But that’s irrelevant to grasp of strategic policy. Let’s stick to the facts in play here; the Trump Admin pick has a couple platoon commander tours as a Guardsman in Guantanamo and Iraq, and a tour instructing as a captain in Afghanistan. That’s very respectable and laudable tactical level service, and I thank him for it. But it does not, in and of itself, mean much at all for suitability to work in a senior executive role overseeing the entire U.S. Department of Defence.
Many SECDEFs have have modest or no military service, and got relevant executive and policy experience elsewhere- in increasingly senior government appointments, in the civil service, etc. he does not appear to have that. He’s worked as an entry level capital markets analyst (which is not nothing, but we’re talking low level), and he’s been involved in charities/PACs with some sorta shady spending. He has a solid education… Which could easily segue this into one of the occasional discussions we have about whether academic credentials equal ‘expertise’. And of course he’s got time in as a mainstream media pundit, which counts for the square root of frig all.
My biggest reservation is his reported role in lobbying Trump - with some success - to pardon war criminals. That to me is the biggest and reddest of red flags for a potential SECDEF.
So, all in all, a good tactical level resume for some things, though maybe don’t give him too much expenditures authority. But I see nothing above those lower levels that builds a compelling case for any senior executive role, and certainly not SECDEF. He’s no more qualified than most of army.ca, and less than a few. But he’s the right type of loyal partisan for the incoming President.
