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Despite a pledge to be a president who presides over peace rather than war, Trump takes office against a backdrop of global upheaval: wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the increasing closeness of Russia and North Korea, an ascendant China.

“I think people should be concerned, in the military and out of it, about the politicization of the military, and the attempt to use it to do the president’s personal will,” said Benjamin Friedman, policy director of the Washington-based think tank Defense Priorities, which advocates for restraint in U.S. foreign policy.

Such reticence might be exacerbated by the existence of the so-called warrior board.

According to the Journal, the panel would consist of ranking retired officers who were empowered to recommend removal of former peers deemed to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities.”

But Trump’s transition moves on defense are seen by many observers as likely to be constrained by factors including the ethics adhered to by the military’s officer class, combined with the sheer weight of Pentagon bureaucracy.