A SACRED OATH

A graduate of West Point, Mark Esper has always lived by the principles of Duty, Honor, and Country. For eighteen months while he served as secretary of defense under President Donald Trump, those ideals were put to the test. From June of 2019 until his firing by President Trump after the November 2020 election, Secretary Mark T. Esper led the Department of Defense through an unprecedented time in history. Esper takes readers behind the scenes during dramatic moments in the Trump administration involving several foreign nations and as he worked to shore up the United States' shaky relationships with its allies--all while facing a global pandemic that threatened America's military readiness, a nationwide unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, and a White House determined to politicize the armed forces. Unvarnished and extraordinary in its candor, A Sacred Oath is a memoir critical to understanding the Trump administration during this tumultuous period in American history.