By Lara Seligman

“All of them made the same argument,” said one defense official, who was in attendance at the drill on May 8, and whose account includes previously unreported details. “Speed equals safety,” the person said, referring to the message conveyed by the military leaders. The military brass had done a remarkable 180. For the first four months of 2020, as the White House reviewed the withdrawal timeline inherited from the Trump administration, Austin and Milley, as well as senior military commanders, urged Biden to leave a few thousand troops in Afghanistan indefinitely. Both were overruled. Once that happened, the Pentagon embraced as […]

The sense of frustration comes just weeks after Waltz and a group of House lawmakers, led by Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), sent a letter urging Biden to expedite the visa approval process and address challenges with the Afghan refugee program. Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee also grilled Zalmay Khalilzad, the special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, about the issue during a Tuesday hearing. Biden has yet to formally respond to the bipartisan April 21 letter, Waltz and three other signers told POLITICO this week. Even members of his own party signaled that Biden needs to do more to ensure safety […]

The Senate version, which was introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), also increases prevention efforts by enhancing training for certain leadership positions, improving security at military installations, and increasing training for military prosecutors investigating these crimes. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) speaks during a Washington Post Live 2020 Candidates series event August 19, 2019 in Washington, D.C. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Turner, who had been against previous iterations of the bill, said this version addresses all of his concerns, including promoting equal rights protection for service members accused of sexual assault. Gillibrand “has done what everybody hopes will […]

What they found was a potentially larger phenomenon than they previously understood, spanning multiple continents and involving at least a dozen instances in addition to the events in Havana, which on its own impacted as many as 40 American spies and diplomats. In some cases, one instance involved multiple victims: Investigators classified a cluster of reports from the same time period in the same location, for example the events in Havana, as one incident. President Joe Biden’s administration has since intensified its own effort to look into what it is calling “anomalous health incidents” among U.S. government personnel. The investigation now […]

The change will be “effective immediately,” according to a Wednesday memo signed by Austin that lays out the shift. Biden last month announced his intent to nominate Christopher Maier, who served as director of the Trump administration’s Pentagon task force to defeat Islamic State, for the job. POLITICO first reported that Austin was considering reversing the Trump-era move in February. Miller’s policy change, announced eight days after Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, put civilian oversight of the special operations community on par with the civilian leaders of the military branches for the first time. The move was seen as a […]

POLITICO also first reported last week that the Pentagon opened an investigation last year after reports of attacks against U.S. troops overseas, and that last week Defense Department officials briefed the House Armed Services Committee on its progress, saying that Russia or China may be a possible culprit. Also this week, CNN reported on a suspected attack near the White House last year. Lawmakers have been aware of reports of such attacks on U.S. personnel in Havana, Cuba, and elsewhere around the world for nearly five years, the senators wrote. However, these events, which can cause permanent damage, have recently increased, […]

But the change is expected to meet stiff resistance within the Pentagon. Though Austin, who retired from the military as a four-star general only five years ago, has made clear he is open to such a shift, military leaders across the force, as well as prominent former senior officers, have consistently argued that the move would undermine discipline in the ranks and erode the chain of command. This puts Austin in an awkward position, pitting long-standing resistance from the military brass against Biden’s public support for the change and renewed political pressure from Congress. While a nod from Austin would further […]

Nowhere has that dynamic been more apparent than in Biden’s decision this month to end the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan by Sept. 11. Privately, Austin argued against an unconditional withdrawal on that timeline. But ultimately, Biden went against Austin’s advice, as well as the recommendations of the top military brass. And in the end, Austin said publicly that he fully supported the president’s decision to withdraw. Some critics claimed at the time that the Pentagon was sidelined in the Afghanistan discussions. But Austin’s defenders chafed at the notion that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan […]

Around 8 p.m. on Monday, three armed IRGCN speed boats rapidly approached the coastal patrol boat USS Firebolt and the Coast Guard cutter Baranof to an “unnecessarily close range with unknown intent, coming as close as 68 yards of the ships,” the Navy said. The U.S. vessels were conducting routine operations in international waters at the time of the incident, the Navy said. The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings to the IRGCN boats over the radio and other devices, but the vessels continued their maneuvers, the Navy said. The crew of the Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the Iranian vessels […]

