Andrew L Stigler - Governing the Military

A military is the most significant tool of a nations foreign policy, and (hopefully) the tool of last resort. Yet the control a civilian leader has over the military is, in many respects, an encumbered and fractured control. The militarys organizational culture, role in society, size, and considerable autonomy are potential obstacles to true civilian control over the military, even in peacetime. A brief but historically informed text intended for students of the presidency or national security, Governing the Military addresses the gamut of challenges a new U.S. President faces as commander-in-chief.

Andrew L. Stigler is Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval War College.

Series Editor: Robert J. Spitzer,
State University of New York College at Cortland

Governing the Military

Andrew L. Stigler

Presidential Relations with Congress

Richard S. Conley

For more information about this series, please visit www.routledge.com/Presidential-Briefings-Series/book-series/PBSTRANS

Andrew L. Stigler

First published 2019

by Routledge

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DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely those of the author, and should not be attributed to any U.S. Government department or agency.

ISBN: 978-1-138-48977-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-48978-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-03678-8 (ebk)

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For

Stephen and Virginia Stigler

with love and gratitude

One of the tremendous advantages of teaching at the Naval War College has been the opportunity to become acquainted with a wide array of officers from all four services, as well as civilian national security officialsindividuals possessing a great diversity of experiences, perspectives, and expertise. Of the countless interactions I have had with war college students and colleagues over more than a decade, one is of particular relevance for this book. As one might imagine, following a presidential election that designates a new chief executive, the Pentagon prepares a series of briefings for the incoming occupant of the oval office. These briefings cover a wide range of topicsthe United States defensive capabilities, the capabilities and disposition of adversaries, the status of ongoing operations, and anything else the nations most senior uniformed leadership believes the new president needs to know.

My student was involved in this series of briefings, and was present while the president-elect received a well-prepared avalanche of information. What he most vividly remembered from the episode was that the president-elect uttered a single phrase with considerable frequency: I had no idea.

The president-elects surprise should come as no surprise. It has been expected since the nations founding that the president would need to maintain a level of secrecy in international affairs, even from cabinet members and the vice president. Shortly after taking office, George Washington asked for a secret service fund in his first message to Congress. He was soon granted his request, a fund to conduct clandestine operations without Congressional oversight.

Even in wartime, presidents left close advisors uninformed about important programs and developments. Harry Truman, when he assumed the presidency following the death of Franklin Roosevelt, discovered he had been completely uninformed about a range of wartime programsincluding the United States effort to develop the worlds first atomic bomb.

Presidents-elect are forced to simultaneously familiarize themselves with a vast ocean of information at the same time that they take the reins of one of the worlds largest bureaucracies. Though we speak of civilian control of the military in the United States (and the phrase is by and large an accurate one), it is also true that the military bureaucracy and officer corps have their own perspectives on what measures are necessary to secure the nation, and avenues through which to express those perspectives when they differ with those of the president. The military also has a broad and solid base of support in the country. These factors can conspire to complicate and even frustrate a presidents efforts to shape or utilize the military instrument of power.

This book addresses the most important issues that can confront a president seeking to steer the militarys course in the domestic and international arenas, issues that informed citizens need to understand as well. The framers of the Constitution left to the citizens of the new American democracy the task of evaluating, through elections, the tenure of president. What perhaps receives too little attention is the fact that arriving at a well-cast vote is a decision best based on sound knowledge of the chief executives powers and responsibilities. Given the wide latitude a president enjoys in the execution of his or her commander-in-chief responsibilities, there is considerable room to argue that the presidents national security role should be of primary concern when casting a ballot. Its foreign policy, stupid, might be a more accurate recasting of a former presidents campaign slogan, at least from the standpoint of what a president genuinely controls. This book offers an exploration of the range of considerations that a president faces as he or she prepares to govern the military.