Military

Gaetz Amendment Would End Weed Testing By Military

Politico reports: A proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) would end cannabis testing for members of the military — both when they’re enlisting and accepting a commission. If the amendment is included in the NDAA, H.R. 2670 (118), it would address a growing issue in the U.S. military: the increasing number of recruits …

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GOP Seeks To Block Army From Confederate Renaming

Congress Minutes reports: Republicans are gearing up for another debate over Confederate-named Defense Department assets after GOP appropriators added a little-noticed amendment into a funding bill. The GOP friction stems from a push by Rep Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) who publicly revived the discussion by trying to prevent funding in an energy and water development bill from being used to rename …

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WSJ: Navy Detected Submarine’s Implosion Days Ago

The Wall Street Journal reports: A top secret U.S. Navy acoustic detection system designed to spot enemy submarines first heard the Titan sub implosion hours after the submersible began its mission, officials involved in the search said. The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications, according to a U.S. defense official. Shortly after …

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GOP Seeks To Defund Pentagon’s Anti-Extremism Work

Roll Call reports: Provisions to defund the Pentagon’s anti-extremism efforts are on tap for potential inclusion in the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill when members of the House Armed Service Committee hold their marathon markup session on June 21. Those amendments, along with a third to evaluate staffing levels within the Defense Department’s so-called diversity, equity and inclusion office, offer …

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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Guardsman Pentagon Leaker

The New York Times reports: A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who posted dozens of secret intelligence reports and other sensitive documents on a gaming server, on six counts of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. The filing of criminal charges against Mr. Teixeira, 21, comes two months after F.B.I. agents arrested him …

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Four Dead In Crash That Spurred Military Scramble

Yahoo News reports: A Florida businessman and prominent political donor identified himself as the owner of a Cessna passenger aircraft that sparked panic as it flew into restricted U.S. airspace over Washington, D.C., Sunday—before crashing into the Virginia wilderness, according to a report. The aircraft, which authorities said was piloted by a person who lost consciousness, prompted an aerial chase …

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Sonic Boom Startles DC Area After US Jets Scramble

The Washington Post reports: An authorized Defense Department plane caused a sonic boom heard across the D.C. region Sunday afternoon, officials in Maryland said. The sonic boom was related to an incident involving a Cessna that crashed in Virginia, three people with knowledge of the situation said. Two of them said the Cessna was unresponsive when hailed by authorities, causing …

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Haters Harass Navy Into Removing Pride Month Posts

The Hill reports: The Navy’s official Instagram and Twitter accounts have apparently taken down posts celebrating the start of Pride Month. The service’s Instagram account Thursday featured a post depicting a fighter jet with the LGBTQ flag colors in its wake, but by Friday morning the image was gone. In a statement to The Hill, a Navy spokesperson acknowledged the …

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US Army Base Ceremonially Sheds Confederate Name

ABC News reports: A new sign on base Friday morning signified a new era for the military institution in Cumberland County formerly known as Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty on Friday, June 2, 2023. It’s a change that some veterans view as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more …

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Pentagon Cancels Drag Show At Nevada Air Force Base

NBC News reports: Pentagon leaders have stepped in to stop a drag show scheduled for Thursday at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, according to two defense officials and a U.S. official. The show, which was in celebration of Pride Month, was approved by Air Force leaders, but Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of …

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Pentagon Leaker Was Repeatedly Warned By Superiors

CNN reports: The Air National Guardsman who is accused of posting a trove of classified documents to social media was repeatedly warned by his superiors in the Air Force over his mishandling of classified documents, prosecutors say. In court documents arguing for Jack Teixeira’s continued detention, prosecutors said that the 21-year-old’s “willful disregard” of his obligation to protect classified information …

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Air Force Suspends Leaker’s Two Commanding Officers

The Stars & Stripes reports: The Air Force has suspended two commanding officers linked with Jack Teixeira, a member of the same military unit who is accused of posting a trove of classified government documents online. The commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and a detachment commander — who oversees administrative support — were suspended “pending further investigation into …

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Pentagon Leaker Has History Of Violent, Racist Remarks

The New York Times reports: Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents online, repeatedly tried to obstruct federal investigators and has a “troubling” history of making racist and violent remarks, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing late Wednesday. In an 18-page memo, DOJ lawyers argued that Airman Teixeira needed to be detained indefinitely because …

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Pentagon Leaker Posted To Second Much Larger Group

The New York Times reports: The Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents to a small group of gamers had been posting sensitive information months earlier than previously known and to a much larger chat group, according to online postings reviewed by The New York Times. In February 2022, soon after the invasion of Ukraine, a user profile matching …

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WSJ: Former US Navy Officer Posing As Russian Blogger Spread Pentagon Intel Docs Leaked By Natl Guardsman

The Wall Street Journal reports: A social-media account overseen by a former U.S. Navy non-commissioned officer—a prominent online voice supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine—played a key role in the spread of intelligence documents allegedly leaked by Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, reposting files from obscure online chat rooms. A purported Russian blogger known as Donbass Devushka, which translates as Donbas …

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Guardsman Charged With Transmitting Defense Info

The Washington Post reports: Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member suspected of leaking a trove of classified military intelligence, was charged Friday with retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents. Teixeira, 21, appeared shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern before Magistrate Judge David Hennessy of the U.S. District Court for the District of …

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Friend: Arrested Guardsman Was Not A Whistleblower

The New York Times reports: The 21-year-old National Guard airman was frantic as he joined a call with members of a small online gamer community that has improbably ended up at the center of a federal investigation into a major U.S. security breach. It sounded as if the airman, Jack Teixeira, was in a speeding car, said a member of …

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Feds Target Air National Guardsman In Pentagon Leak

The New York Times reports: The leader of a small online gaming chat group where a trove of classified U.S. intelligence documents leaked over the last few months is a 21-year-old member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The New York Times. The national guardsman, whose name is Jack …

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Pentagon Leaker Appears To Be Far-Right MAGA Type

The Washington Post reports: The man behind a massive leak of U.S. government secrets that has exposed spying on allies, revealed the grim prospects for Ukraine’s war with Russia and ignited diplomatic fires for the White House is a young, charismatic gun enthusiast who shared highly classified documents with a group of far-flung acquaintances searching for companionship amid the isolation …

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DOJ Investigates Leak Of Key US Intel Documents

CNN reports: The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the leaks of a trove of apparent US intelligence documents that were posted on social media in recent weeks. The investigation comes as new documents surfaced Friday covering everything from US support for Ukraine to information about key US allies like Israel, widening the fallout from the already alarming …

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