Pentagon

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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...

US Deploys Fighter Jets, Ships to Middle East to Prepare

Iran, Hezbollah have promised retaliation for killings

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered more troops, warships, and fighter jets to the Middle East and Europe to prepare for a multifaceted attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies. The Pentagon said Friday that the deployment also is intended to protect Americans in the region, Politico reports. Along...

Defense Chief Undergoes Another Medical Procedure

Lloyd Austin has already resumed duties after Friday procedure for ongoing bladder issues

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underwent a medical procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Friday evening and has resumed duties after temporarily transferring power to his deputy, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. Austin is continuing to deal with bladder issues that arose in...

US to Withdraw Most Troops From Niger, Chad Before Talks

Pentagon calls the move temporary, but both nations will have to be convinced to renew agreements

(Newser) - The US will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said Thursday. Both African countries have been integral to the US military's efforts...

This Isn't Your Fight, Iran Warns US

Pentagon bolsters force in Mideast in anticipation of strikes against Israel

(Newser) - If Iran and Israel start exchanging airstrikes, the US has been warned to stay out of it. All sides are expecting retaliation against Israel for a strike against the Iranian embassy in Syria on April 1. And the US has told Israel it wants to be in on its decision...

Pentagon Is Rushing $300M in Weapons to Ukraine

Money was found in contract cost savings

(Newser) - The Pentagon will rush about $300 million in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts, even though the military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10 billion to replenish all the weapons it has pulled from its stocks to help Kyiv in its desperate fight...

Pentagon: Nothing to See Here About Extraterrestrials

DOD reviewed decades' worth of UFO probes, found no evidence of alien technology, cover-ups

(Newser) - For at least two years, the Defense Department's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has been reviewing nearly eight decades of government probes into alleged sightings of UFOs (also called UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena) and other alleged extraterrestrial happenings, and on Friday, the office released a lengthy, 60-page-plus report on...

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