Author James R. Locher III played a key role in the congressional effort to repair a dysfunctional military whose inter-service squabbling had cost American taxpayers billions of dollars and put the lives of thousands of servicemen and women at risk. Victory on this front helped make possible the military successes the United States has enjoyed since the passage of the bill and helped to prepare the armed forces for the challenges they must still face.
Victory on the Potomac provides the first detailed history of how Congress unified the Joint Chiefs and does so with the benefit of an insider's view. In a fast-paced account that reads like a novel, Locher follows the bill through congressional committee to final passage, making clear that the process is neither abstract nor automatic. His vivid