Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a cabinet meeting in the White House on Dec. 6, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan arrives at Combat Outpost Sharp in the Garmsir District. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald/Released via Wikimedia Commons)
Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz meets Chinese President Xi Jinping after a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on March 13, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
U.S. Joint Forces Command Commander James Mattis speaks during the 2010 Atlantic Council awards dinner at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on April 28, 2010 in Washington, D.C. (Kris Connor/Getty Images)
A German designed Leopard AS1 Gun Tank from the Australian 1st Armored Regiment at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland, Australia. (U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons)
