Tag Archives: Pentagon

Is anybody still even bothering to count the lies? President Trump canceled his desired military parade before Pentagon officials briefed him on cost estimates for the event, a Defense Department spokesman said Monday. “The president was not briefed by any member of the Department of Defense on any cost associated with the parade,” Col. Rob Manning told reporters at the …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump is increasingly venting frustration to his national security team about the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and showing renewed interest in a proposal by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to privatize the war, current and former senior administration officials said. Prince’s idea, which first surfaced last year during the president’s Afghanistan strategy review, envisions replacing troops …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump on Friday blamed local officials for his decision to postpone a grand military parade in Washington this fall, alleging without evidence that they had unreasonably inflated the price. Trump said it was possible the parade could be staged next year if the cost “comes WAY DOWN” and added that with the savings “we can …

The Washington Post reports: The Defense Department and the White House, which had targeted a November date for the Washington military parade sought by President Trump, will instead “explore opportunities in 2019,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement. Officials have been planning the event since earlier this year, when the president, apparently inspired by a similar display he observed …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump’s military parade this fall is shaping up to cost $80 million more than initially estimated. The Department of Defense and its interagency partners have updated their perspective cost estimates for the parade, according to a U.S. defense official with firsthand knowledge of the assessment. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity. The parade, slated …

CNN reports: One of Defense Secretary James Mattis’ most senior civilian advisers is being investigated by the Defense Department Office of Inspector General for allegedly retaliating against staff members after she used some of them to conduct her personal errands and business matters, according to four sources familiar with the probe. Dana White, the Trump administration political appointee who serves …

Yahoo News reports: The Pentagon is laying the groundwork for a future Space Force, moving closer to an order from President Trump earlier this summer to create a sixth branch of the armed forces. Speaking at the Pentagon on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence announced sweeping changes that reorganize how the Department of Defense handles space operations, even if Congress …

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary James Mattis said Tuesday that he “absolutely” supports the creation of a new space branch for the military, but declined to say whether it would be the separate Space Force President Trump has pressed for. Mattis said he supports establishing a new combatant command for space and that the Pentagon is “in complete alignment with …

Defense One reports: The U.S. Defense Department this week will take the first steps to create the Space Force, a new branch of the military ordered up by President Trump but not yet fully backed by Congress. In coming months, Defense Department leaders plan to stand up three of the four components of the new Space Force: a new combatant …

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday disputed a report that the U.S. is preparing a strike against Iran, calling it “fiction.” ABC News had previously reported, citing Australian officials, that the U.S. could launch missile strikes against Iran as soon as next month. “I have no idea where the Australian news people got that information,” Mattis told …

The Washington Post reports: Two days after President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, Russian officials offered a string of assertions about what the two leaders had achieved. “Important verbal agreements” were reached at the Helsinki meeting, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, told reporters in Moscow Wednesday, including preservation of the New Start and INF agreements, …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s military parade in DC is likely to cost nearly as much as the now canceled military exercise with South Korea that Trump called “tremendously expensive” and said cost “a fortune,” three US defense officials tell CNN. The parade, which is now scheduled to take place on November 10, is currently estimated to cost approximately $12 …

The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon is analyzing the cost and impact of a large-scale withdrawal or transfer of American troops stationed in Germany, amid growing tensions between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to people familiar with the work. The effort follows Trump’s expression of interest in removing the troops, made during a meeting earlier this year …

Photo caption from the Navy Office of Community Outreach: Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Kyle Toby, from Anchorage, Alaska, cuts a cake on the mess decks of the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) during an LGBT Pride Month celebration. Chancellorsville is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump declared Monday he would move to make a new branch of the military focused solely on space. “I am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,” Trump said during a meeting of the National Space …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, a federal court in Seattle denied yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to implement its discriminatory plan to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services. Today’s ruling in the lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN and joined by the State of Washington denied the administration’s motion to …

The Washington Post reports: Senior leaders at the Pentagon are distancing themselves from the Defense Department’s annual LGBT Pride Month celebrations, declining to formally acknowledge the observances for the first time since the practice became routine after President Barack Obama repealed the military’s ban on homosexuals serving openly. The absence this year of an official Pentagon memo marking LGBT Pride …

The Hill reports: The Pentagon’s inspector general has officially launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct by former physician to the president Ronny Jackson, a spokesman confirmed Monday. “What I can tell you is that the DoD Office of Inspector General has initiated an investigation into allegations related to Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Ronny L. Jackson,” inspector general spokeswoman Dwrena …

Gizmodo reports: Google will not seek another contract for its controversial work providing artificial intelligence to the U.S. Department of Defense for analyzing drone footage after its current contract expires. Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene announced the decision at a meeting with employees Friday morning, three sources told Gizmodo. The current contract expires in 2019 and there will not be …

The Associated Press reports: One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, “I absolutely just loved altering my mind.” Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America’s arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD …