Jenn sits down with returning guest Alex Ward and special guest Loren DeJonge Schulman, a defense expert at the Center for a New American Security, to talk about why the hell the Pentagon keeps getting caught off guard by big decisions coming from the White House. From Trump canceling military exercises with South Korea to creating a new “space force” to asking the military to prepare to house thousands of immigrant children on US military bases, Secretary of Defense James Mattis seems to be completely out of the loop these days. The gang talks about what that means for Mattis, Trump, and US foreign policy going forward. Jenn imagines Mattis’s inner thoughts, Alex decides that space war is boring, and Loren makes an awesome reference to the Netflix show The Crown.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices