WARRIOR-SCHOLAR

Before leaving his Florida White House yesterday, our 45th president named Army Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond “H.R.” McMaster the new National Security Adviser.

On the surface, one NEVER knows whether he will be what is needed as the key security counselor to Trump. That result will be dictated by time and events.

McMaster, whom Trump called “a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience,” accepted the post, making him the first active-duty U.S. military officer to take the job since Colin Powell and John Poindexter held it under Ronald Reagan.

Also, Trump said Mr. Kellogg, a retired three-star Army general who was under consideration for the top job, would resume his role as chief of staff to the National Security Council.

McMaster steps in to lead a National Security Council that has largely been in disarray, with many career staffers uncertain about their roles, and concerned about a lack of input into the policy-making process on a host of issues. With certainty, they were NOT about to get it – intelligent input –  from the likes of the two Stevies: Bannon and Miller.

Also, McMaster is taking the job at a time when several high-stakes foreign policy challenges are under review by the new administration, including North Korea, Russia, Syria and Iran. And the move comes amid a cloud of questions about Russian ties and people close to The Weave, which were fueled by Mickey Flynn’s departure [latest word is he’s going to co-host The View].

Carrot Top‘s decision ends a search that raised questions about how much autonomy the new national security adviser would have. Some prospective candidates expressed concerns about how much control they could exert over staffing decisions and NSC processes. Reports say that McMasters will be given ‘free reign’ in choosing his own people. Let’s hope that’s the case.

The choice of General McMaster drew praise in Washington, where he is well known.

A military strategist with extensive battle experience, McMaster, 54 years old, is a decorated officer with leadership experience in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a 1984 graduate of West Point.

His 1997 book “Dereliction of Duty,” is known/acknowledged as a seminal work across the U.S. military, looking at how the failure of uniformed leadership [Joint Chiefs of Staff] to stand up to civilian decision makers helped Lyndon B. Johnson and his advisers [specifically Robert Strange McNamara] lead the country deeper into a quagmire with NO – absolutely NONE! – proper strategy in Vietnam.

Full Disclosure: I had the honor of being on several Vietnam War conference panels with McMaster in the late ’90s and early 2000s, he’s the real deal. I love the selection by Trump!