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Orbis

Why “Best Military Advice” is Bad for the Military—and Worse for Civilians

James Golby, Mara Karlin

Winter 2018

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James Golby is an active duty officer in the United States Army and is a Defense Policy Advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. He previously served as a Special Advisor to two Vice Presidents and as a Special Assistant to the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Read More
Mara Karlin is associate professor of the practice of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.Read More

Orbis Winter 2018
Vol. 62, No. 1

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Abstract

This article contends that “best military advice” is a problematic construct for both the military and civilians alike. Yet, the increasing resonance of this construct across the Joint Force cannot—and should not—be summarily dismissed. Instead, it merits reflection about why the term has grown in popularity, how its continued use is influencing the development of defense strategy, and perhaps above all, how it will affect American civil-military relations. As best military advice infuses the U.S. military, it will increasingly become normalized and held up as desirable, particularly among the younger generation. Short of serious near-term steps to neutralize this construct, its deleterious influence will only increase.

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