This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchelor.

The Pentagon, the war fighters, the Pentagon especially.

How does it make decisions?

I welcome Captain Steve Deal, United States Navy retired, who has also served in the Pentagon

as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Secretary of the Navy and other critical jobs, as well as

commanding its sea and on land in Iraq, in Afghanistan.

In other words, seeing all parts of the puzzle, what I did not know until I read

Steve's new column in Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft is that everything in the Army and

the Navy, the Air Force, the Space Force, is checks and balances, except there is no review board

above two-star generals. What does that mean, John?

It means that the three and four stars who are much in the news as chairman of the joint chiefs,

a member of the joint chiefs, or the chief of naval operations, they were chosen by a mysterious

means. Why and how? Steve, a very good evening to to you this is a complete revelation to those of us

on the outside has this always been true you mentioned george marshall did it work back in the

famous days of the 1920s and 30s good evening to you good evening john thank you very much for

having me on your show as an honor been a fan for a long time. Yeah, I, you know, this is about civilian control of the military and the Congress rights laws for selection boards for those who are 08 or two star, that's a major general or retired by a rear admiral upper half or below.

And what that selection board entails is a group of officers in the Navy, it would be in Millington, Tennessee,

but they walk into this cavernous area called the tank and it kind of be briefed on their records.

It might take a minute or two for each record at each person's career to be briefed.

And then the 26 or 24-so people there vote in a secret ballot electronically.

And after a series of votes through a process that's well documented and enshrined in awe,

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