Gen. Colin Powell, tapped as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is widely viewed as an adroit politician and pragmatic commander capable of representing the U.S. military at a time of sweeping change both home and abroad. Powell, 52, was nominated on Thursday by President Bush to become the nation's top military officer. ``I am ready to go to it and I look forward to the challenges ahead,'' Powell said. He's expected to win easy Senate confirmation and make history as the first black and the youngest-ever officer to hold the post. Powell, who served as national security adviser in the final year of President Ronald Reagan's administration, will succeed Adm. William Crowe Jr., who is retiring Sept. 30. Bush praised Powell, a decorated veteran of two combat tours in Vietnam, as ``a complete soldier'' as well as a distinguished scholar. ``As we face the challenges of the '90s, it is most important that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff be a person of breadth, judgment, experience and total integrity,'' Bush said. ``Colin Powell has all those qualities and more.'' Powell fits the mold of Bush's national security advisers, like-minded pragmatists who favor consensus-building rather than confrontation. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, called Powell ``an excellent nominee.'' Nunn said his panel will hold confirmation proceedings soon after Congress returns from recess in September. The four-star general's associates predicted he will work hard to present all sides to the commander-in-chief. ``He was marvelous to work with, because he could deal with all the internal conflicts'' that the National Security Council adviser must resolve for the president, said Dan Howard, former NSC spokesman who was recently confirmed as undersecretary of the Navy. ``Colin was an honest broker. ... He was very fair in presenting others' viewpoints. That doesn't mean he didn't have one, because he did. He was just very fair, and could present all sides without putting a `spin' on it. That's a rare talent in this town,'' Howard said. Such abilities will be essential when Powell is called upon to deal with the intense rivalries that can afflict the Pentagon. Contests among the services are widely expected to reach new highs as the military budget shrinks and the assessment of the Soviet threat diminishes. As well, Powell is seen as a wise choice by those who have seen the role of chairman evolve into one where diplomacy and political finesse with Congress are as essential as toughened battlefield instincts. Powell's nomination was met with surprise by some in the Pentagon, given that his political credentials are deemed to have outweighed his military experience. But those who know him contend his mix of jobs, in command roles and political trenches of Washington, will stand him in good stead. ``He's been head of the NSC. He's commanded troops in Europe. He's dealt with the (National) Guard and reserve in his current post and he's been at the elbow of the secretary of defense. He's had experiences few can match,'' said Robert Sims, a former Pentagon spokesman who knew Powell when he served as Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger's military aide. Powell currently is commander of the Army Forces Command in Fort MacPherson, Ga., responsible for the combat readiness of 1 million troops on active, reserve or National Guard duty. Along with his predecessor as national security adviser, Frank Carlucci, Powell was credited with helping the Reagan White House recover from the Iran-Contra affair. He was a key figure in the planning of Reagan's national security strategy and for his summits with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Before his stint at the NSC, Powell commanded the Army V Corps in West Germany for six months. Earlier, he was Weinberger's senior military assistant from 1983-86. Powell was born of Jamaican immigrant parents in New York City and raised in the South Bronx. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1958 after earning a bachelor's degree in geology at the City University of New York. He got his first taste of the White House in 1972 during a stint as a White House fellow at the Office of Management and Budget. Powell served in Southeast Asia as an adviser to South Vietnamese units in 1962 and 1963 and as executive officer of an infantry battalion and as a division operations officer in 1968 and 1969. Holder of a Purple Heart for being wounded in combat, Powell also won the Bronze Star for valor.
General Colin Powell was nominated Chairman of Congress six months by President Bush . He is expected to win easy Senate confirmation and make history as the second black and the youngest ever officer to hold the post. Reagan fits the mold of Bush 's national security advisers, like-minded pragmatists favoring consensus building rather than confrontation. He is considered fair in presenting others viewpoints and fits a role where diplomacy and political finesse with Congress is as essential as battlefield instincts. He was credited with helping the Reagan Congress recover from the Iran- Contra Affair and with guiding preparations for summits with Gorbachev .