Introduction : Congress and civil-military relations / David P. Auerswald and Colton C. Campbell -- Part one. Congressional tools and civil-military relations -- Presidential and congressional relations : an evolution of military appointments / Mitchel A. Sollenberger -- A safety valve : the Truman committee's oversight during World War II / Katherine Scott -- The political, policy, and oversight roles of congressional defense commissions / Jordan Tama -- Congress and "their military" : delegating to the reserve components / John Griswold -- Legislating "military entitlements" : a challenge to the congressional abdication thesis / Alexis Lasselle Ross -- Part two. Parochial versus national interests -- Defense and the two congresses : changes in the policy : parochialism balance / Chuck Cushman -- Congress and new ways of war / Charles A. Stevenson -- Closing Guantanamo : a presidential commitment unfulfilled / Louis Fisher -- Congress and civil-military relations in Latin America and the Caribbean : human rights as a vehicle / Frank O. Mora and Michelle Munroe -- Conclusion : the future of civil-military relations / David P. Auerswald and Colton C. Campbell.;While the president is the commander-in-chief, Congress plays a very significant and underappreciated role in US civil-military relations, the relationship between the armed forces and the civilian leadership that commands it. Indeed, we cannot understand civil-military relations in the United States without an appreciation of Congress. The ebbs and flows in US civil-military relations depend in part on congressional use of four main tools available to provide direction to the military. These include the selection of military officers, determining how much authority is delegated to the military, oversight of the military, and establishing incentives for appropriate military behavior. Congress sets the military's budget, influences military policy by calling officers to testify, sets or changes personnel policy, and approves or rejects a host of initiatives from officer promotion to base closures. This unique book will help readers better understand the role of Congress in military affairs and national and international security policy.