Forget the border wall, can US military even fix its own combat readiness?

President Donald Trump has floated the idea that the military build his much-touted border wall

In late March 2018, President Donald Trump and then-Defense Secretary James Mattis discussed the idea that the U.S. military could help the president achieve one of his cherished aims: The Pentagon would build a wall across the country’s southern border.

“Securing Americans and securing the nation is of paramount importance to the secretary,” the Pentagon press secretary at the time, Dana White, said of the discussions with Trump. “They have talked about it, but I don’t have any more details as to specifics.”

In the weeks and months that followed, a variety of reports seemed to raise questions about whether the U.S.