Hours after Donald Trump fired his national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, McMaster received a tribute from his most important mentor. “General McMaster has served our country admirably—and selflessly and forthrightly—as President Trump’s national security adviser,” David Petraeus, the retired Army general and former CIA director, told The Daily Beast. It was Petraeus, in 2008, who ensured the Army gave the iconoclastic McMaster his first star. “He established and oversaw an impressive process for providing options to the president. He helped develop a number of important initiatives for the fight against Islamist extremists, malign Iranian activity, and North Korea’s threatening nuclear and missile programs. And he guided the drafting of a superb National Security Strategy—in less than a year. Again, he has served our country very well.” —Spencer Ackerman