Kirby also said it’s possible the Pentagon will send additional ground forces into the country temporarily, for logistics support and force protection. The news comes a week after President Joe Biden announced that the United States would end its military presence Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 20 years after the terrorist attacks that launched America’s longest war. But before beginning the withdrawal, which is slated to start by May 1, the Pentagon says it must send additional forces to the country to ensure a safe exit. The additional forces are meant to deter the Taliban from renewing attacks on American forces, which […]

“The United States will begin our final withdrawal, begin it on May 1 of this year. We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit. We’ll do it responsibly, deliberately and safely,” Biden said on Wednesday in a speech announcing the decision. The Pentagon will likely first reinforce the roughly 3,500 troops currently in Afghanistan with logistics and security to ensure a safe withdrawal, said the defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss future plans. That could mean sending additional personnel into the country before the full exit, but the details are still being worked out. A […]

The president also recently approved an additional $125 million worth of lethal aid to Ukraine to defend its borders with Russia, including two armed patrol boats and counter-artillery radar. The U.S. has committed more than $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, including providing Javelin anti-tank missiles. While the Obama administration sent military equipment to Ukraine, the lethal aid didn’t come until the Trump administration. Biden has a long history of advocating support for Ukraine, particularly after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. As vice president and the Obama administration’s primary emissary to Kyiv, Biden visited the country six times […]

If the American pullout goes ahead before diplomatic efforts between the Taliban and the Afghan government to end the conflict yield results, fighting will intensify across the country and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government could lose its fragile hold on key areas, Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview this week. “If we withdraw and no deal was made with the Taliban, I think the government of Afghanistan is going to be in for a very stiff fight to retain possession” of urban population centers, McKenzie warned. As Biden weighs a decision, the Pentagon has presented […]

“We are aware of the fact that they have expressed interest in acquiring the system,” Austin acknowledged. But “they have not acquired an S-400 system yet, so there would be no reason for sanctions to be on the table.” The United States has in recent years sought to pull India from Russia’s and China’s orbit with high-profile visits and increasing arms sales and military cooperation. But India’s planned purchase of the S-400 could prove a flashpoint, particularly after Congress imposed sanctions on Turkey for acquiring the same system. U.S. officials have said the S-400 cannot co-exist with U.S. equipment, as it […]

The U.S. and India have a shared interest in supporting freedom of navigation and “free, fair and reciprocal trade,” as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes in the Indo-Pacific, according to one of the senior defense officials, who spoke on background to discuss sensitive bilateral conversations. “To the extent that China or anybody else would want to undermine those principles or challenge those principles, that’s part of how you build these relationships and build these networks to provide balance to that or to stand up against it,” the person said. Austin’s arrival in New Delhi marks the third stop on […]

Austin also condemned what he dubbed a “horrific crime.” “I am saddened by the horrific attacks in Atlanta, Ga., yesterday, where we believe several women of Korean descent were killed,” said the first Black Pentagon chief. “Our deepest sympathies go out to all those affected by this horrific crime and especially the families of those who were killed. I share my colleague’s view that violence of this or any other type has no place in our society.” After dropping off flowers Jesus Estrella, left, and Shelby S., right, stand in support of the Asian and Hispanic community outside Youngs Asian Massage […]

The comments, North Korea’s first threats against President Joe Biden’s new administration, are reminiscent of the fiery rhetoric Pyongyang leveled at Washington in the early months of the Trump administration and will likely color the discussions this week in Seoul between Austin, Blinken and their South Korean counterparts. While North Korea’s continued threat to the region was a major topic of discussion during the Tokyo meetings, the main focus was on countering China’s rise. During the joint meetings, Japanese officials expressed their concern about China’s increasing threat to Taiwan and the disputed Senkaku Islands. Austin relayed to his Japanese counterpart that […]

“War over Taiwan would be unthinkable,” said Eric Sayers, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “A major challenge Washington faces is that Taiwan has been viewed by many as a 2035 planning problem. … The [Chinese army’s] capabilities have now matured to such a degree that this is no longer a dilemma we can afford to push off.” How to prevent that scenario, though, is a question that has confounded previous U.S. administrations, as China each year appears to move one step closer to moving on Taiwan. The new Biden team must signal its willingness to go to the […]

