Tag Archives: Pentagon

Via press release from the Pentagon: Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar spoke by phone where they discussed the situation in northeast Syria. Secretary Esper made it clear that the United States opposes Turkey’s uncoordinated actions as they place at risk the progress made by the Defeat-ISIS Coalition. While the Secretary reaffirmed …

The Guardian reports: The White House has given the green light to a Turkish offensive into northern Syria, moving US forces out of the area in an abrupt foreign policy change that will in effect abandon Washington’s longtime military partners, the Kurds. Kurdish forces have spearheaded the campaign against Islamic State in the region, but the policy swerve, after a …

From the Facebook of the USS George H.W. Bush: Avengers, Family, and Friends, It is with a heavy heart that I can confirm the loss of three Sailors last week in separate, unrelated incidents from apparent suicide. My heart is broken. These deaths mark the third, fourth, and fifth crew member suicides in the last two years. Now is the …

The military blog Task & Purpose reports: On Friday DVIDSHUB tweeted a picture of a B-2 bomber on the flight line with a formation of airmen in front of it along with the caption: “The last thing #Millenials will see if they attempt the #area51raid today.” If death is easy and comedy is hard, jokes about wiping out millennials with …

Reuters reports: In a press conference Friday evening, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford announced the US would be sending “hundreds” of US troops, as well as additional air defense capabilities, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “The president has approved the deployment of US forces which will …

NBC News reports: Three videos posted online that have been described as being related to UFO sightings do indeed include footage of “unidentified aerial phenomena,” a U.S. Navy spokesman confirmed. But as for specifics, spokesman Joseph Gradisher said the Navy doesn’t know exactly what the objects are. “The three videos (one from 2004 and two from 2015) show incursions into …

Politico reports: Democrats in the House are doubling down on proposed legislation to block military funds from being spent at properties owned by President Donald Trump, following reports that Air Force personnel stayed at the president’s Turnberry resort in Scotland. The House voted in July to bar the Defense Department from spending money at nearly five dozen Trump properties worldwide …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: North Carolina’s military bases will lose about $80 million in planned military construction, according to a list released by the Pentagon on Wednesday of projects across the United States losing funding to build President Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico. The affected projects in North Carolina include $40 million for a new ambulatory care …

The Associated Press reports: Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved the use of $3.6 billion in funding from military construction projects to build 175 miles (282 kilometers) of President Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border. Pentagon officials would not say which 127 projects will be affected but said details will be available Wednesday after members of Congress are notified. They …

The Associated Press reports: Mindful of President Donald Trump’s intense interest in space, the Pentagon is declaring U.S. Space Command open for business as part of a broader effort to better defend American interests in space. But there’s still no Space Force . Trump planned to participate in a ceremony Thursday marking Space Command’s official establishment, or to be more …

The Associated Press reports: Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warns bitter political divisions have pushed American society to the ‘‘breaking point’’ in his most extensive public remarks since he resigned in protest from the Trump administration. Mattis also goes into some reasons he left the Trump administration in an excerpt from his book published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal. …

The New York Times reports: President Trump said today that he was looking “very seriously” at intervening in the hard-fought commercial battle for a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract for which Amazon, a company he has frequently attacked, is seen as the leading contender. For the president to weigh in on the award of a major government contract would …

Newsweek reports: The U.S. military has acknowledged that North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles can now hit targets anywhere in the continental U.S., confirming fears raised by weapons tests conducted in 2017. U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) released its 2019 Strategic Digest on Thursday, detailing the current state of play for American troops on the Korean peninsula. As part of its summary, …

Bloomberg reports: Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper has proposed new exceptions from a pledge to recuse himself from decisions involving his former employer Raytheon Co., reflecting his move to the top of Pentagon decision-making. Esper, who was the defense contractor’s chief lobbyist before coming to the Defense Department, sold his Raytheon stock in early 2018 under an agreement reached with …

Mother Jones reports: Mother Jones obtained a photo of a card that is being distributed to participating service members with instructions from the Pentagon about what to say—and not to say—when speaking with members of the media. The Department of Defense would like service members to be clear that they are “proud” on several levels. Under the overall messages, the …

The Hill reports: The nation’s top defense officials are slated to attend President Trump’s “Salute to America” event Thursday on the National Mall, adding to the military-style celebration that will also include tanks and flyovers. Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and acting Air Force Secretary Matthew …

Just in from Gallup: As President Donald Trump’s ban on most transgender military servicemembers continues to face legal challenges, 71% of Americans support allowing openly transgender men and women to serve in the military. These data are from a May 15-30 Gallup poll, which was conducted prior to a recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allows the ban …

Here’s what this is likely all about: Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan released a written statement Monday night, addressing a violent domestic dispute from nine years ago with his then-wife. The 2010 incident is part of an FBI background investigation ahead of his possible confirmation hearing to be President Trump’s permanent defense chief. “After having been confirmed for deputy secretary …

The BBC reports: A Russian warship and a US warship have come close to collision in the western Pacific Ocean, with each side blaming the other for the incident. Russia’s Pacific Fleet said the cruiser USS Chancellorsville crossed just 50 metres (160ft) in front of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov at 06:35 Moscow time (03:35 GMT). It was forced to perform …

Reuters reports: The Pentagon has told the White House that the U.S. military will not be politicized, a U.S. official said on Sunday, amid a controversy after officials directed the United States Navy to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight during a recent speech by President Donald Trump in Japan. The White House military office directed the …