Schwarzkopf Storms On In His New Civilian Career -- Retired Gulf War Commander Jealous Of Privacy

Battlefield fame is fleeting, H. Norman Schwarzkopf tells his audiences.

"I used to be able to make a single command and 541,000 people would listen," the retired general says. "Now I can't get a plumber to do what I want."

A year ago, when the U.N. Security Council voted to authorize the use of force to oust Iraq from Kuwait, Schwarzkopf was a warrior at work, converting Desert Shield into Desert Storm.

Life is a bit quieter now but weep not for the general, whose four-star charm and right-stuff charisma remain robust among armies of civilian admirers, even after he traded in his camouflage fatigues for size 49 suits.

With the incentive of a multimillion-dollar advance, he's writing his memoirs. He earns a reported minimum of $50,000 per speech.

In retirement, Schwarzkopf is protective of his privacy. He's not giving interviews and future dates of his speaking engagements are guarded like military secrets.

Speeches are limited to two or three per month, with TV cameras and tape recorders banned, ostensibly to prohibit bootlegging the general's message.

NO DROP-OFF

There seems to be no drop-off in interest in the general. Adoring audiences have packed the house to hear the handful of speeches he has given since September. ("We couldn't have done it without you," he tells them). And requests still are stormin' in.

"One of the reasons he's not giving interviews is he wants things to get back to some sense of normality," said Marvin Josephson, the general's literary agent and adviser.

"If anything, he's more in demand than ever," Josephson said. "He's the kind of guy everyone wants to meet. If he agreed to do any commercials or licensing, we could turn down all sorts of offers."

His top project right now is his book, expected out next fall and as yet untitled. Bantam Books outbid five other publishers, including a $5 million offer from Random House. Several other books about Schwarzkopf already have been published.

The ultimate success of the memoir, which will tell the inside story of the war by the man who planned it, hinges on Schwarzkopf's appeal at the time of release. His backers are banking that a fickle public will recall his generalship of a multinational alliance, his command presence at TV briefings and his rapport with troops in the ranks.

The marketing of the general involves converting military fame into a private career before the public loses interest, without seeming crass or commercial.

Some think the transition could have been smoother.

"I think he's lost some steam. That moment of accomplishment hasn't been marketed well," said Frank Ginsberg, president of the New York advertising agency of Avrett Free & Ginsberg.

Ginsberg feels Schwarzkopf would be particularly effective in American business speaking about trade policies, the auto industry or fresh ideas on the economy.

"His greatest strength is his ability to think strategically," Ginsberg said. "He's the new American hero. He had a sense of control, a sense of realness. We don't see that in a lot of candidates or public figures these days. We see people who are rehearsed."

Schwarzkopf's life was a whirl from the time he returned from Saudi Arabia in April until his retirement from the Army in August, mandatory since he had served his 35 years.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, received the Medal of Freedom from President Bush, became an honorary member of the French Foreign Legion and got the Order of Kuwait, the emirate's highest honor.

He also was honored with welcome-home greetings from Mickey Mouse, had an elementary school near Tampa, Fla., named after him, addressed a joint session of Congress, and appeared at the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby and a New York City ticker-tape parade. He even was named father of the year by the National Father's Day Committee in New York.

A NAME GAME

While Schwarzkopf, 57, has been reluctant to lend his name to any enterprises, entrepreneurs still managed to capitalize on it.

Illinois-based MPI Home Video sold a hearty 185,000 copies at $19.98 each of Schwarzkopf's final TV war briefing - "Schwarzkopf: How The War Was Won" - until sales evaporated in August.

"Doonesbury" got in on the act. The cartoon strip pictured the general on "The Tonight Show," plugging make-believe appearances on "Hollywood Squares" and "the Miss Hooters Contest in Tampa."

America West airlines ran a series of ads with Jonathan Winters in Schwarzkopf-style desert camouflage claiming air superiority.

When Schwarzkopf told People magazine his favorite foods were steak and shrimp, things happened. Gallagher's, a New York steak house, offered an H. Norman Schwarzkopf Filet - a 12-ounce cut stuffed with two ounces of Rocquefort, a meal fit for a man known as The Bear.

And the Texas Shrimp Association published a Scudbuster Shrimp recipe in the general's honor. "We needed a hero," said Sue Luedecke, the group's vice president.

In retirement, Schwarzkopf rents a $420,000 house surrounded by a brick wall on 1.5 acres at Cheval Polo and Golf Club near Tampa.