Tag Archives: Pentagon

Pentagon Warns White House That US Military Will Not Be Politicized After Request To Hide USS John McCain

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 …

Read More »

Pentagon Shifts $1.5B In Funds To Border Wall Project

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon is shifting $1.5 billion in funds originally targeted for support of the Afghan security forces and other projects to help pay for construction of 80 miles of wall at the U.S.-Mexican border, officials said Friday. Congress was notified of the move Friday. It follows the Pentagon’s decision in March to transfer $1 billion from …

Read More »

Space Force To Cost Billions More Than DoD Estimate

Space News reports: The Congressional Budget Office estimates the new space organizations proposed by the Pentagon would require thousands of additional personnel and cost several billion dollars more than what DoD has projected. In a new report released on Wednesday, CBO lays out personnel requirements and cost estimates for several proposed space organizations. The most controversial, an independent military branch …

Read More »

Pompeo: US Will “Fortify” Military Presence In Arctic

Politico reports: Donald Trump has finally found an international organization he likes — a highly select club whose members preside over a frozen wasteland atop the world. The Trump administration will throw a spotlight this week on America’s presence in the Arctic, a region the president’s team sees as “an arena of global power and competition,” as Secretary of State …

Read More »

REPORT: Mattis Refused Multiple Orders From Trump

Politico reports: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis declined to carry out orders from President Trump or otherwise limited his options in various attempts to prevent tensions with North Korea, Iran and Syria from escalating, The New Yorker reported Monday, the latest report of Trump’s own officials trying to check his worst instincts. In 2017, following a series of North Korean …

Read More »

Pentagon Clears Acting Defense Secretary Of Favoring Boeing (Where He Previously Worked For 31 Years)

ABC News reports: The Defense Department’s internal watchdog has cleared acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan of favoring his former employer, Boeing while serving at the Pentagon. The Pentagon’s inspector general found that reports of ethics violations were not substantiated, clearing the way for Shanahan for a possible nomination to the top Pentagon job. The inspector general opened the investigation last …

Read More »

Trump Admin Appeals Ruling Against Male-Only Draft

USA Today reports: The Trump administration has moved to defend the male-only military draft, appealing a federal court ruling that Selective Service registration is unconstitutional because it discriminates based on sex. The appeal on Monday comes as the plaintiffs in the case step up their legal efforts to force the government to either force women to register for the draft …

Read More »

Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Goes Into Effect

NBC News reports: Three years after the Obama administration told transgender individuals they could serve openly and have access to gender-affirming medical and psychological care, the Trump administration has reversed course. The Pentagon on Friday began to implement a controversial new policy that critics say is essentially a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for trans service members. “The policy is …

Read More »

US To Test Missiles Banned Under Treaty With Russia

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon plans to begin flight tests this year of two types of missiles that have been banned for more than 30 years by a treaty from which both the United States and Russia are expected to withdraw in August, defense officials said Wednesday. By moving forward with these missile projects, the Pentagon is not excluding …

Read More »

Pentagon To Tap Military Pensions Fund For Border Wall

The Associated Press reports: The Pentagon is planning to tap $1 billion in leftover funds from military pay and pension accounts to help President Donald Trump pay for his long-sought border wall, a top Senate Democrat said Thursday. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told The Associated Press, “It’s coming out of military pay and pensions. $1 billion. That’s the plan.” Durbin …

Read More »

Trump Order Revokes Requirement That US Report Civilian Casualties Resulting From Anti-Terror Strikes

Law & Crime reports: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday which overhauls policy on the reporting of civilian casualties caused by U.S. operations. National security lawyer Mark Zaid told Law & Crime that the move appears to reinforce the idea that the U.S. is above criticism for its actions abroad. “It would appear that this move by …

Read More »

Former Secretaries Of Air Force, Army, And Navy Say Pentagon Lied To Congress On Viability Of Trans Troops

Politico reports: The former secretaries of the Air Force, Army and Navy, along with instructors at the Air Force and Coast Guard academies, are accusing the Pentagon of deceiving Congress when Defense officials testified last week that medical treatment for transgender troops keeps them off duty longer than other personnel — and of ignoring the military’s own data to the …

Read More »

Pentagon: The Space Force Won’t Fight Alien Invasions

Task & Purpose reports: Listen up conspiracy theorists, schizophrenics, and other beloved readers: Some of you out there might have been wondering if Space Force will fight aliens. During a roundtable on Friday, this reporter asked if Space Force is concerned about threats posed by extraterrestrial intelligence. The official answer: No. A December 2018 Defense Intelligence Agency report warns that, …

Read More »

Court Rules All-Male Military Draft Unconstitutional

Time Magazine reports: An all-male draft has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in Texas, declaring that the “time has passed” for debating the role of women in the army. “While historical restrictions on women in the military may have justified past discrimination, men and women are now ‘similarly situated for purposes of a draft or registration for a …

Read More »

Pentagon Ordered To Halt Discharge Of HIV+ Airmen

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Defense and Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to halt discharge proceedings against HIV-positive members of the U.S. Air Force. The order came in the case of Roe and Voe v. Shanahan, filed by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN, with partner law firm Winston & Strawn, …

Read More »

Gillibrand Intros Bill To Allow Trans Military Service

The Hill reports: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is vying to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020, introduced Thursday a bill to allow transgender people to serve in the military. The bill, which was also introduced by Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), comes weeks after the Supreme Court …

Read More »

Democrats Vow To Fight Back And Reverse Trans Ban

Just in from the Democratic National Committee: “Prejudice is not patriotism. Discrimination is not a national security strategy. This ban is nothing more than bigotry codified into law and an insult to all who have worn our nation’s uniform. Not only does it go against our values as Americans, it also makes us less safe. “Democrats believe diversity is our …

Read More »

SCOTUS Rules Trans Ban Can Proceed During Appeals

Think Progress reports: The Supreme Court handed down a pair of orders on Tuesday that effectively reinstate the Trump administration’s ban on trans military service. The cases are Trump v. Karnoski and Trump v. Stockman. In both cases, a lower court halted the ban. Tuesday’s orders temporarily stay those lower court decisions while the cases make their way through the …

Read More »

Pentagon: Bases Under Threat From Climate Change

The Hill reports: A Pentagon report reveals that more than two-thirds of operationally critical military installations are threatened by the effects of climate change over the next 20 years, including repeated flooding and wildfires. The 22-page report released this week, titled the “Effects of a Changing Climate to the Department of Defense,” took a look at 79 “mission assurance priority …

Read More »

Trump Announces Expansion Of Missile Defenses, Warns About Inbound Caravans Of “Unknown People” [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: President Trump announced Thursday the results of a missile defense review that he said would update a decades-old system and protect the United States from emerging threats — adopting a Cold War stance while also promoting futuristic ambitions with his much-touted Space Force. At the Pentagon, Mr. Trump said the strategy would help deter hostile …

Read More »