William pagonis

Lieutenant General William Gus Pagonis (born April 30, 1941) served as the director of American logistics during the Gulf War of 1991.
Lieutenant General William Gus Pagonis served as the director of American logistics during the Gulf War of 1991.
William “Gus” Pagonis the Central Command deputy commanding general for logistics to make a single individual in the command chain responsible for all.

•

Gus Pagonis Speaker Biography

Retired Three-Star General and Bestselling Author of Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics From the Gulf War

When it comes to expertise in logistics and overall leadership in management of very complex projects and organizations, few people are better qualified than William “Gus” Pagonis, retired three-star U.S. Army Lieutenant General. General Pagonis is widely recognized for his logistical achievements particularly during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. After successfully masterminding logistics for the Gulf War and winning high praise from General Norman Schwarzkopf, Pagonis left the Army in 1993 and was elected Executive Vice President of Logistics for Sears, Roebuck and Co. As head of the Sears Logistics Group, he functions as the single point of contact for all Sears’ logistics and is responsible for Vendor Relations, Distribution, Transportation, Home Deliveries, Outlet Stores, International Logistics and the integration of Information Technology to cement it altogether. In addition, he

•

The work of the leader

Lieutenant General William G. Pagonis led the 40,000 men and women who ran the theater logistics in the Persian Gulf War during its three phases of operation: Desert Shield (buildup), Desert Storm (ground war), and Desert Farewell (redeployment). By military standards, it was a challenging assignment. By the conventions of any nonmilitary complex organization, it was unheard of. In the Persian Gulf, Pagonis's challenges included feeding, clothing, sheltering, and arming over 550,000 people. All of this in an hostile, desert region with a Muslim community distrustful of the "infidels" sent there to protect them. The lessons of leadership gleaned through Pagonis's experiences in the Gulf cross military boundaries--they apply equally to general management and leadership development in the private, civilian sector. To gain a clear sense of the overall organization in an area the size of the Southwest Asian theater, Pagonis deputized proxies, dubbed "Ghostbusters," to be his eyes and ears throughout the desert. His goal was to build a leadership-supporting en

•

Details

The William G. Pagonis oral history transcript consists of a 71 page transcribed oral history interview. According to Pagonis, General Oren E. De Haven was a personal mentor. He discusses his work as a logistician. According to Pagonis, each of the armed services should combine their logistics and have a single point of contact. He helped establish policy and adapt logistics during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He shares some lessons from those times

He explains his work for Sears after his retirement from the U.S. Army, the minimal transition to his civilian job, and what issues he faced. He also gives advice for U.S. Army leaders drawn from his civilian work experience

Lieutenant General (LTG) William G. "Gus" Pagonis was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. He was commissioned into the United States (U.S.) Army through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Pagonis attended the U.S. Army Infantry School in 1965. From February 1967 to February 1968, he served in Vietnam as Commander of the 1097th Transportation Company. He returned to Vietnam from June