of stodgy, old men. general powell was not stodgy and not old. he was one of those people who could take a problem and dissect it in a way that made it manageable and everybody who served with him benefitted from his abilities that way. even to serve him from a distance, that was i think one of the greatest legacies of general powell s life and it was the fact that he did that for so many people in the military. colonel, thank you so much, as we reflect on the legacy of colin powell on this day where we have learned that he has passed away at the age of 84. colonel, thank you again. john? you bet, brianna. joining me is charley dent, former republican congressman. charlie, i appreciate you being with us. you can t say this about everyone. this is a loss for america. the death of colin powell is a loss for america.
to make, you have to learn to describe your problems in a way that others can understand that are not in the army. don t make your problems, think that your problems and your charges are the biggest things that are going to affect congress. you have to talk to them in your, in their voice to help influence them to help you solve some of your challenges. that s the kind of mentor he was. i remember one time working with general freddy franks and we were called up to general powell s office, this was when the war in kosovo and albania was going on. general franks was asked by general powell to lay out maps and what are the problems going into bosnia at the time and general franks and i were crawling around the floor of his office. he gave me a coin afterwards but this is the kind of guy he was. he wanted the details of europe. he wanted the details of the world and he listened closely to
my heart breaks for general powell s family, and for the almost 750,000 other families who have suffered this kind of loss and all those who have known them. dr. reiner, we thank you for being with us this morning. we ll lean on you throughout the day and reminder, severe breakthrough cases of covid are rare but expected especially among seniors. our special coverage on the passing of general colin powell continues right now. good monday morning. i m erica hill. we begin with breaking news. i m jim sciutto. breaking in us this morning, sad news, general colin powell, the barrier-breaking former secretary of state as well as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff during war time has died of complications from covid-19.
great student of military history, but also someone who understood the government more than most. of that generation that served in vietnam and whose vietnam experience no doubt colored the rest of his military career and how we thought about things and as you point out, not only did he command in europe, he was chair of the joint chiefs during the involvement in panama, and then desert storm and desert shield. right. which were key transformative moments after vietnam for the u.s. military. you bring up a great point, john. i came in at the end of the vietnam war. i was at west point when we stopped sending soldiers there, so i never served in vietnam but i know general powell s generation, don starry, dennis rhymer, julius becton, i could go on and on of the general officers who cut their teeth in vietnam. i realized what they had to do