Col. David Anders, left, accompanies Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal on a review of the troops. A magazine article forced an unfortunate end to the general's career.
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Afghan Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad shakes hands with Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his wife Annie after a ceremony for McChrystal. Jawad presented McChrystal with a State Medal from Afghanistan.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
"With my resignation, I . . . left unfulfilled commitments I made to many comrades in the fight, commitments I hold sacred," McChrystal said. "My service did not end as I would have wished."
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
McChrystal's speech -- which was disarmingly funny, personal and often wistful -- poked fun at himself, paid homage to the troops who fought for him and offered thanks to his wife.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
Almost half of McChrystal's speech focused on his wife, Annie, and his fond remembrances of Army life, which included constant shuffling between military bases and post-midnight platoon parties that he organized for his troops decades ago in his tiny Fort Bragg apartment.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
In the past, McChrystal has often expressed unease with the pomp and circumstance of the institutional Army, and he tried to avoid a big parade-ground send-off in favor of something quieter and low-key. Several fellow officers and close aides pressed him to reconsider his objections to a big military ceremony.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
The general was able to extract one concession from the Army. In a departure from tradition, the troops in attendance wore battlefield camouflage instead of more formal uniforms.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
The general used his goodbye to thank Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Obama, who forced him to leave the military and his command in Afghanistan. With those brief remarks, McChrystal seemed to go out of his way to reaffirm the principle of civilian control over the military.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
The former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan was fired last month after Rolling Stone magazine published an article titled "The Runaway General" that quoted scathing remarks he and his aides made about their civilian bosses.
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In his 18-minute farewell tribute before the VIP-studded crowd, McChrystal made light of the episode. He warned his comrades in arms, "I have stories on all of you, photos on many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter."
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
"We say goodbye to Stan McChrystal with pride and sadness," the defense secretary said. "No single American has inflicted more fear or more loss of life on our country's most vicious and violent enemies."
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
"Stan has done more to carry the fight to al-Qaeda than anyone else in the Defense Department and probably the nation," said Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, left. McChrystal will be remembered inside the military for the secret effort he led in Iraq to destroy the network of al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic extremists, which were driving the insurgency in Iraq in 2006 and 2007.
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
McChrystal closed by urging his fellow officers to believe that success in today's wars is possible. "Caution and cynicism are safe, but soldiers don't want to follow cautious cynics," he said, his voice catching briefly. "They follow leaders who believe enough to risk failure and disappointment for a worthy cause."
Linda Davidson-The Washington Post
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