One U.S. contractor suffered a fatal cardiac episode while sheltering during the attack, which was the latest in a series of tit-for-tat attacks that have raised concerns about escalating tensions in the region. No U.S. service members have been reported injured. The Biden administration has yet to publicly blame Tehran for the latest attack, which came just days after U.S. fighter jets bombed military positions used by Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in eastern Syria late last week. “We cannot attribute responsibility at this time, and we do not have a complete picture of the extent of the damage,” Pentagon […]

The allegations that the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU, offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to target U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan was first reported by The New York Times in June. Then-President Donald Trump initially called the report a “hoax.” He said intelligence officials told him he was not briefed about those allegations at the time because they did not find them credible. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said in September the intel still hadn’t been corroborated. In the March 1 letter, Duckworth pointed to public reports showing possible evidence that GRU bounty offers had been […]

The attacks and retaliatory strike marked the first major military action of the Biden administration. The strike was calculated to signal to Iran that such attacks through proxies in the region would not be tolerated, the officials said, while avoiding escalation into a wider conflict as Biden seeks a diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran on the Iran nuclear deal. The “proportionate” military response was conducted along with diplomatic measures, including consulting with coalition partners, the Pentagon said. “The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel,” said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. “At the same time, […]

The airstrikes were designed to damage the militia group’s ability to conduct future attacks, a defense official told POLITICO. The U.S. military alone carried out the operation, without the aid of allies. However, Kirby said the U.S. conducted the strike “together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with Coalition partners.” “The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel,” Kirby said. “At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.” Reuters first reported the news. The retaliatory strike comes more […]

The move was seen as a way to elevate the needs of America’s elite special operations forces — Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Marine Raiders — which have borne the brunt of the fighting in the Middle East and Afghanistan over the past two decades. It was also designed to increase civilian oversight following the fatal ambush of U.S. special forces in Niger in 2017 and a series of scandals that have plagued the community. Miller is a former Green Beret. But the move alarmed some experts, who were worried the outgoing defense secretary was tinkering with Pentagon bureaucracy on his […]

The U.S. Embassy is seen from across the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq Jan. 3, 2020. | AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed Three rockets fell near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Monday, the third such attack in Iraq in the span of one week. The Katyusha rockets landed inside the Green Zone on Monday evening Iraqi time, according to a defense official. The official said there are no reports of U.S. personnel injured, but was still waiting confirmation. The Green Zone is several miles wide and houses the embassy and other government buildings. The attack comes after at least four rockets struck […]

After former President Donald Trump repeatedly disparaged NATO and threatened to pull the United States out of the alliance, President Joe Biden has signaled he intends to reset the relationship. Austin “wants to revitalize to the alliance and again I think you will see that overall that will be the message that he sends, that we’re better when we act together,” Kirby said. Context: The news signals that Austin will not markedly depart from Trump’s policy, itself a continuation of former President Barack Obama’s, to pressure NATO allies to put more resources toward defense. Trump focused almost obsessively on increasing NATO […]

Ely Ratner, a longtime Biden aide and Asia expert who Austin tapped as his special adviser on China matters, will lead a task force of up to 15 members in a “sprint” effort dedicated to reviewing Pentagon policy on Beijing, according to the Defense Department. The task force will provide Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks its final findings and recommendations in the next four months. It will focus on strategy, operational concepts, technology and force structures, intelligence, strengthening alliances and partnerships in the region, and defense relations with China. “It’ll require a whole-of-government effort, bipartisan cooperation in Congress, and […]

“There has to be a balance,” top Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told POLITICO, pointing out that Austin did not minimize the advisory role the generals play. “It’s not about swinging the rudder over all the way to the other extreme. What the secretary wants to achieve is a balanced approach to the development of the advice that he has to give the commander in chief.” This story is based on interviews with 10 current and former defense officials, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. Many expressed deep concern that Austin — himself a former […]

