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Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf Dies in Tampa  December 28, 2012 | WMFE - The general known as "Stormin Norman" has died in Tampa at age 78. Schwarzkopf's family says he died Thursday of complications from pneumonia. H. Norman Schwarzkopf commanded the US-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991. He retired in Tampa after finishing his military service. Norman Schwarzkopf was big, burly and known as "Stormin' Norman" for his notoriously explosive temper. The general became a household name in 1991 during the first Gulf War, an operation known as Desert Storm. The international force drove the Iraqi military out of Kuwait in less than 100 hours But, Schwarzkopf was criticized by some for leaving Saddam Hussein and his Republican Guard in place to fight against the US when it invaded the country in 2003. Schwarzkopf was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq telling reporters that US leaders hadn’t fully thought out an exit strategy and said he feared chaos in a postwar Iraq. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf earned three silver stars during the Vietnam War and later led the successful Grenada invasion in 1983. Schwarkopf retired in Tampa after his last assignment as Commander-In-Chief of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. In retirement, Schwarkopf pursued his many hobbies including winemaking, hunting, fishing and skeet shooting. He also became known for his charitable work, sponsoring a skeet shooting tournament in support of the Children's Home in Tampa He also helped establish Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, north of Orlando in 1996. Camp Boggy Creek offers free weeklong summer camp outings for seriously ill children. In 1993, the Hillsborough County School Board named an elementary school after him in the town of Lutz, north of Tampa.
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