Tag Archives: Pentagon

Axios reports: Articles about the renowned Native American Code Talkers have disappeared from some military websites, with several broken URLs now labeled “DEI.” From 1942 to 1945, the Navajo Code Talkers were instrumental in every major Marine Corps operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Axios identified at least 10 articles mentioning the Code Talkers that had disappeared …

The New York Times reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the shuttering of the Office of Net Assessment, a small, often secretive and sometimes opaque office that for more than 50 years has helped the Pentagon’s most senior leaders think about the future of war. The office costs about $10 million to $20 million a year — a fraction of …

Reuters reports: The White House has quietly directed the FBI to halt the background check process for dozens of President Donald Trump’s top staffers, and has transferred the process to the Pentagon, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The directive came last month after agents tasked with completing the background investigations had conducted interviews with a handful of …

NBC News reports: The White House has directed the U.S. military to draw up options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama to achieve President Trump’s goal of “reclaiming” the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning. During a joint address to Congress last week, Trump said, “to further enhance our national security, my administration …

The Guardian reports: The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected in the coming weeks to start a sweeping overhaul of the judge advocate general’s corps as part of an effort to make the US military less restricted by the laws of armed conflict, according to two people familiar with the matter. The changes are poised to have implications across …

The Kyiv Independent reports: The United States has notified its allies that it does not plan to participate in military exercises held in Europe beyond those already scheduled in 2025, Swedish media outlet Expressen reported on March 7. Sources told Expressen that this will affect several exercises currently in the “drawing board” phase that will be held in Sweden. Since …

NBC News reports: Changes this year to Tricare, the military’s health care program, have brought cascading disruptions to millions of service members, their families and network providers nationwide. About 16,000 health care providers on the East Coast alone have not been paid for months, forcing many to drop Tricare patients, reduce their hours or consider closing their clinics. On the …

The Associated Press reports: References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, …

ProPublica reports: Earlier this year, the Air Force revealed that the general who oversaw its lobbying before Congress had inappropriate romantic relationships with five women, including three who worked on Capitol Hill. Maj. Gen. Christopher Finerty’s colleagues told investigators the relationships were “highly inappropriate” as they could give the Air Force undue influence in Congress. “I honestly felt sick to …

Politico Europe reports: French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot voiced his confusion over reports that the United States’ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a halt of offensive cyber operations against Russia. “I have a bit of trouble understanding [Hegseth’s decision],” Barrot told public radio France Inter Monday. The French minister said European Union countries “are constantly the targets” of …

The Washington Post reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered an additional 2,500 to 3,000 active-duty troops to the southern U.S. border, including soldiers from a motorized brigade equipped with 20-ton armored Stryker combat vehicles, defense officials familiar with the effort said. The Pentagon announced the deployment, first reported by The Washington Post, in a statement Saturday afternoon. Hegseth has …

Oliver Darcy reports at Substack: Inside the Pentagon on Thursday afternoon, new chief spokesperson Sean Parnell convened a few dozen journalists for an off-the-record meeting to introduce himself to the press corps. Parnell then asked the room full of assembled journalists whether they were ‘rooting’ for the president to succeed. When he was not given the answer he had hoped …

The Record reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter. While the full scope of Hegseth’s directive to the command remains unclear, it is more evidence of the White House’s efforts to normalize ties with Moscow after …

The Washington Post reports: Openly transgender service members will be disqualified from serving in the U.S. military and will soon be removed from the ranks, according to a Pentagon memo that marks a significant shift from previous Defense Department policy that prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. The memo states that exceptions could be made for transgender service members who …

The Associated Press reports: On Wednesday, the department’s top public affairs official signed and sent out a new memo requiring all the military services to spend countless hours poring over years of website postings, photos, news articles and videos to remove any mentions that “promote diversity, equity and inclusion.” If they can’t do that by March 5, they have been …

Axios reports: Elon Musk singled out a Defense Department official who criticized an Office of Personnel Management email demanding workers account for their work, as he escalates DOGE’s efforts to overhaul the federal government. Musk said on X, “Anyone with the attitude of that Pentagon official needs to look for a new job.” The billionaire DOGE leader was apparently responding …

The New York Times reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that he was firing Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first female officer to rise to the Navy’s top job of chief of naval operations, and would be looking for her replacement. Mr. Hegseth said in his statement that he would also replace Gen. James C. Slife, the Air Force’s …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump on Friday night terminated Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman CQ Brown Jr., the country’s highest-ranking military officer, from his position. Brown, a fighter pilot, was the second Black person to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman after Army Gen. Colin Powell held the role from 1989 to 1993. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Brown …

CNN reports: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could soon move to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, part of an effort to purge the department of senior leaders perceived as either too political or too close to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The list includes Gen. CQ …

Oscar winner Julianne Moore writes on Instagram: It is a great shock for me to learn that my first book, Freckleface Strawberry, has been banned by the Trump Administration from schools run by the Department of Defense. Freckleface Strawberry is a semi-autobiographical story about a seven year old girl who dislikes her freckles but eventually learns to live with them …