The effort is aimed at scrubbing the members of the advisory boards “to determine if appointments were politically motivated vice professionally made,” said one of the people. The freeze announced on Wednesday pertains only to appointees who have not yet been sworn in or have completed all the required paperwork, the people said. Several new board members, including Earl Matthews and Anthony Tata, were sworn in on Jan. 19 after pressure from the White House to push through as many appointees as possible before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. But others, including Lewandowski and Bossie, were still undergoing a lengthy financial disclosure […]

Austin, a former head of U.S. Central Command, is expected get questions from lawmakers about his approach to China on Tuesday as he goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing. “Ely Ratner is a strong addition to the DoD,” said Randy Schriver, a former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs under President Donald Trump. “He cares deeply about our allies and partners in the region and he has the expertise, the knowledge of the bureaucracy, and the relationships to be a key player when it comes to the formulation of China policy.” Ratner is a longtime […]

The news comes as authorities are in a heightened state of alert, scrambling on Monday morning to respond to a fire in the general area of the U.S. Capitol. While the Capitol was briefly placed on lockdown, upending a rehearsal for Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, the source of the fire turned out to be a propane tank that had exploded at a homeless camp nearby. Altogether, the Pentagon has authorized roughly 2,750 active-duty personnel to support the inauguration, but the bulk of those — about 2,000 — are for “ceremonial support,” such as the band, the official said. National security leaders […]

The Pentagon announced Nov. 30 that Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller had accepted Maier’s resignation after the department disbanded his office, reflecting the success of the U.S.-led effort to defeat the terrorist group. His duties would be folded into two other offices overseeing special operations and regional policies being run by Trump political appointees, Ezra Cohen-Watnick and retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, who once called former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader.” But defense officials and Maier’s supporters say he was forced out by the new leadership Trump installed at the Pentagon after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper in November. “Chris […]

The Guardsmen deployed to the Capitol will also carry a protective helmet, gas masks and Kevlar body armor, she said. She stressed that Guard members are trained to “try everything to de-escalate a situation before having to draw their weapon and use it” as part of civil disturbance response. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy approved the request by federal and local authorities for armed Guardsmen to support law enforcement protecting the Capitol earlier on Tuesday, Johnson said. Defense officials and civil authorities have been weighing whether to arm up to 15,000 Guardsmen from across the country that are expected to deploy to […]

Amid concerns that Trump would try to use the military to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win in recent weeks, Milley has reiterated that the troops would have no role in determining the outcome of the election. In the memo, the Joint Chiefs affirmed Biden’s win, noting that on Jan. 20 he will be inaugurated and become the commander in chief “in accordance with the Constitution.” The officers also condemned the violence in the Capitol last week, calling it a “direct assault” not just on the Congress, but on America’s Constitutional process. “We witnessed actions inside the Capitol building that were inconsistent […]

D.C. National Guard stands outside a mostly quiet Capitol, Thursday morning, Jan. 7, 2021 in Washington, as workers place security fencing in place. | AP Photo/John Minchillo The Pentagon has authorized up to 15,000 National Guardsmen from across the country to deploy to the nation’s capital to support law enforcement before and during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, defense officials announced Monday. About 6,200 Guardsmen have already deployed to D.C. following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump supporters on Jan. 6. That number will grow to 10,000 by Saturday, and another 5,000 have been authorized, Gen. Daniel Hokanson, […]

“If accurate, it would be a disgraceful insult to the vast majority of servicemembers who honorably serve our Nation in accordance with the core values of their respective Services,” Duckworth wrote in the letter. If any such individuals are identified, Duckworth urged Miller to take “appropriate action to hold individuals accountable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” “Upholding good order and discipline demands that the U.S. Armed Forces root out extremists that infiltrate the military and threaten our national security. Thank you in advance for prioritizing my urgent request,” Duckworth wrote. Duckworth is the latest lawmaker to press the Pentagon […]

The problem became worse on Wednesday, after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, prompting several senior officials to resign in protest amid wide condemnation of Trump by Democrats and Republicans. “I’ve had conversations with people who’ve worked on the national security teams, many who are career intelligence officers, who are concerned about what happens next,” said Olivia Troye, a former Homeland Security and White House official who left in August and has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s response to the pandemic. “People who are hiring see everything that’s happened and have to question your morals and ethics — especially in […]

