Pentagon

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For US Troops, Thanksgiving Will Be Very Different

Pentagon warns against dining hall gatherings

(Newser) - The Pentagon has shipped over a quarter million pounds of Thanksgiving dinner, including 51,000 pounds of roast turkey, to troops serving overseas—but their holiday dinners will be a very different experience this year. The Defense Department says that to stop the spread of COVID at overseas bases, Thanksgiving...

Flournoy May Not Be a Shoo-In for Defense After All

Sources tell Politico that Biden is still mulling his options for defense secretary

(Newser) - President-elect Joe Biden is hard at work making picks for his administration, with reports already circulating on his choices for secretary of state, Homeland Security chief, and director of national intelligence, among others. But one key role tied to national security is still up in the air: secretary of defense,...

NATO Chief Responds to Trump's Troop Cuts

ISIS could take advantage of the vacuum in Afghanistan, secretary-general says

(Newser) - President Trump's plan to reduce US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq in the next two months drew a warning Tuesday from NATO. "The price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high," said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, per the BBC . He said Afghanistan...

Frontrunner for Biden Defense Chief Would Make History

Michele Flournoy, who served at Pentagon under Obama, would be first woman in role

(Newser) - As President-elect Biden starts to make picks for his administration, one name being floated for a Cabinet position would be a historic one. The Hill reports that a frontrunner to head the Defense Department is Michele Flournoy, who served as the department's undersecretary of defense for policy under President...

Trump: Defense Chief &#39;Has Been Terminated&#39;
Trump Fires Defense Secretary
Nov 9, 2020 1:05 PM CST

Trump Fires Defense Secretary

Mark Esper 'has been terminated'

(Newser) - In what could be the start of a wave of post-election firings, President Trump announced in a tweet Monday that Defense Secretary Mark Esper "has been terminated." The president said National Counterterrorism Director Christopher Miller will become acting defense secretary effective immediately. The Hill notes that Trump and...

General Tests Positive After Pentagon Meeting

Marine deputy commandant was at Joint Chiefs meeting with infected Coast Guard leader

(Newser) - The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after he and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were in a Pentagon meeting with a Coast Guard leader who was infected with the virus. The Marine Corps said Wednesday that Gen. Gary L. Thomas...

Report: Joint Chiefs of Staff Are in Quarantine
Pentagon Leaders
Now in Quarantine
Oct 6, 2020 2:07 PM CDT

Pentagon Leaders Now in Quarantine

Coast Guard commander has tested positive

(Newser) - The pandemic has reached the highest levels of the Pentagon as well as the White House. Sources tell CNN that most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are in quarantine because Adm. Charles Ray, vice commandant of the US Coast Guard, tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday. The sources...

Stars and Stripes Newspaper Is Ordered to Shut Down

Members of Congress are trying to keep independent military paper going

(Newser) - Stars and Stripes, the independent military newspaper that's informed the troops while sometimes being a thorn in the side of the brass since the Civil War, has been told to close up shop. The Trump administration proposed slashing its $15.5 million funding in February, Axios reports, but the...

Pentagon: China Is Working to Double Size of Nuke Arsenal

But country currently only has modest number of warheads, report states

(Newser) - China currently has fewer nuclear warheads than France, but it is working hard to double that number in the next decade, the Pentagon says. The Pentagon, releasing its estimate of China's warheads for the first time, believes they number in the low 200s, compared to around 300 for France...

Pentagon's UFO Team to Make Some Findings Public

The main goal is to see if rival nations are using advanced aircraft

(Newser) - The Pentagon caused a fuss earlier this year when it declassified videos of UFOs. Alas, an unidentified flying object is just that—something pilots couldn't identify, and not necessarily an alien spaceship. But there's been a rising call for more transparency on the subject, including from such heavyweights...

House Passes Defense Bill Trump Promised to Veto

It calls for renaming of military bases that honor Confederate officers

(Newser) - A $740 billion defense policy bill that President Trump threatened to veto has passed the House with a veto-proof 295-125 majority, with 108 Republicans voting in favor of the 2021 Defense Authorization Act and 43 Democrats voting against. The bill calls for military bases and other properties named after Confederate...

Pentagon Bans Confederate Flag, but Not in a Typical Way

New policy lists what flags can be shown at military installations, not which ones can't

(Newser) - After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon on Friday will ban displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn't mention the word "ban" or that specific flag. The policy, laid out in a memo obtained by the AP , was described by officials...

Branches Pressure Esper for Confederate Flag Ban

It's the US flag that's placed on coffins, draft policy says

(Newser) - A draft policy circulated by Pentagon leaders would ban the display of the Confederate flag in Defense Department workplaces or public areas by service members and civilian personnel. If approved, the policy would bring the other military services in line with the Marine Corps, which banned Confederate displays on its...

Pentagon Takes Steps Toward Racial Equity in the Services

Esper wants military to recapture leadership on diversity

(Newser) - Recognizing the harm of systemic racism to individuals and the military, Defense Secretary Mark Esper has announced an effort to ensure equity for US service members. Esper made the announcement Thursday in a video, the Washington Post reports, saying the military is "not immune to the forces of bias...

Trump to Germany: We're Pulling Out

The president is reducing US military presence in Germany

(Newser) - President Trump is ordering the Pentagon to pull thousands of troops from Germany—a move that drew criticism and some speculation that it's just a tit-for-tat with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Guardian reports. The order will remove almost 9,500 troops and reduce the US troop presence there...

Pentagon Takes 'Rare Step' After Latest Protests

And Minnesota's governor calls in more National Guard

(Newser) - Minnesota's governor is "fully mobilizing" the National Guard to quell violence that has erupted in Minneapolis and to some extent in St. Paul, USA Today reports. Numbers vary, but CBS Minnesota notes that up to 13,000 soldiers and airmen might be serving in Minnesota and CNN reports...

COVID-19 Hospitalization Means No Military Service

Pentagon memo allows for accepting recruits who had a mild case

(Newser) - Anyone who's survived hospitalization for a case of COVID-19 will not be welcome in the US military. A mild case wouldn't keep a recruit out of service, NPR reports, but a hospital stay would be "permanently disqualifying," according to a Pentagon memo. Recruits can apply for...

Pentagon Releases Videos of UFOs
Pentagon Releases
Videos of UFOs
Apr 28, 2020 6:03 AM CDT

Pentagon Releases Videos of UFOs

Objects in widely-seen footage from 2004, 2015 remain unidentified

(Newser) - The Pentagon has formally released three videos of UFOs taken by Navy pilots which circulated for years following "unauthorized releases." The footage "does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena" and was therefore released "in order to clear...

Report: Pentagon Asked to Provide 100K Body Bags

FEMA request was sent to Defense Department

(Newser) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reportedly asked for 100,000 body bags—enough to deal with fatalities at the lower end of the estimate under the White House's most optimistic coronavirus scenario . Sources tell Bloomberg that FEMA requested the "Human Remains Pouches" as civilian COVID-19 deaths continue...

Trump Gives Order to Bring Back Retired Troops

Return to active duty could last 24 months during pandemic fight

(Newser) - The Pentagon will call back a number of retired and reserve troops to help fight the pandemic, after President Trump issued an executive order Friday night. He did not say if anyone would be returned to service who didn't agree to it, the Washington Post reports. The order covers...

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