[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.That fall, he began work on a Master of BusinessAdministration (MBA) degree at George Washington Universityin Washington, D.C.His reason for pursuing an MBA wasquite simple. Good business managers, he explained yearslater,  are needed in the Department of Defense.5The Corridor of PowerOn July 9, 1970, 12 years after he first received a commission inthe U.S.Army, Colin Powell was promoted to lieutenantcolonel, the rank he had been told it would take him 20 yearsto attain.The 33-year-old officer now had a guaranteedretirement pension, which gave him and his family a growingsense of security.The following year, he graduated from GeorgeWashington University with an MBA.His future seemedbright, whether or not he chose to remain in the army.In 1972, a stroke of fate similar to the one that had placedhim on the 23rd Infantry Division staff landed Powell hisfirst political appointment.He was working as a researchanalyst in the office of the vice-chief of staff at the Pentagonwhen he received a phone call from the army s personneldepartment. Colin, the caller said,  the Infantry Branch wantsone of its people to become a White House Fellow.We wantyou to apply.3940COLIN POWELLLt.Col.Colin Powell shakes hands with President Richard Nixon inthe Oval Office.Powell achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel afteronly 12 years in the Army, a promotion he was told would take him20 years to attain.The White House Fellowship program sponsors promisingmilitary officers and civilians to serve for one year as anassistant in various departments of the executive branch.This internship is highly coveted because it grooms talentedmen and women for a role in government policy-making.Powell agreed to apply for a fellowship.His interview was conducted by Frank Carlucci, a small,wiry deputy secretary from the Office of Management andBudget (OMB).A former foreign service official who had wona State Department medal for rescuing a group of Americansfrom an angry mob in what is now the Democratic Republic of41The Corridor of Powerthe Congo, Carlucci took an immediate liking to the lieutenantcolonel.Powell received word shortly after the interview that ofthe more than 1,500 applicants for the fellowship, he was oneof the seven people chosen to become a White House Fellow.White House FellowsIn 1972, Colin Powell was one of seven selected from a group of 1,500applicants to become a White House Fellow.He joined a select group ofmen and women chosen to form the core of the nation s leaders and publicservants in a variety of fields.Founded in 1964 by President Lyndon B.Johnson, the White House Fellowsprogram was created as a nonpartisan program to give exceptional youngmen and women firsthand experience working at the highest levels of thefederal government.The White House Fellows typically spend a year working asfull-time, paid special assistants to top-ranking government officials, includingsenior White House staff, the vice president, and cabinet secretaries.Fellows also participate in roundtable discussions with leaders from theprivate and public sectors, and take trips to study American policy in actionboth domestically and internationally.The selection process is based on specific criteria, including: a record ofremarkable professional achievement early in one s career; evidence of lead-ership skills and the potential for future growth; a demonstrated commitmentto public service; and the knowledge and skills necessary to contributesuccessfully at the highest levels of the federal government.In addition,applicants are required to be U.S.citizens, and to have completed theirundergraduate education and be working in their chosen professions.At the time of Powell s selection, some 1,500 applicants were competingfor seven Fellowships.Today, the number of applicants remains the same, butthe White House Fellows Program now offers eleven to nineteen fellowships.Powell joined an elite group, whose alumni now include some 600accomplished leaders in a variety of fields.Among them are: Elaine Chao,Secretary of Labor under President George W.Bush; Wesley Clark, retiredU.S.Army general and former Supreme Allied Commandeer, Europe; PaulGigot, Editorial Page Editor of the Wall Street Journal; Sanjay Gupta, CNNmedical correspondent; Jane Pfeiffer, former chairman of NBC; TimothyWirth, President of the United Nations Foundation; and Samuel Brownback,U.S.Senator from Kansas.42COLIN POWELLPowell s good fortune did not end there.Carlucci invitedhim to serve as his assistant at the all-important OMB.In effect,the OMB oversees the operations of the executive branch.The OMB helps the president put together the nation s budgetfor each fiscal year, controls the administration of the budgetafter Congress has approved it, and provides the presidentwith information on the performance of each governmentprogram.Thus, Powell s new assignment not only involvedhim in the fiscal planning of the executive branch but alsogave him a broad view of how it worked.He felt that he hadlanded what he termed a  dream job.Along with assisting Carlucci, Powell worked with Carlucci sboss, OMB director Caspar W.Weinberger, who had recentlybeen appointed to the post by President Richard M.Nixon.A tough-minded politician, Cap Weinberger displayed sucha willingness to streamline federal finances that he was giventhe nickname Cap the Knife.Powell s stint at the OMB proved a turning point in his life.His ability to carry out tasks with extreme competence andlittle fuss made a lasting impression on both Carlucci andWeinberger, each of whom was a rising star in Washingtonpolitics.Because of their support, Powell would always findthe corridors of power open to him in the years that followed.NATIONAL WAR COLLEGEAfter Powell s term as a White House Fellow expired in 1973,the army sent him to South Korea in September to takecommand of the First Battalion of the Second InfantryDivision s 32nd Infantry Regiment [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]