December 08, 2016

Too many generals? Trump's newest nomination causing jitters

Featuring Alice Hunt Friend

Source: The Washington Examiner

Journalist Jamie McIntyre

President-elect Trump's selection of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to be secretary of homeland security brings the number of former generals on his national security team to three. This raises the obvious question: "How many generals are too many."

Generally speaking, it's not unusual to have a retired senior military officer serve as national security adviser, an executive position that does not require congressional approval. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn will fill that roll.

Retired Air Force Gen. Brent Scowcroft did the job for George H.W. Bush, and Gen. Jim Jones a former NATO commander and Marine Corps commandant was President Obama's first national security adviser. Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell even filled that role when he was only a three-star and still on active duty, for President Ronald Reagan.

Read the full article at The Washington Examiner.

Authors

  • Alice Hunt Friend

    Strategy and Statecraft

    Alice Hunt Friend is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. She is also a PhD student at American University’s School of International Service, wh...