Tuesday, February 2, 2016

SecDef vs CJCS?

War on the Rocks has another provocative essay, this time on civil-military relations and military advice. Shawn Brimley and Loren DeJonge Schulman of CNAS suggest that this issue should be considered as lawmakers ponder how or whether to revise the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. That law accomplished a lot is improving America's ability to plan and fight joint military operations. Now the authors suggest changes in the relationship between the JCS Chairman and the Secretary of Defense. One of their ideas is for a true General Staff, something Congress explicitly prohibited because of fears of a Prussian-style military.

I'm not sure where I'd stand on the issue now, but I welcome the dialogue on these issues of civil-military relations and enhancing civilian control of the military.

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