After the Pentagon on Wednesday approved an initial request from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to send in more members of the D.C. National Guard — opting to mobilize all 1,100 of them — top Pentagon leaders huddled to decide whether to take additional action on Wednesday night, the official said. Miller and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ultimately decided to mobilize additional personnel due to the severity of the situation. Some of the governors had already announced plans to deploy additional Guardsmen to the capital on Wednesday night. Miller’s order officially puts these troops under operational command of the D.C. National Guard, […]

Miller made the move over the objections of top commanders, a development first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by a defense official. Officials said Miller made the decision to send the carrier home as a “de-escalation” tactic as tensions with Tehran continued to simmer. But the ship was also scheduled to return around that time for routine maintenance anyway, and the Navy had pushed for the departure, officials said. After public threats from Iranian leaders over the weekend, Trump abruptly ordered Miller to turn the carrier around and keep it in the Middle East, according to two U.S. […]

The official went on to described the recent intelligence as “rumors” and lacking “hard evidence.” But the allegations involving Chinese operatives in Afghanistan are being handled very differently by Trump officials than the those involving Moscow earlier this year. Trump initially denounced media reports on the alleged Russian bounties, calling it a “hoax.” He said intelligence officials told him he was not briefed about those allegations at the time because they did not find them credible. The Russian allegations have since been largely dismissed. “It just wasn’t there,” said the senior U.S. official. Yet O’Brien briefed Trump and members of the […]

The Pentagon | Charles Dharapak/AP President-elect Joe Biden has picked Kathleen Hicks, a former Pentagon official under President Obama, to serve as deputy defense secretary, according to two people familiar with the discussions. If confirmed, she would make history as the first woman to hold the No. 2 Pentagon job. Formerly a civil servant in the office of the secretary of defense who rose to hold several top jobs in defense policy and strategy, Hicks has been the rumored front runner for the No. 2 Pentagon job for months. Since November, Hicks has led the Biden transition effort at the Pentagon […]

“The Department of Defense will continue to provide all required support to the Agency Review Team (ART) to keep our nation and her citizens safe,” Miller said, noting that the Pentagon has already supported 139 interview sessions with more than 200 DoD personnel and disclosed thousands of pages of documents. “Again, I remain committed to a full and transparent transition — this is what our nation expects and the DoD will deliver AS IT ALWAYS HAS.” The meetings planned for Friday were postponed due to “rapidly changing priorities here,” said a defense official, citing the FDA’s approval of a second coronavirus […]

On Thursday, the White House unveiled a sweeping plan to build new Navy ships by drastically cutting Army and Air Force priorities. The same day, the Pentagon said it was considering withdrawing support for all CIA counterterrorism missions early next year. The changes are likely to be short-lived after President-elect Joe Biden arrives in the West Wing. But in the meantime, the moves could hamstring the incoming team. “At best, these distract from an orderly transition and at worst are a deliberate attempt to box in or hobble the incoming administration,” said Mark Jacobson, a former senior Defense official in the […]

The Pentagon announced Thursday that it flew a pair of B-52 bombers from their base in Barksdale, La., to the Middle East and back to “deter aggression” in the region. The military has also taken other steps in recent weeks, including sending the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz back to the Middle East and dispatching an additional fighter jet squadron from Europe. The moves are designed to deter Iran from taking any aggressive action against U.S. and coalition forces in the region, said the military official, who asked not to be named in order to discuss the moves. The Pentagon is concerned […]

Initially, the Biden transition team had improperly reached out directly to the agencies instead of the DoD transition team, and was told that they instead needed to submit requests to the Pentagon. “That was more of an internal issue for the Biden team than a DoD issue,” said the defense official. The issue has been resolved and meetings are now scheduled on Monday and Tuesday with the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, according to DoD. The earlier news reports suggested that Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist who the White House recently […]

