Out of his military garb, we almost didn’t recognize retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal at the Yellow Ribbon Fund fundraiser at King Street Blues in Old Town Alexandria on Wednesday night. Talking with him made him even less recognizable. The former commander of U.S. and NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan focused more on the future than the past — only momentarily referencing the Rolling Stone article “The Runaway General” in which he made anti-administration comments that eventually led to his resignation.
So what has the decorated four-star general been up to since leaving his post?
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“I’ve just been hanging out,” he says.
“Hanging out” must have a different meaning when you’ve spent years in a 24/7 job. McChrystal tells us he is teaching a graduate-level seminar for students in the international relations master’s program at Yale University, serves on the board of directors for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, speaks on leadership and is opening a leadership consulting firm, the McChrystal Group, in Old Town in the coming weeks. He says he plans to continue teaching part-time after he opens his firm.
McChrystal said he walked from his home to the bar, where he spent the night mingling with military and intelligence personnel, beer in hand.
Seems like he’s pretty happy to be back home.
