The Obama administration is bringing the "Runaway General" back into the fold. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was relieved of duty last year after his subordinates made pithy, critical statements about the vice president ("Bite Me?") and other civilian leaders in a widely-debated Rolling Stone profile.

He will now be leading an advisory board called Joining Forces, which will attempt to raise awareness about the stress endured by the families of active duty military personnel while they are serving their country. "This program will be a chance to focus people's attention on ways they can help, and on the importance of helping, and provide opportunities for people to find practical things to do to support military families," he told The New York Times.

Interestingly, the official announcement was made by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, whose husband, the vice president, was the one of the primary objects of criticism by anonymous subordinates in the Rolling Stone article. The Times viewed the move as an attempt by the Obama administration to prove "to those in uniform, and to the American public, that there were no hard feelings on either side of the civilian-military divide."

Meaning: since the furor over the magazine profile subsided, the White House is comfortable again bringing McChrystal back.

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Erik Hayden