Tag Archives: Pete Hegseth

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 …

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, …

Axios reports: A Russian disinformation effort that flooded the web with false claims and propaganda continues to impact the output of major AI chatbots, according to a new report from NewsGuard, shared first with Axios. The study, which expands on initial findings from last year, comes amid reports that the U.S. is pausing its efforts to counter Russian cyber activities. …

The New York Times reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued his efforts to revive the Confederate names of military bases, announcing on Monday that he is re-renaming Fort Moore, whose previous name honored the confederate general Henry Benning. The base, which is in Georgia, will again be called Fort Benning. Current law does not let him do that — the …

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 …

NBC News reports: Asked during an interview with “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream whether it was fair to say Russia attacked Ukraine unprovoked three years ago tomorrow, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was “fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.” Earlier in the Fox News interview, Hegseth said he did not “need to get into the characterization …

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 …

Gabriel Sherman reports at Vanity Fair: Senate and House Republicans know Trump will orchestrate the running of a primary challenger backed by Elon Musk’s unlimited resources if a member defies him. But this is not the whole story of Republican subservience to the president. In private, Republicans talk about their fear that Trump might incite his MAGA followers to commit …

The Military Times reports: Last year, House Armed Services Committee members focused on getting better pay and benefits for troops in their personnel policy discussions. This year, the goal is to help bring more troops into the ranks to enjoy those quality-of-life boosts. “When it’s year over year and you’re not hitting your recruiting goals, that becomes a crisis,” Rep. …

The Washington Post reports: The Maryland National Guard has declined to participate in a parade to honor the life and legacy of abolitionist and Maryland native Frederick Douglass in his birthplace, citing recent Trump administration guidance. The guard sent organizers of the event a memo on Feb. 7 saying that it is unable to provide a flyover, band, military vehicles …

Prominent Christian nationalist Ben Zeisloft writes: The official X page for the United States Army rebuked efforts from a senior Army official who tried to covertly launch a DEI office. Libs of TikTok shared an image of a memo on Friday written by Lieutenant General Joseph Berger about the creation of an “Office of Professional and Organizational Development.” The new …

The Washington Post reports: Trump administration officials at the Pentagon invited a far-right activist, Jack Posobiec, to participate in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first trip overseas, triggering alarm among U.S. defense officials worried about the military being dragged into partisan warfare. News of Posobiec’s invitation circulated among U.S. officials in Washington and in Europe ahead of Hegseth’s visit this week …

ABC News reports: The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman collided with a large merchant vessel Wednesday night in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea. “The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Feb. 12, while operating in …