The Year of Petraeus And Odierno: Updated

Frederick Kagan, one of the architects of the Surge and COIN tactics, has a great write up in the Weekly Standard on how far we've come in the last year and sees good things ahead as long as we don't let up. It is a great tribute to Gen. Ray Odierno who has recently returned and all he helped accomplish, Kagan calls him the Patton of Counter-insurgency, an apt discription I would say.

Great commanders often come in pairs: Eisenhower and Patton, Grant and Sherman, Napoleon and Davout, Marlborough and Eugene, Caesar and Labienus. Generals David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno can now be added to the list.

It's natural to assume that successful pairs of commanders complement each other's personalities (the diplomatic Eisenhower and the hard-charging Patton, for example) or that the junior partner is merely executing the vision of the other (Sherman seen as acting on Grant's orders). In reality, the task of planning and conducting large-scale military operations is too great for any single commander, no matter how talented his staff. The subordinate in every successful command pair has played a key role in designing and implementing the campaign plan.

It is fairly long but it good reading and important.
Update: This is also an interesting read at Strategy Page via Instapundit.