As the small group of insiders filed out of the president's office, they were sure one of them would never be back. It was November 1938, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had just met with his most trusted advisors and military leaders. He had called the meeting in the aftermath of the Munich debacle to find a way of deterring Hitler's apparently insatiable ambitions. Roosevelt proposed to build 10,000 airplanes a year as a strategic deterrent. He suggested no other increases to American defenses – neither ground forces nor the requisite aviation support. As he went around the room, the president's personal advisors seemed to be in complete support. Wrapping up the meeting and pleased with the apparent consensus, Roosevelt turned to the only individual who had not spoken, asking, “Don't you think so, George.” The newly minted Army deputy chief of staff, Major General George C. Marshall, responded, “I am sorry, Mr. President, but I don't agree with that at all.” The president appeared startled, and the other participants were surprised at Marshall's blunt candor. They believed he had committed a serious gaffe and that his career prospects were over. But the one advisor with the temerity to suggest that the president was wrong would not have considered any other answer. He was merely stating his professional judgment as requested.