His leadership style was sometimes criticized by subordinates who felt it reduced their ability to solve problems creatively. In 1968 he attended the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, completing the course in June 1969. Schwarzkopf was born on 24 August 1934, in Trenton, New Jersey, where his father, Colonel H Norman Schwarzkopf Jr, founder and commander of the New Jersey state police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case. Two company officers had been wounded and two soldiers were trapped, fearful of setting off more mines.

Fearing that he would set off another landmine, Schwarzkopf pinned the soldier to the ground while another soldier put a splint on the wounded man's leg. The senior Schwarzkopf visited Italy, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, [22] and Berlin, Germany during his military duties, and the younger Schwarzkopf accompanied him.Schwarzkopf's experience in the Middle East allowed him to understand the factors surrounding the conflict, including the allied commanders, with greater ease. In the Vietnam War, Schwarzkopf served as a task force adviser to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division. Ricks said that Schwarzkopf was overly cautious in the execution of his plans because of his fear of repeating mistakes in Vietnam, which meant his troops failed to destroy the Iraqi Republican Guard.

He was assigned to teach at the Military Academy for three years, but after a year he volunteered for service in South Vietnam for faster career advancement with a combat tour. Disgruntled by the treatment of Vietnam veterans in the United States after the war, Schwarzkopf considered leaving the military but ultimately decided to stay in the hope of fixing some of the problems encountered by the military during the war. Odierno wrote in a joint statement, "Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to General Schwarzkopf and our Soldiers will hold a special place in their hearts for this great leader.Probably the most anti-war people I know are Army officers—but if we do have a war, I think it's going to be limited in nature like Vietnam and Korea. He was profiled by the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and Newsday, People, as well as praised in a Random House publication on the war, Triumph in the Desert. A memorial service was conducted on February 28, 2013, at the Cadet Chapel at West Point, which was attended by Colin Powell, Schwarzkopf's family, and others.

with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say: 'Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today. William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 a fact that many of us already know but do we know the more gruesome facts surrounding William. However, he refused medical evacuation or to relinquish command until the objective had been captured and so he was awarded a second Silver Star and a Purple Heart. He was the chief army adviser to the overall operation commander, Vice Admiral Joseph Metcalf III, Commander, United States Second Fleet/Commander Joint Task Force 120. Vuono, a lifelong friend of Schwarzkopf, described him as "competent, compassionate, egotistical, loyal, opinionated, funny, emotional, sensitive to any slight.

On May 28, 1970, Schwarzkopf landed his helicopter when discovering troops of B Company who had stumbled into a minefield. the Native American Osage tribe in Pawhuska, Oklahoma made General Schwarzkopf an honorary Osage Chief, and by his request from the Peace Clan of the Osage, a chief of peace not war. The air campaign proved to be a success by achieving air superiority and destroying the Iraqi military's communications network, supplies, and many tanks and armored vehicles. Rising through the ranks after the Vietnam war, he later commanded the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division and was one of the commanders of the invasion of Grenada in 1983.