of grizzly bears.

He became a spokesperson for the Interagency Grizzly Recovery Committee, a group that “supports recovery and delisting, and ongoing conservation of grizzly bear populations and their habitats in areas of the western United States through interagency coordination of policy, planning, management, research and communication.”

Chuck Bartlebough of Be Bear Aware worked with Schwarzkopf to raise public awareness about the plight of the grizzly in the Lower 48. He says that Schwarzkopf was able to speak to hunters and encouraged them to become advocates for the grizzly bear’s recovery as well. “He was a great spokesperson,” Bartlebough says.

In 1997, while at Yellowstone National Park, Schwarzkopf advocated for grizzly bear conservation. "The grizzly bear is very, very important to me,” he said. “The bear is the last animal we have in this country that truly represents what the American wilderness was, and we must preserve our American heritage." At the time, there were less than 1,000 grizzlies in the lower 48 states. Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are at least 1,923 individual grizzly bears.

"What people don't understand is this is something that we only have in America. There is no other country in the world where the ordinary citizen can go out and enjoy hunting and fishing. There's no other nation in the world where that happens. And it's very much a part of our heritage." - Norman Schwarzkopf

Read the Club's position statement on wolf and grizzly bear management.

“Everyone knows Schwarzkopf was a great general, but few know in retirement, he turned into a great spokesman for conservation and the hunting and shooting sports industry,” said Marine Colonel Craig Boddington (retired), a Boone and Crockett Club professional member.

Throughout his military career, his duties as a soldier took him around the U.S. and the world. And he never missed a chance to hunt. In Alaska, he hunted caribou and Dall’s sheep in 1975. He hunted blacktails in Washington in 1979, and then back to Alaska for caribou and moose in 1986. He became a regular member of the Boone and Crockett Club in 1996 but offered his resignation in 2011 due to health issues. In a letter to the Club, he wrote, “Please know my resignation is solely due to health reasons and in no way is a reflection on the high regard I have always had and will continue to have for the Boone and Crockett Club. To be honest, I have no doubt I am paying the price for living my life with gusto but, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t change a minute of it nor would I have done things any differently.”

At 78, General Schwarzkopf died in Tampa, Florida, on December 27, 2012, from complications of pneumonia. Of the nicknames he earned over the years, Stormin’ Norman and Bear were the most popular. He preferred Bear over all others. Thanks to his love for grizzlies and their recovery, he certainly earned it.

Member Spotlights

Boone and Crockett Club members have come from a cross-section of famous accomplished people whose lives and careers have written and recorded the history of this country since the late 19th Century. They have been naturalists, scientists, explorers and sportsmen, writers and academicians, artists, statesmen and politicians, generals, bankers, financiers, philanthropists, and industrialists. Their diversity of ideas and activities during their careers have made the Boone and Crockett Club rich in its fellowship and achievements. To read more member spotlights, just click here. 

PJ DelHomme writes and edits content from his home in western Montana. He runs Crazy Canyon Media and Crazy Canyon Journal.