# data[].attributes.body
Brycen -

# data[].attributes.body
September 1860-July 1948
The first and last acting 6 Star General of the Armies.

General Pershing served as The Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front in World War 1. Pershing was credited with making America a solo acting participant in the World War 1 conflict.

# data[].attributes.body
John Pershing was born to an affluent family in 1860. His family eventually fell victim to the great depression and had all their land taken by the bank. This forced him to pay for his own education. He became a teacher and enrolled himself in present day Truman State University. Two years later, after receiving his bachelor of science in Scientific Didactics, he enrolled in the United States Military Academy. In 1882, he became a full blown West Point cadet... where he held the highest ranking positions possible for the length of his West Point stay. Pershing had many opportunities for higher learning and leading community projects, but he chose to pursue the Active Army lifestyle.
In 1915, tragedy struck when a fire broke out... destroying his home and killing his wife, along with his three daughters. Some say this event pushed him to be an even more stoic version of himself and lit the fuse for the intimidating man he is known for today.

# data[].attributes.body
It's extremely important to study somebody that revolutionized the way we lead troops in the modern age. General Pershing was a man that demanded respect and had the ability to unite the masses in a way others could not. When looking at his "CEO" approach, it makes sense how he was successful. His ability to stick to a vision and have his general officers act on his behalf in very specific ways resembled very closely to what a Chief Executive Officer does in his own company. He was a visionary that could "See" every aspect of his command, while enabling his troops to make the best of what they had. He was a fit for a bad situation where the united nations wanted somebody that would fit their mold. Washington had no intention of allowing the United States to be controlled by another governing body and Pershing saw to it that, that would be the case.

Pershing is a fine example of both Gabel and Clausewitz ideal models working hand in hand. He had a great understanding of the technology of the day and knew how to use it while maintaining the staunchness necessary to see his plan unfold.

# data[].attributes.body
Pershing was a man of vision. He was chosen to be the Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces because he could get the job done. He was a stoic and unbending figure that demanded his intent be met. General Pershing was the Generals General.

# data[].attributes.body
Strengths:
- Part of the reason Pershing was chosen for his high command position was for his reputation of being "unbending".
- Had the ability to unite masses of soldiers. He is credited with increasing Americas army from around 130,000 soldiers to over 2 million.
- Saw soldiers as soldiers. All men had the ability to be great. He even gained the derogatory nick name of "Black Jack" for leading a company of African American Soldiers.
Weaknesses:
- Had a reputation of being very harsh and hard to work with.
- Relied Heavily on Man on Man front Assaults, resulting in High Casualties.
- His personal life and pointed personality make it harder for him to win the hearts of minds of the men he lead.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a great 10 minute run down dedicated to building who John Pershing was.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Creating An American Army - John J. Pershing I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1?

# data[].attributes.body
Gabel & Willbanks (2012) Great Commanders. John J. Pershin. Retrieved from
https://content.grantham.edu/academics/GU_HS315/Great_Commanders_Textbook.pdf
Harper & Kulkuljan (n.d.) Historic Missourians. General John Pershing. Retrieved from https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/p/pershing/
Smith, G. (2018) American Heritage. In search of "Back Jack" Pershing. Retrieved from
https://www.americanheritage.com/search-black-jack-pershing#1

# data[].attributes.body
Accomplishments:
- Early on, he rose to the top of his west point class, ultimately becoming a tactician expert and instructor.
- Pershing refused  the Medal of Honor in 1922 for his actions during the Battle of Bud Bagsak. He was later presented the Distinguished Service Cross in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the same battle.
- Lead the American Expeditionary Forces to a Victory in World War 1
- Received a Pulitzer Prize for his novel on his experiences in World War.

Failures:
- Failed to locate Poncho Villa in his 1916 Mexico Expedition describing it as "A man looking for a needle in a hay stack with an armed guard standing over the stack forbidding you to look in the hay".
- Gave more credit to his duty above anything else to a fault.