Pentagon

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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....

Trans Troops Only Number a Third of What We Thought: DOD

Meanwhile, NYT profiles transgender service members and others who've served with them

(Newser) - As the Defense Department prepares to boot all transgender service members who don't qualify for an exemption, after a recent executive order from President Trump claiming their presence harms military readiness, new figures have been released that show a much lower number of trans troops currently serving than previously...

US to Effectively Ban Transgender Troops

Exceptions may be allowed in the government interest, but troops will be classified by sex

(Newser) - Transgender troops will be booted from the military within 60 days, the Pentagon said in a memo issued Wednesday. The memo follows President Trump's executive order , signed late last month, stating the expression of "a false 'gender identity'" harms military readiness. Some active-duty troops sued in...

Report: Pentagon Ordered to Prepare for Budget Cuts

Hegseth wants proposals for 8% cuts over each of the next 5 years: memo

(Newser) - Even the Pentagon is not immune as the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency overhauls the federal government. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered leaders at the Pentagon and within the US military to draw up proposals for cutting 8% from their budgets for each of the next...

The Pentagon Kicks Out NBC, NYT, NPR, Politico

The move is part of a plan to rotate access for media outlets each year

(Newser) - Four major news outlets will no longer have highly coveted office space at the Pentagon after the Defense Department released an internal memo announcing it's giving their space to other outlets. CNN's Haley Britzky posted the memo on X that said NBC News, the New York Times, NPR,...

White House Orders Portrait of Milley Removed From Pentagon
Milley's Portrait Comes Down
Jan 20, 2025 7:10 PM CST

Milley's Portrait Comes Down

Painting displayed with other Joint Chiefs chairmen is removed within 2 hours of inauguration

(Newser) - Retired Gen. Mark Milley received an eleventh-hour preemptive pardon from the outgoing president, then was insulted less than two hours into the administration of the incoming one. The official portrait of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was removed Monday from a Pentagon corridor where paintings of...

Graham: Hegseth to Free Accuser From NDA

SC senator says he's a tentative 'yes' on ex-Fox News host leading DOD, despite sex assault claim

(Newser) - Pete Hegseth's path to becoming secretary of defense has seen multiple obstacles, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation and an unflattering email from his own mother . On the latter, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham says Hegseth is ready to make a big move—releasing his accuser in that case from...

Defense Chief Pick Not a Fan of Women in Combat
Potential Defense Chief:
No Women in Combat
the rundown
Nov 14, 2024 10:55 AM CST

Potential Defense Chief: No Women in Combat

It's not clear if Pete Hegseth would attempt to reverse Pentagon rule

(Newser) - "I'm straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles," Fox News host Pete Hegseth declared on a recent podcast. The reason his view is gaining attention, of course, is because Hegseth is President-elect Trump's choice to be the next defense secretary...

US Dispatches 100 Troops, Anti-Missile System to Israel

Iran issues warning about keeping American forces away

(Newser) - Pentagon officials announced Sunday that it will deliver an advanced missile defense system to Israel and send about 100 troops to operate it. The deployment is the first of US troops to Israel since its war against Hamas began with the attack a year ago on southern Israel. A Pentagon...

How the 2 Presidential Candidates Will Mark 9/11

Here are Harris' and Trump's plans for the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks

(Newser) - Just hours after their much - anticipated presidential debate , Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump are set to overlap once again as they attend events on Wednesday to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, though CNN notes "it's unclear whether the two parties will...

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