Precedent for the Service of Active Duty Three-Star Generals and Flag Officers as
the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Heidi Peters, Research Librarian, 7-0702
Lawrence Kapp
, Specialist in Military Manpower Policy, 7-7609
Kathleen McInnis, Analyst in International Security, 7-1416
This memorandum was prepared to enable distribution to more than one congressional office.
On February 20, 2017, the Trump Administration announced the appointment of U.S. Army Lieutenant
General Herbert Raymond “H.R.” McMaster, Jr. to serve as the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs.
1
The Trump Administration further indicated that Lieutenant General McMaster would
remain on active duty status following his assumption of the duties of the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs—a position that is also frequently referred to by the title of National Security
Advisor.
U.S. Presidents have acted in three previous instances to designate three-star active duty U.S. military flag
and general officers as the National Security Advisor: U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft
in 1975; U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter in 1985; and U.S. Army Lieutenant General Colin
L. Powell in 1987. While Scowcroft retired from active duty military service shortly after his designation
as National Security Advisor by President Gerald Ford, Poindexter and Powell remained in their grades as
three-star military officers while serving as the National Security Advisor, choices which mandated the
involvement of the U.S. Senate.
This memorandum proceeds in the following manner. It first explains the National Security Council, the
policymaking processes it oversees, and the role of the National Security Advisor within the Executive
Branch. It then explores these prior precedents of active duty three-star generals and flag officers serving
as the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and includes discussions of related statutory
provisions.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the phone extensions listed above.
1
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “President Donald J. Trump Names Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs,” press release, February 20, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-
press-office/2017/02/20/president-donald-j-trump-names-lt-general-hr-mcmaster-assistant-president.
