Pentagon

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Hegseth Announces 20% Cut to Military Leadership Roles

'More generals and admirals does not lead to more success'

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the active-duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration moves forward with deep cuts. Hegseth also told the National Guard to eliminate 20% of its top positions and directed the military to cut an additional 10% of...

Another Drop in Number of Military Sexual Assault Reports

Decrease attributed to decline in Army reports, as other services see increases

(Newser) - The US military saw reported sexual assaults drop for a second straight year—but Pentagon officials describe the numbers as still too high. The new report counted 8,195 reported sexual assaults in 2024, down nearly 4% from the prior year's 8,515; the count in 2022 was...

Hegseth's Chief of Staff Is Latest Pentagon Departure

Defense secretary says 'great American' Joe Kasper wasn't fired

(Newser) - Another senior Pentagon employee has departed—but unlike three top advisers fired last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's chief of staff wasn't escorted out of the building by security. Joe Kasper tells Politico that he is leaving the role and plans to return to government relations and consulting...

Hegseth Added Internet Line That Avoided Pentagon Security

Such an installation conceals the identity of the user

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told the AP . Known as a "dirty" internet line in the IT industry,...

Hegseth Comes Out Swinging Over Rumored Makeup Studio

Defense secretary slams 'totally fake story' about upgrade to greenroom at Defense Department

(Newser) - Pete Hegseth is getting a brief respite from Signalgate with a much more frivolous development that's making headlines. Sources tell CBS News that the defense secretary recently threw down an order to modify a room adjoining the Pentagon's press briefing area, and that those plans included a request...

Report: Security Took Hegseth Aide Out of Pentagon

Sources tell Reuters Dan Caldwell was identified in investigation of leaks

(Newser) - A top aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was escorted out of the Pentagon by security on Tuesday after he was identified in an investigation of leaks of sensitive information, sources tell outlets including Reuters and Fox News . The sources say Dan Caldwell, one of Hegseth's senior advisors, has...

Trump Turns Southern Border Land Into 'Military Installation'

The Defense Department will have jurisdiction over a strip of land in 3 states

(Newser) - President Trump has given the Pentagon jurisdiction over a 60-foot-wide strip of public land in three states along the southern border as part of his plan to expand the military's involvement in immigration enforcement. The Wall Street Journal reports Trump released a presidential memorandum on Friday that ordered the...

Soldiers Discharged Over Vaccine Mandate Are Reenlisted

Trump ordered the move early in his 2nd term

(Newser) - The US Army has reenlisted more than 23 soldiers who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine after the Pentagon mandated the vaccine in 2021. The action follows an order by President Trump to rehire affected troops and provide back pay; the vaccine mandate was dropped in 2023 and...

Hegseth: No More Fitness Breaks for Women in Combat

Says women must pass the same tests as men

(Newser) - A new order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to majorly reduce the number of US women in combat positions, per the New York Times . In an order dated Sunday, Hegseth mandated that the physical fitness requirements for all combat positions be "sex-neutral" by the end of October...

Pentagon Had Warned Against Using Signal

Department repeated the warning last week, saying Russian hackers are targeting the app

(Newser) - Three days after a journalist was accidentally looped into a Signal group chat with top national security officials discussing military strikes in Yemen, the Pentagon warned the app should not be used even to discuss unclassified information. The department-wide advisory dated March 18 warned Signal's use by "common...

Hegseth: Musk Didn't See 'Secret' War Plan on China

President Trump also denies that DOGE leader was privy to classified plan

(Newser) - A Thursday report in the New York Times claiming Elon Musk would be briefed by the Pentagon on top-secret war plans against China is now getting pushback, including from President Trump. First, per the Guardian , Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday denied Musk saw any such plans during an early...

Pentagon Will Brief Musk on Plan for Hypothetical War: Report

Elon Musk set to be briefed on the plan for a potential US-China war, sources say

(Newser) - Two US officials tell the New York Times that Elon Musk will be at the Pentagon Friday, getting briefed on the US military's plan for a hypothetical war with China. A third official confirmed a China-focused briefing is happening, and a fourth confirmed Musk will be at the Pentagon...

Navajo Code Talkers Returned to Military Websites

Web pages had been removed as part of DEI crackdown

(Newser) - Some military web pages referencing the Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans were restored Wednesday after tribes condemned their removal as part of the Trump administration's push to remove any and all content it deems DEI-adjacent. "In the rare cases that content is removed—either deliberately...

Report: Pentagon Is Cutting Up to 60K Jobs

Official says thousands of veterans could be among those let go from civilian jobs

(Newser) - Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday. To reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut...

Report: Trump Asks Pentagon to Look at Panama Canal Options

Administration wants DOD to draw up 'credible military options' for 'unfettered' US access to canal

(Newser) - Panama's leader has been pushing back hard on President Trump's insistence on "reclaiming" the Panama Canal for the United States, going so far as to accuse him of lying, but that hasn't stopped Trump from moving forward with his ultimate plans for the Central American waterway....

Hegseth Is Overhauling Military's JAG Legal Corps

Aim is to loosen restrictions on battlefield decisions

(Newser) - New defense chief Pete Hegseth plans a fundamental overhaul of the military's legal system to give soldiers more leeway on the battlefield, reports the Guardian . Hegseth took the first step last month by firing the top legal officers for the Army, Air Force, and Navy—the judge advocates general...

The Enola Gay Runs Afoul of Pentagon's DEI Purge

It's apparently a mistake because of the word 'gay'

(Newser) - A Pentagon purge of DEI content appears to have mistakenly flagged references to the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan because of the word "gay." Also among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion are references to a World...

Pentagon: Hegseth Didn't Halt Cyber Ops Against Russia

Reports claimed defense secretary told US Cyber Command to stand down

(Newser) - The Pentagon on Tuesday denied reports that Pete Hegseth has ordered US Cyber Command to cease its cyberoffensive against Russia, the Hill reports. "TO BE CLEAR: @SecDef has neither canceled nor delayed any cyber operations directed against malicious Russian targets and there has been no stand-down order whatsoever from...

Pentagon Reverts Another Military Base's Name

Fort Moore is once again Fort Benning (but not that Benning)

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, for the second time , reversed the renaming of a US military base, saying that Fort Moore in Georgia should revert back to being called Fort Benning, the AP reports. The move reflects an ongoing effort by the Pentagon to overturn the Biden administration's 2023...

Former Defense Secretaries Slam Trump's Pentagon Firings

Letter to Congress requests hearings into 'purely partisan' dismissals

(Newser) - A bipartisan group of past defense secretaries has called on Congress to hold hearings into President Trump's firing of several senior military leaders, saying the officers were fired "for purely partisan reasons." Their open letter says, "We write to urge the US Congress to hold Mr....

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