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Ranking US Army Generals of the 20th Century: A Group Decision-Making Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Author

Listed:
  • Todd Retchless

    (Department of Mathematical Sciences, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York 10996)

  • Bruce Golden

    (R. H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742)

  • Edward Wasil

    (Kogod School of Business, American University, Washington, DC 20016)

Abstract

The pantheon of 20th century US Army generals contains many great wartime commanders. Military historians have written about their leadership qualities but have not ranked the best generals. We asked 10 experts in US military history to evaluate seven generals---Omar Bradley, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, George Patton, John Pershing, and Matthew Ridgway---using the analytic hierarchy process in a group setting. We developed a ratings hierarchy, and each participant scored each general. We combined individual pairwise comparisons using the geometric-mean method and a new method based on linear programming and obtained a clear, three-tier ranking of generals with George Marshall judged the best US Army general of the 20th century, closely followed by Dwight Eisenhower.

Suggested Citation

  • Todd Retchless & Bruce Golden & Edward Wasil, 2007. "Ranking US Army Generals of the 20th Century: A Group Decision-Making Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 37(2), pages 163-175, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:37:y:2007:i:2:p:163-175
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.1060.0225
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    Cited by:

    1. S. Lipovetsky, 2009. "Global Priority Estimation in Multiperson Decision Making," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 77-91, January.
    2. Bruce Golden & Linus Schrage & Douglas Shier & Lida Anna Apergi, 2021. "The power of linear programming: some surprising and unexpected LPs," 4OR, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 15-40, March.

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