The Pentagon is continuing to conduct contact tracing to determine the extent of possible infections among its civilian leaders. Tata tested positive after a visit by Lithuanian Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis to the Pentagon on Nov. 13 and will isolate at home for 14 days. Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and the three service secretaries also met with Karoblis, who tested positive days after his Pentagon visit, but they are not quarantining. “We will report additional positive cases as appropriate,” Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement. As part of the move to raise the Pentagon’s health protection level from […]

All of the U.S. officials were tested after the Lithuanian Embassy notified the Pentagon on Thursday that Karoblis had tested positive, according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman. Tata tested positive on two successive tests. None of the other officials is quarantining. Hoffman said the Pentagon is continuing to conduct further contract tracing on DoD personnel who have had close contact with the Lithuanian delegation or Tata. Miller and the service secretaries are not quarantining “based on testing and mitigation measures that were in place during the Lithuanian delegation’s visit and CDC guidelines,” Hoffman said. “We will continue to evaluate conditions, […]

The move, which Esper had resisted, put Miller at odds with Trump allies on Capitol Hill who worry that a hasty withdrawal based on a political calendar — Trump will leave office six days after the Jan. 15 drawdown deadline — could destabilize security conditions in Afghanistan. But Biden is unlikely to reverse the drawdown. As vice president, Biden was the most senior dissenting voice against a surge in Afghanistan in the early years of Barack Obama’s presidency, and has remained insistent over the past decade that he wants to bring American troop numbers there down to just a few thousand. […]

National security adviser Robert O’Brien also touted the drawdown on Tuesday, echoing Miller’s comments that the move does not reflect a change in policy. “By May, it is President Trump’s hope that they will all come home safely and in their entirety. I want to reiterate that this policy is not new. This has been the president’s policy since he took office,” O’Brien said at the White House minutes after Miller finished speaking at the Pentagon. Neither Miller nor O’Brien took questions from reporters. National Security adviser Robert O’Brien speaks during a briefing. | Patrick Semansky/ AP Photo The comments came […]

News of the Pentagon order was first reported by CNN. The military is in the midst of drawing down from roughly 8,600 to 4,500 troops in Afghanistan under the terms of a peace agreement with the Taliban announced in February. The new order would roughly halve the number of American troops in the country again, to 2,500 ahead of the full withdrawal planned by May 2021 in exchange for a set of guarantees from the Taliban. The latest news in defense policy and politics. National security adviser Robert O’Brien previewed the accelerated drawdown last month, telling POLITICO that the Pentagon was […]

The team is also seeking the former officials’ help because they don’t expect current Pentagon leadership to be cooperative or particularly knowledgeable, the former official said. Since early this year, the White House has been purging Pentagon officials who were deemed insufficiently loyal to the White House and installed those who can be trusted to carry out the president’s wishes. On Monday, Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and a day later three more top officials were replaced by loyalists. “Essentially, everyone that would have been helpful has left the Pentagon by retiring or being fired,” the former official said. Mattis, […]

“This is a matter of national security,” said Arnold Punaro, former staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee and a retired Marine Corps major general. With an official result that could be hours, days or even weeks away, Esper’s presence sends a signal to allies and adversaries that operations will continue as usual. Some say Esper should stay on until a winner is called, while others believe he should stay until the inauguration, provided the president doesn’t fire him first. “During the next 76 days, our allies and adversaries should understand that President Trump retains full powers as commander in […]

The judge denied the motion on Thursday, arguing that the alleged assault could not “conceivably serve any military purpose.” “Regardless of whether General Hyten came to Plaintiff’s hotel room under the pretense of work-related purposes, it is not conceivable that his military duties would require him to sexually assault Plaintiff, or that such an assault would advance any conceivable military objective,” according to the ruling. The Air Force can appeal, but the ruling means that the case can proceed for now. A spokesperson for Hyten could not immediately be reached for comment. Spletstoser’s lawsuit says that in December 2017, Hyten, who […]

The military has strict rules against uniformed service members participating in political campaigns, and the ad is just the latest example of the president or those around him pulling the nation’s highest-ranking officer and other Defense Department officials into the political realm. “As a matter of long-standing policy, military service members and federal employees acting in their official capacity may not engage in activities that associate the DOD with any partisan political campaign or elections, candidate, cause or issue,” the DOD’s website states in a post from March 2019. Active-duty service members are prohibited from participating in fundraisers, speaking before partisan […]

