The military parade for Donald Trump has come early. Two months before Inauguration Day festivities, an extraordinary number of recently retired generals, including some who clashed with President Barack Obama's administration, are marching to the president-elect's doorstep for job interviews.
It's not unusual for an incoming administration to consider a retired general for a top position like CIA director. But Trump has turned to retired officers so publicly and in such large numbers that it raises questions about the proper balance of military and civilian advice in a White House led by a commander in chief with no defence or foreign policy experience.
The tilt toward military officials may reflect a limited pool of civilian options. Many officials from previous Republican administrations politically disowned Trump during the campaign, calling him unqualified. And Trump suggested he wouldn't want many of them, as he vowed to "drain the swamp" by running establishment figures out of town.
The only one announced for a top job thus far is Michael Flynn, a retired three-star Army general. Trump appointed Flynn as his national security adviser, a post that does not require Senate confirmation but is central to a president's decision-making process. Flynn was forced out as Defence Intelligence Agency director in 2014. Afterward, he strongly criticised the Obama administration's approach to fighting the Islamic State group and threw his support to Trump. Among others under consideration are two retired four-star Marine generals — James Mattis for defence secretary and John Kelly for homeland security secretary.
The appointment of too many generals to high civilian positions could prompt fears that Trump is on a path to militarising US foreign policy or giving the military too much sway in decisions about war and peace.
But that view was rejected by Richard Fontaine, president of the Centre for a New American Security, a Washington think tank. In an interview, he noted that it was President George W Bush's civilian advisers who pushed hardest to launch the 2003 Iraq invasion.
"In my experience, veterans have been less likely than the civilians to advocate for military intervention abroad," said Fontaine, who was among dozens of Republican national security figures who signed a letter during the campaign warning that Trump would be a dangerous president.
Still, some retired generals are leery of Trump stacking his national security team with warriors.
"The biggest fear is too many generals in politics. That's not a good thing," said Mark Hertling, a retired three-star Army general who opposed Trump. "But given the lack of knowledge of a president who knows nothing about diplomacy or the military, they might provide some very good advice."