Joining the ranks of individuals who provide Pentagon top leaders with independent advice on defense policy issues are John Hamre, former deputy defense secretary in the Clinton Administration; J.D. Crouch, former deputy National Security Advisor; Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of State; retired Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, past Joint Chiefs Chairman; William Perry, former Defense Secretary; and Peter Rodman, former assistant secretary of defense. They join returning members, including Harold Brown, Henry Kissinger, retired Gen. Richard Myers, and James Schlesinger. Defense Secretary Robert Gates chose Hamre, who currently heads the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to chair the board.
When Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Air Force Gen. Dan Caine described the 150 aircraft used in Operation Absolute Resolve, the mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, he referenced many by name, including the F-35 and F-22 fighters and B-1 bomber. Not specified, however, were “remotely piloted drones,” among them a secretive aircraft spotted and photographed returning to Puerto…