“Senior leaders should stay in Washington because of the concern about continuity of government with the condition of the White House and our senior military leaders,” said Mick Mulroy, an ABC News analyst who formerly served in the CIA and at the Pentagon until late last year. This would also serve to “send a message to any adversary that may want to exploit the situation.” Miles Taylor, former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security under Trump, slammed the administration as a whole for its lack of outward concern about continuity of government amid the president’s illness. Esper and […]

The rate of testing is higher than usual. Typically Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten get tested when they visit the White House, but not this frequently, the official said. It was not immediately clear which type of test they are using. Milley, Hyten, all but one of the service leaders, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps are in self-quarantine after coming into contact with Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Charles Ray during a Friday meeting in the Pentagon’s secure meeting room called the “Tank.” As of […]

“For the first three years of the administration, the Navy and DoD did very little to advance that goal beyond 300 ships, other than broad statements of support for the 355 number,” said Modly, who stepped down amid an outcry over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. “It was a goal written into law and it had the president’s endorsement during the campaign, but there was neither tangible funding, nor a real plan to get there in a reasonable timeframe,” he said. Trump made the pledge repeatedly while running for president, and signed the […]

The new plan will draw on findings from the Joint Staff’s “in-stride” review of the Covid-19 response, completed a few weeks ago and viewed by POLITICO, which detailed some of the military’s shortcomings in responding to the pandemic and recommendations for future crises. The results of the study have not been previously reported. In confronting Covid-19, the Pentagon failed to initially account for the “global nature” of a modern pandemic — how far and fast the virus would spread — and had difficulty distributing key medical supplies, the Joint Staff found. The military has relied on Northern Command’s 2013 playbook, officially […]

“Let’s [expletive] kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the [expletive] lot of them,” Trump is said to have told Mattis. According to the book, Mattis acknowledged Trump’s request but later turned to an aide and said he would not do “any of that.” Following the book’s publication, Trump denied the account, dismissing the book as “fiction” and telling journalists that assassinating Assad “was never contemplated, nor would it be contemplated.” In the Tuesday interview, Trump personally attacked Mattis as “highly overrated” and “a bad leader,” saying “he was terrible to me, he was a terrible general.” Trump also accused the […]

The news also comes as Trump faces backlash over allegations that he called U.S. troops “losers” and “suckers,” and as he trails his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, in the polls just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election. McKenzie said the force reduction is due to “the great progress the Iraqi forces have made and in consultation and coordination with the Government of Iraq and our coalition partners.” “This reduced footprint allows us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq and ensuring its enduring defeat.” The decision […]

McConville acknowledged today’s “political environment,” but noted that the military needs to remain an “apolitical organization,” particularly with an election around the corner. The general’s comments mark the Pentagon’s first public response to Trump’s remarks during a combative White House news conference on Monday, in which he said “top people in the Pentagon” probably aren’t “in love with me” because “they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows attempted to clarify Trump’s remarks […]

Still, it’s a difficult situation for Trump, who from the beginning of his presidency has surrounded himself with military trappings and boasted about “rebuilding” the armed services. Experts and former top military officials say the quotes from the article are dangerous not just for losing actual voters tied to the military — but potentially turning off a narrow slice of undecided voters who may not love either 2020 candidate but still revere troops and veterans. “There is a widespread appreciation for young women and men that are in the military, even if people don’t necessarily agree with the policy,” said retired […]

“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers,” Trump is reported to have said. But current and former Defense Department officials, who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said they never heard Trump use such words when referring to troops. Esper, who was in France during the incident, remembers that the flight to the cemetery was canceled for weather reasons, and “never heard any other such allegation as those in The Atlantic until today,” said one senior defense official. Meanwhile, a former senior defense official told POLITICO that “not only had I never heard the president say […]

Russian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov spoke with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley by phone about the Tuesday incident, the Russian embassy wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday, citing Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. During the conversation, Gerasimov told Milley that coalition commanders were notified in advance about the passage of the Russian military through the area, according to the post. Gerasimov accused the U.S. military of breaching existing agreements and informed Milley that U.S. service members attempted to block the Russian patrol, which “took every step necessary to prevent the incident and proceed with its […]

