Summary Of Jumping General Jim Gavin

Running head: JUMPING JIM GAVIN 1

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JUMPING JIM GAVIN

Jumping General Jim Gavin

The Father of the 82nd Airborne Division

Jon Clark

University of Louisville

Dr Bradley Carpenter

ELFH 490-98

29 May 2015

The Father of the 82nd Airborne Division In order to provide a baseline to build a Leader Profile for Lieutenant General James (Jim) Gavin I would like to first provide some insight into his child hood and how he became a leader in the United States Army. Utilizing Hickman?s work on the Leaders of World War II (2015) here is a brief synopsis of Jumping Jim Gavin?s early years. James Maurice Gavin was born in 1907 as James M. Ryan, two years after his birth he was placed in an orphanage. After a short stay in the orphanage he found

While performing his duties as a Brigade Commander during the invasion of Sicily in 1943 Gavin demonstrated his capabilities at problem analysis as well as implemented the processes through his unit. In this instance Gavin defined the problem and generated alternative solutions. Interestingly enough he allowed his Paratroopers to evaluate and choose the appropriate solution based on their situation. Then as the brigade would begin to assemble into a fighting force the leaders and Gavin would continue to implement and follow up on the solutions to the problems that they faced. Carlo D?Este wrote Jim Gavin?s War (2015) in this work he describes one of the key problems that Gavin encountered during the invasion of Sicily. Gavin?s Paratroopers were spread over miles of terrain after the Air Force failed to drop them near their objectives (para.3-5). Gavin perceived that this would become a problem after similar issues during pervious airborne operations. Now that Gavin had a defined problem he developed alternate courses of actions for his Paratroopers which included secondary objectives. He also provided guidance for alternative courses of action in case Paratroopers failed to link up with a large enough force to assault planned objectives. This

(p.286). They also provide four characteristics of personal power; expertise, personal attraction, effort, and legitimacy(p.288). Gavin made great use of the characteristics of power to help establish his power base and influence both his Paratroopers and his superiors. D?Este (2015) wrote this about Gavin, ?He was one of the first graduates of the airborne school at Fort Benning and became a pioneer of airborne warfare. Gavin made so many parachute jumps, some of them experimental, that he earned the nickname ?Jumpin? Jim? (para.3). Gavin had volunteered for the airborne units which were new to the army and this is just one example of how he gained his nick name of ?Jumpin? Jim? as well as the expertise. He sought out experiences and was on the forefront of developing the tactics of airborne warfare making him one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field. Whetten and Cameron (2011) define attraction as,?charisma, agreeable behavior, and physical characteristics? (p.289). Gavin possessed all of the characteristics to the point of becoming known as the father of the 82nd Airborne Division. Paratroopers were naturally drawn to him because he was always the first to jump and always leading from the front and was one of few officers of the time that carried the same rifle and in fact was often confused for a regular fighting Soldier due to appearance and his demeanor around his men. Effort is