When Powell was in uniform he was one hell of a stand up guy. A great officer.
A soldiers soldier. Once he traded the uniform in for a suit his capability was halved right away. As time went on he became even less and less capable finally ending his tenure as SecState after a very disappointing performance.
I thank the man for his service but it is well that he has left the world stage.
With regards to the recently retired SecDef:
Rumsfeld served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor. In 1957, he transferred to the Ready Reserve and continued his Naval service in flying and administrative assignments as a drilling reservist until 1975. He transferred to the Standby Reserve when he became Secretary of Defense in 1975 and to the Retired Reserve with the rank of Captain in 1989.