James Mattis was sworn in as secretary of defense in what is arguably one of the more fraught periods in civil-military relations in decades.While civilian control in the United States is based on a solid foundation of history, doctrine, and tradition, civil-military relationships are above all human. And that means they are vulnerable to unrealistic or unmet expectations and perceptions. Simply put, tension invariably infuses these relationships — it’s merely a question of how much and in which way. As such, this relationship should expect strains, some demanding mitigation.Nearly two decades of (inconclusive) war, serious lapses in the quality of … Continue reading Keeping Up Civ-Mil Relations