Eisenhower was very much a "behind the curtains" type of commander. Many of his more forceful decisions were kept out of the public eye. It was this very lack of wanting the limelight that made him such a good choice for his job. Even when President, he held a reputation of being little more than a figurehead. Yet, under his presidency, many of the most monumental events took place without fuss or muss.

It took a strong person to handle the numerous egos. Prima donna generals, foolish politicians, and bumbling bureaucrats all had to be made to agree to a central cause. In most cases, it was the challenge of getting all the forces involved to agree to a course of action. But when the time came, it was the solitary task of making the decision that would risk the lives of thousands of brave young men for unknown gains. All of the generals leading the troops, only had to make the plans of how to best achieve their assigned goal. The politicians had to assign timelines for success and gather the infrastructure of equipment and troops. Only one person had the responsibility to say where they hit, what they they hit with, and when did they hit. It is one thing to plan something in the abstract, another to make plans knowing that one little failure could meant thousands of lives.

__________________
Lord, let me be the person my dog thinks I am.