Tag Archives: Pentagon

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Hill reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) move to block more than 160 promotions for military officers and commanders over the Pentagon’s decision to provide service members with expanded access to abortion is dividing Republicans and drawing the ire of Defense Department officials. At issue for Tuberville is the Pentagon’s recently enacted policy that covers expenses and grants leave to …

The Washington Post reports: For decades, the mission statement of Veterans Affairs came from a line from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 — “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” — a phrase adopted by the department in 1959. On Thursday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis …

The New York Times reports: The Pentagon’s European Command on Thursday released the first declassified video images of the events leading up to a Russian fighter jet colliding with an unarmed U.S. reconnaissance drone on Tuesday, forcing the American aircraft down into the Black Sea. The 42-second color video clip shows two high-speed passes by a Su-27 fighter jet, each …

ABC News reports: A close-up photo of the Chinese spy balloon, taken mid-air from a U-2 spy plane, has been released by the U.S. military The photo was taken on Friday, Feb. 3 as the balloon flew over the American Midwest at an altitude of 60,000 feet — as the U-2 spy plane trailed it flew across the continental United …

The Wall Street Journal reports: A small circle of intelligence officials at the Pentagon during the Trump administration monitored a series of mysterious objects—now suspected to be balloons—but the incidents were never reported to the White House because it wasn’t clear what they were, former U.S. officials said. Following the shootdown earlier this month of a Chinese high-altitude balloon, the …

CNN reports: The unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace on Saturday appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” according to a Pentagon memo sent to lawmakers on Monday and obtained by CNN. The memo offers the first official details of one of the three objects shot down in recent days that was …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday after a series of shoot-downs of unidentified objects that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts. Asked whether he had ruled out an extraterrestrial origin for three airborne objects shot down by U.S. warplanes in as many …

CNN reports: The US military shot down another high-altitude object over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon, according to a US official and a congressional source briefed on the matter. The operation marks the third day in a row that an unidentified object was shot down over North American airspace. An unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday. …

The New York Times reports: The Pentagon downed an unidentified object over Alaska on Thursday night at the order of President Biden, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. official said it was not confirmed if the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft. Mr. Biden ordered …

CNN reports: The US military has downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, a US official says. The balloon was first spotted in the sky over Montana earlier this week and traveled across the middle of the country following weather patterns before it exited the continental United States on Saturday. Prior to the balloon being shot down, …

The Associated Press reports: China said Friday it was looking into reports that a Chinese spy balloon has been flying in U.S. airspace over sensitive sites — a discovery that further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China has “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country” and …

CNN reports: The Pentagon is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States, a senior defense official said on Thursday. The Pentagon has been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said. He added that the US military decided against shooting …

NBC News reports: A four-star Air Force general sent a memo on Friday to the officers he commands that predicts the U.S. will be at war with China in two years and tells them to get ready to prep by firing “a clip” at a target, and “aim for the head.” In the memo sent Friday and obtained by NBC …

Politico reports: The Pentagon formally dropped its Covid-19 vaccination mandate Tuesday, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated. Austin’s memo has been widely anticipated ever since legislation signed into law on Dec. 23 gave him 30 days to rescind the mandate. …

The Washington Post reports: The looming reversal — spurred by Republicans who had threatened to block passage of the $858 billion spending bill if the mandate wasn’t struck down — creates a rat’s nest for the Pentagon. Commanders whose job it was to enforce the mandate will face the onerous task of assessing whether — and how — to allow …

Axios reports: Congress may consider legislation later this week that would scrap the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military service members. A rollback of the policy may be included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is set to be unveiled Monday, as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is vying to become …

The Military Times reports: A decade after the services first allowed gay and lesbian troops to serve openly, a report from the Joint Staff found that concerns about combat effectiveness and unit cohesion were basically unfounded. That’s the conclusion of a 196-page document published in 2021 by the Joint History and Research Office, recently brought to light by the Palm …