He served two tours in vietnam before earning a prestigious fellowship during the nixon era in 1972. afterwards, powell returned to his troops eventually becoming a general and went back to the white house in 1987 as president reagan s national security adviser. then in 1989, the general became the highest ranking officer in the u.s. military when president george h.w. bush named him chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. our strategy to go after this army is very, very simple. first we cut it off and we re going to kill it. reporter: his policy of overwhelming force against iraq became known as the powell doctrine. i express my sincere thanks to each and every one of you for being here to share my final day
During the nixon era in 1972. afterwards, powell returned to his troops, eventually becoming a general, and went back to the white house in 1987 as president reagan s national security adviser. then in 1989, the general became the highest ranking officer in the u.s. military when president george h.w. bush named him chairman of the joint cheechs of staff. our strategy to go after this army is simple. first we re going to cut it off, then we re going to kill it. reporter: powell became a household name during the first gulf war. his policy of overwhelming force against iraq became known as the powell doctrine. i exmy sincere thanks to each and every one of you for being here to share my final day in uniform. reporter: after a distinguished 35-year career, powell retired from the army in 19893.
Push for that. reporter: powell grew up in the bronx, new york, his parents emigrated from jamaica. by his own admission, he was not an outstanding student. it s been amusing over the years to have people come up to me, general powell, you re chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. when did you graduate from west point? [ laughs ] couldn t have gotten in. reporter: he enrolled in the city college of new york. geology was his major but the rotc became his passion. powell flourished as a cadet, and after graduating, exceled as a soldier. he served two tours in vietnam before earning a prestigious fellowship during the nixon era in 1972. afterwards, powell returned to his troops eventually becoming a general and went back to the white house in 1987 as president reagan s national security adviser. then in 1989, the general became the highest ranking officer in