Sr Fellow @ClementsCenter| Lecturer @UTGovernment| Co-host @tyfys_podcast| Adjunct Fellow @cnasdc @USSC| Former Pentagon & White House staffer| My views alone
Sep 7, 2018 • 27 tweets • 10 min read
<Thread> There's a lot going on so I missed this yesterday, but the media is reporting GEN (Ret) Jack Keane is under consideration to replace Secretary Mattis if/when he departs.
I'm not a sociologist, but I want to talk a little bit about norms. 1/
washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogi…
Others have covered the ground on why the norm of not having retired generals or admirals serve as SecDef is important. @ahfdc, for example, says even having a really good retired general serve as SecDef can threaten civilian control of the military: 2/
<thread> Most people have been focused on the question of whether it was a good idea for ADM (Ret) McRaven to violate a civ-mil norm by writing a letter criticizing the President, but Ken raises a good point about whether it will make an impact. I think that’s unlikely. 1/
I’ve done research related to whether endorsements from retired generals & admirals influence elections. The short answer is they probably don’t, and there’s little reason to think McRaven’s letter will either - but it’s not clear-cut. 2/
Aug 6, 2018 • 27 tweets • 6 min read
After three days in Budapest, I am struck by just how palpable the legacies of the wars of the 20th century - WWI, WWII, and the Cold War - still are in Hungary. And I was reminded of the very real threats, both internal & external, facing our Allies today. 1/
100 years later, there are constant reminders of the humiliation Hungary suffered at the end of WWI. As a result of the Treaty of Trianon, the pre-war Kingdom of Hungary lost more than 2/3 of its territory & almost a third of ethnic Hungarians were left outside the new state. 2/
Aug 3, 2018 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
<Thread> This @TaskandPurpose article by Emma Moore from @CNASdc makes a really important point about the civil-military gaps. It is this: people simply don’t understand how much diversity there is our armed forces. 1/ taskandpurpose.com/media-portraya…
In @KoriSchake and Sec Mattis’s book, @lindsaypcohn Peter Feaver & I noted that fewer people know someone who has served in the military, and that this trend is likely to continue. 2/ amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01H46…
Jul 27, 2018 • 16 tweets • 6 min read
European Vacation Day 1/16
Brussels, Belgium to Alsfeld, Germany
440 km in 4.5 hrs
Audiobook = The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Whininess level = 3/10
Gelato stops = 1
Lunar eclipses = 1
Tight alleys = ALL OF THEM
Beers = 2
Kids I wanna throttle = 1
Alsfeld is charming
Day 2/16
Asfeldt to Prague
450 km, 5 hrs
A-book: Vanderbeekers👍
Music: The Academic, Greatest Showman
Audi wagons passing us = 56
Snakes = 1
Time figuring out metro = 45 mins
Chipped teeth = 1
Gelato = 1
Whininess level = 7/10
Wine = 1 btl
Kids I wanna throttle = 2
Jul 13, 2018 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
I'm going to make a point about the civ-mil gap and the AVF, but bear with me for a few tweets.
In grad school I learned that 1 of the most durable findings in behavioral political science is that when people don't know the answer to a survey question, they just make one up. 1/
Comedians like Jimmy Kimmel & shows like The Daily Show exploit this all the time for laughs. See, for example, this clip on #SpaceForce: 2/
May 27, 2018 • 22 tweets • 9 min read
<Thread> #MemorialDay is my least favorite day of the year, and it has been for at least 14 years. I want it to be a day where I honor the lives of the brothers & sisters I’ve lost by celebrating with my friends & family, but I’m not there yet. And I’m not sure I ever will be. 1/
Im working on it. I know that every last one of them would want me, and all of us, to live & celebrate life & make the most of every fleeting minute we have with our friends and families. And they’d want us to be happy this weekend. 2/
