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].
A U.S. Soldier with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment walks to a joint district community center after securing combat outpost Rajankala in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan Nov. 26, 2009. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II, U.S. Air Force/Released)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 05: U.S. President Donald Trump and King Abdullah II of Jordan shake hands before participating in a joint news conference at the Rose Garden of the White House April 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump held talks on Middle East peace process and other bilateral issues with King Abdullah II. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
170407-N-FQ994-135 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (April 7, 2017) USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile April 7, 2017. USS Ross, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert S. Price/Released)
160517-M-NI439-099 TRAINING AREA 1, JORDAN (May 17, 2016) – U.S. Marine Cpl. X Cerrato, an infantryman with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, shifts his fires in response to a friendly smoke signal during an integrated company assault with the Jordanian Armed Forces as part of a simulated integrated company assault during Exercise Eager Lion 2016. Exercise Eager Lion 2016 is a U.S. bilateral, scenario based exercise with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, designed to exchange military expertise and improve interoperability among partner nations. During the sixth iteration of the exercise, both joint and combined military responses to conventional and unconventional threats will be explored. Participating troops will also train across their respective mission sets including border security, inter-ministerial command and control, cyber defense and battlespace management. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Paris Capers/ RELEASED)
