“There really is former-general-officer fatigue, bordering on apprehension, on the Hill – on both sides of the aisle,” a former Senate staffer says. “Trump really burned out a lot of folks.”
By Paul McLearyIn a media-wary administration, the big news from Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s formal press briefing was that he actually held one, and pledged to keep doing so.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.As the three most powerful civilians in the Army Department, Esper, McCarthy, and Jette have formed by all accounts a tight-knit and effective team. That’s particularly remarkable because they’ve had abundant opportunities for conflict as they turned the Army bureaucracy upside down.
By Paul McLearyWhatever you think of Jim Mattis, his resignation and the outflow of officials that will follow create a major foreign policy problem for the United States. There is not one ally who is applauding Mattis’s departure — but depart he will, all the same. So what must President Trump and his next defense secretary do,…
By Robbin LairdWASHINGTON: After two years of reassuring US allies that Donald Trump’s America would not abandon them, Jim Mattis finally had enough. Even before Trump was sworn in as president, the announcement that he would pick Mattis as his Secretary of Defense was met with delighted relief “from the right, from the left, and from overseas.”…
By Paul McLearyMike Flynn: You’re fired! H.R. McMaster, Jim Mattis, John Kelly: You’re hired!
SecDef Leon Panetta’s official farewell to Defense Department on eve of newly confirmed Chuck Hagel’s swearing-in: http://1.usa.gov/Yyw0GX @SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Chuck #Hagelnomination will come to vote tomorrow @ 2:30pm. Sen. Carl Levin, #SASC chairman, intends to hold vote right after. @colinclarkaol
By Colin Clark
In this op-ed, John Ferrari says the incoming secretary of defense needs to fix three things in the Pentagon: acquisition, resources, and recruiting.
By John Ferrari