Vietnam vet tackles terror as head of FBI: Robert Mueller has a daunting task ahead, but his combat experience as a Marine promises to make him an effective leader

VFW Magazine, Oct, 2002 by Tom Nugent

Explains Mueller: "We can't sit around and wait to react. The FBI has to become proactive in anticipating attacks and preventing them. And that mission requires that we put together the best communications and information structure of which we're capable."

* Last December, the Bureau created a new Office of Intelligence that will oversee two newly expanded divisions: Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Intelligence. These new and expanded intelligence-gathering units will eventually include more than 1,000 FBI agents, administrators and analysts who will be based overseas, according to recently published estimates.

How successful has Mueller been so far at gearing up the FBI for the ongoing war against terrorists?

"There's no question but that Bob Mueller was the right choice to reorganize the Bureau," says his boss, Attorney General John Ashcroft. "The FBI is on the front lines of the war against terrorism, and as a former combat Marine, Mueller has always wanted to be where the fight is most fierce."

Adds Ord Elliott, a California management consultant who also earned numerous decorations as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam: "Mueller is a rock-solid guy with a lot of guts, and the job of platoon commander in Vietnam was a microcosm of the job he has now.

"In a jungle situation, you have to deploy your troops effectively--even though you can't see everything around you because of the terrain. And that's the challenge he faces right now in combating these terrorists.

"I'm sure he'll use `the Marine Corps approach' for running the FBI."

Leading by Example

Born in New York City, Bob Mueller grew up in the Philadelphia area. An outstanding student-athlete, he enjoyed a highly successful undergraduate career at Princeton University. Unlike many of his classmates, however, this intensely competitive lacrosse player chose the Marine Corps--and combat in Vietnam--rather than joining a Wall Street brokerage or a Boston banking firm after graduation.

Why did he sign on as a second lieutenant in an infantry unit at the height of the Vietnam War?

Ask the new FBI chief that question, and he'll tell you that he chose the Corps because he was "deeply impressed" with the sacrifice made by a classmate who died in combat during Mueller's senior year at Princeton.

"David Hackett was a good friend," Mueller told VFW magazine. "He went into the Marine Corps a year ahead of me, and he was killed in combat. He was an example to many of us in my class. We admired his character. He was a strong leader and a model for the rest of us."

While serving a one-year combat hitch in South Vietnam--where he was wounded--Mueller learned many of the leadership skills he's now relying on to lead the FBI in the war on terrorism.

"The instruction we received [in officer candidate school] was terrific," he recalls, "and the first thing we learned was how to lead others by example.

"They taught us the importance of getting the job done, rather than talking about it. We learned to tackle the assignment before us, accomplish it, then move on to the next mission without fanfare--and I think that continues to be my approach today."