Leadership Lecture Series - 10/24/2003
John F. Burns
John F. Burns became chief of The New York Times bureau in New Delhi in 1994. He was previously based in Sarajevo and, before that, Belgrade. In 1993 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for courageous coverage of the strife and destruction in Bosnia.
Mr. Burns was bureau chief in Toronto from 1987 to 1991. From 1984 to 1987, he served as chief of the Peking bureau. In July 1986, he was incarcerated by the Chinese Government for six days on charges of espionage. After an investigation, all charges were dropped, but he was expelled from the country.
From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Burns was bureau chief in Moscow. Between 1976 and 1981, he was assigned to the Johannesburg bureau.
In 1979, Mr. Burns and two other Times correspondents shared the George Polk Award for their reporting from Africa.
Mr. Burns joined The Times in 1975 after covering the life and politics of mainland China from his base in Beijing from 1971 to 1975 for The Toronto Globe and Mail. Before that he was a local and parliamentary reporter for The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Burns was born on Oct. 4, 1944, in Nottingham, England. His family moved to Canada when he was a boy, and he was educated at McGill University in Montreal. In 1980 and 1981 he studied Russian at Harvard, and in 1984 he studied Chinese at Cambridge University. He also speaks French and German.
He is married to Jane Scott-Long; they have two sons and a daughter.
Tommy Franks
General Franks was
commissioned a second lieutenant in 1967 as a distinguished graduate of
the Artillery Officer Candidate School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After an
initial tour at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was assigned to the 9th
Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam, where he served as Forward
Observer, Aerial Observer, and Assistant S-3 with 2nd Battalion, 4th
Field Artillery. He also served as Fire Support Officer with 5th
Battalion (mechanized), 60th Infantry during this tour.
In 1968, General Franks returned to Fort Sill, where he commanded a cannon battery. In 1969, he was selected to participate in the Army's Degree Completion Program, and subsequently attended the University of Texas, Arlington, where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 1971. Following attendance at the Artillery Advance Course, he was assigned to the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in West Germany in 1973 where he commanded 1st Squadron Howitzer Battery, and served as Squadron Operations Officer. He also commanded the 84th Armored Engineer Company, and served as Regimental Assistant Operations Officer during this tour.
After graduation from Armed Forces Staff College, General Franks was posted to the Pentagon in 1976 where he served as an Army inspector general in the Investigations Division. In 1977 he was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff, Army where he served on the Congressional Activities Team, and then as an Executive Assistant.
In 1981, General Franks returned to West Germany where he commanded 2nd Battalion, 78th Field Artillery for three years. He returned to the United States in 1984 to attend the Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania where he also completed graduate studies and received a Master of Science Degree in Public Administration at Shippensburg University. He was next assigned to Fort Hood Texas as III Corps Deputy Assistant Operations Officer, a position he held until 1987 when he assumed command of Division Artillery, First Cavalry Division. Franks also served as Chief of Staff, First Cavalry Division, later during this tour.
Franks’ initial general officer assignment was as Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), First Cavalry Division during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. During 1991-92, he was assigned as Assistant Commandant of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill. In 1992, he was assigned to Fort Monroe, Virginia as the first Director, Louisiana Maneuvers Task Force, Office of Chief of Staff of the Army, a position held until 1994 when he was reassigned to Korea as the Operations Officer of Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea.
From 1995 to 1997, General Franks commanded the Second Infantry (Warrior) Division, Korea. He assumed command of Third U.S. (“Patton’s Own”) in May 1997, a post he held until June 2000 when he was selected for promotion to four-star General and assignment as Commander in Chief, United States Central Command. Franks retired from service on August 1st, 2003.
General Franks’ awards
include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (three awards);
Distinguished Service Medal (two awards); Legion of Merit (four
awards); Bronze Star Medal with "V" (three awards); Purple Heart (three
awards); Air Medal with "V"; Army Commendation Medal with "V"; and a
number of U.S. and foreign service awards. He wears the Army General
Staff Identification Badge and the Aircraft Crewmember's Badge.