H . R . McMaster Major General Herbert Raymond McMaster ( born July 24 , 1962 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American soldier , and a career officer in the U . S . Army . His current assignment is commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Ft . Benning , Georgia . McMaster previously served as Director of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force - Shafafiyat ( CJIATF - Shafafiyat ) ( Transparency ) at ISAF ( International Security Assistance Force ) Headquarters in Kabul , Afghanistan . In addition , he was a research fellow at Stanford University ' s Hoover Institution . He is known for his roles in the Gulf War , Operation Iraqi Freedom , Operation Enduring Freedom , and his reputation for questioning U . S . policy and military leaders regarding the Vietnam War . Education . McMaster graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1980 , where he served as a Company Commander with the rank of Cadet Captain . He is a 1984 graduate of West Point , where he played rugby . He holds Master of Arts and Ph . D . degrees in American History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , and authored a thesis criticizing American strategy in the Vietnam War , which is detailed in his 1997 book " Dereliction of Duty " . It harshly criticizes high - ranking officers of that era , charging they inadequately challenged Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson on their Vietnam strategy . The book is widely read in Pentagon circles and is on the official reading list of the Marine Corps . Early career . His first assignment after commissioning was to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood , where he served in a variety of platoon and company level leadership assignments with 1st Battalion 66th Armor Regiment . In 1989 , McMaster was assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Warner Barracks in Bamberg , Germany , where he served until 1992 , including deployment to Operation Desert Storm . During the Gulf War in 1991 he was a Captain commanding Eagle Troop of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of 73 Easting . ( http : / / dragoonbase . com / video / m1a1 - abrams - tanks - in - action ) During that battle , though significantly outnumbered and encountering the enemy by surprise as McMaster ' s lead tank crested a dip in the terrain , the nine tanks of Eagle Troop destroyed over eighty Iraqi Republican Guard tanks and other vehicles without loss . McMaster was awarded the Silver Star . The battle features in several books about Desert Storm and is widely referred to in US Army training exercises . It also receives coverage in Tom Clancy ' s 1994 popular non - fiction book " Armored Cav " . McMaster served as a military history professor at West Point from 1994 to 1996 , teaching among other things the battles in which he fought . Later career . From 1999 to 2002 , McMaster commanded 1st Squadron , 4th Cavalry Regiment , and then took a series of staff positions at U . S . Central Command ( USCENTCOM ) , including planning and operations roles in Iraq . In his next job , as Lieutenant Colonel and later Colonel , McMaster worked on the staff of USCENTCOM as executive officer to Deputy Commander Lieutenant General John Abizaid . When Abizaid received four - star rank and became Central Command ' s head , McMaster served as Director , Commander ' s Advisory Group ( CAG ) , described as the command ' s brain trust . In 2004 , he was assigned to command the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment ( 3rd ACR ) . Shortly after McMaster took command the regiment deployed for its second tour in Iraq and was assigned the mission of securing the city of Tal Afar . That mission culminated in September with Operation Restoring Rights and the defeat of the city ' s insurgent strongholds . President Bush praised this success , and the PBS show Frontline broadcast a documentary in February , 2006 featuring interviews with McMaster . CBS ' 60 Minutes produced a similar segment in July , and the operation was the subject of an article in the April 10 , 2006 issue of " The New Yorker . " Author Tim Harford has written that the pioneering tactics employed by 3rd ACR led to the first success in overcoming the Iraqi insurgency . Prior to 2005 , tactics included staying out of dangerous urban areas except on patrols , with US forces returning to their bases each night . These patrols had little success in turning back the insurgency because local Iraqis who feared retaliation would very rarely assist in identifying them to US forces . McMaster deployed his soldiers into Tal Afar on a permanent basis , and once the local population grew confident that they weren ' t going to withdraw nightly , the citizens began providing information on the insurgents , enabling US forces to target and defeat them . McMaster passed command of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment on June 29 , 2006 and joined the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London , as a Senior Research Associate with a mandate described as " conduct [ ing ] research to identify opportunities for improved multi - national cooperation and political - military integration in the areas of counterinsurgency , counter - terrorism , and state building " , and to devise " better tactics to battle terrorism . " From August , 2007 to August , 2008 McMaster was part of an " elite team of officers advising US commander " General David Petraeus on counterinsurgency operations in Iraq . Petraeus and most of his team were stationed in Fort Leavenworth at the time but McMaster collaborated remotely , according to senior team member John Nagl . Promotion controversy and career as a general officer . McMaster was passed over for promotion to Brigadier General in 2006 and 2007 . As one of " the most celebrated soldiers of the Iraq War " , this decision was controversial among the public . " The reasoning was possibly his tendency to speak out against the status quo , although it is always for the benefit of the mission and his soldiers . " McMaster was nominated for Brigadier General on the 2008 promotion list . Secretary of the Army Pete Geren had requested Petraeus to return briefly from Iraq to take charge of the promotion board as a way to ensure that the best performers in combat received every consideration for advancement , and it is generally acknowledged that Petraeus ' s presence ensured that McMaster was among those selected . In August , 2008 McMaster assumed duties as Director , Concept Development and Experimentation ( later renamed Concept Development and Learning ) , in the Army Capabilities Integration Center ( ARCIC ) at Fort Monroe , Virginia , part of U . S . Army Training and Doctrine Command . In this position McMaster was involved in preparing doctrine to guide the Army over the next ten to twenty years . He was promoted on June 29 , 2009 . In July , 2010 Brigadier General McMaster was selected to be the J - 5 , Deputy to the Commander for Planning , at ISAF ( International Security Assistance Forces ) Headquarters in Kabul , Afghanistan . Additionally , General McMaster directed a joint anti - corruption task force ( CJIATF - Shafafiyat ) at ISAF Headquarters . The promotion issue re - surfaced in 2011 , when he was not selected for Major General with his peers despite being called " probably our best Brigadier General " by Army Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey . McMaster was nominated for promotion on January 23 , 2012 . In April , 2012 he was announced as the next commander of the Army ' s Maneuver Center of Excellence ( MCoE ) at Ft . Benning . On June 13 , 2012 McMaster assumed command of the MCoE and was promoted to Major General at a ceremony at Ft . Benning . " Dereliction of Duty " . " Dereliction of Duty : Lyndon Johnson , Robert McNamara , The Joint Chiefs of Staff , and the Lies that Led to Vietnam " is a book written by then Major , now Major General H . R . McMaster that explores the military ' s role in the policies of the Vietnam War . The book was written as part of McMaster ' s Ph . D . thesis at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . The book examines Robert McNamara and U . S . President Lyndon B . Johnson ' s staff , alongside the military and particularly the Joint Chiefs of Staff , failure to provide a successful plan of action to pacify either a Viet Cong insurgency or decisively defeat the North Vietnamese Army . McMaster details why military actions intended to indicate " resolve " or to " communicate " ultimately failed when trying to accomplish sparsely detailed , confusing , and conflicting military objectives . In his opinion , the military is not a political or diplomatic tool , and is instead a force to be used appropriately to inflict massive casualties and cause maximized damage to enemy forces in order to meet objective military targets and goals .