“We’re positioning ourselves to provide them whatever assistance we can, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, you name it, to assist the people of Lebanon,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that most officials believe the deadly explosion in Beirut this week was “an accident,” just hours after President Donald Trump called it an attack. While Esper is still getting information about the incident, “most believe that it was an accident as reported,” he said in an appearance at the virtual Aspen Security Forum. Advertisement “We’re reaching out to the Lebanese government,” Esper added. “We’re positioning ourselves to […]

Since Trump announced his intent to nominate Tata earlier this year, the former Army general has been widely criticized for tweets calling former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader” and referring to Islam as the “most oppressive violent religion I know of,” among other controversial statements. Tata later said he regretted the now-deleted tweets. His nomination to be undersecretary of defense for policy, the department’s number three official, was upended Thursday when the Senate Armed Services Committee canceled his confirmation hearing minutes before it was scheduled to begin. Chair Sen. Jim Inhofe said lawmakers didn’t have enough information about Tata to […]

“I have no personnel announcements other than to say that the president still supports him,” she said. White House officials have discussed the possibility of installing Tata, who has been a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Mark Esper since earlier this year, in a different position in an acting capacity. This would be allowed under a provision in the Vacancies Reform Act that permits the White House to appoint someone to an acting post as long as the person has been in a senior adviser role at that agency for 90 days before the vacancy occurs. Tata’s nomination to be undersecretary […]

Hoffman defended the use of the term “adversaries” to describe anti-government protesters and journalists in a fictional scenario presented in the training materials, noting that “adversaries” is a common term for “a person or group that opposes one’s goal.” However, he acknowledged that “it clearly has different implications when used by the military.” To avoid confusion and respond to criticism following the disclosure, Esper directed that officials update the language to identify those trying to obtain information as “unauthorized recipients,” Hoffman said. “The intent of the mandated operational security, OPSEC, training is to encourage our personnel to treat sensitive information appropriately, […]

In another section of the course on insider threats, the media is labeled an adversary, and DoD personnel are instructed to report any contact with the press to their “information security office.” Price Floyd, who served as acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs in the Obama administration and director of media relations at the State Department in the George W. Bush administration, also criticized DoD’s new policy on operational security and response to leaks. “I think this administration confuses leaks with stories that are written that they don’t like,” Floyd said. “Because this administration, of course, gives out information […]

Defense Secretary Mark Esper | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Esper may be looking to have a conversation with Attorney General William Barr, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and their teams about the issue in the near future, Hoffman said, but did not specify a timeline. Hoffman’s comments come amid rising alarm over federal agents dressed as troops sweeping into Portland, Ore., this week on President Donald Trump’s orders. Trump threatened to send additional agents into other major cities, including New York City and Philadelphia, if the “liberal Democrats” in charge don’t tamp down on civil unrest. Hoffman stressed that there […]

The Pentagon on Friday unveiled a new policy that effectively bans the display of the Confederate flag — without actually naming it.The policy reflects an effort to find a compromise on the divisive issue, as Defense Secretary Mark Esper strives to satisfy military leaders without irking President Donald Trump, who has criticized NASCAR for banning the flag.A draft version of the policy explicitly banned the Confederate flag on Defense Department property, according to a report. Yet the language in the new policy simply lists the types of flags that are allowed to be displayed, including the flags of the United States, […]

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, in particular, is pushing Esper “hard” to issue a ban on the Confederate flag, two defense officials reported. McCarthy has recently taken steps aimed at eliminating unconscious bias in the ranks, including doing away with the use of official photos as a requirement in the promotion board process for officers. “Anything that is a divisive symbol, we do want to take those out of our installations and keep that sort of thing out of our formation,” McCarthy said during a call with reporters on Thursday. When questioned, he declined to say specifically whether the policy would include […]

Esper also told lawmakers on Thursday that he never received any intelligence briefing that included the word “bounty,” in response to a carefully worded question about the reports. The narrow remarks left open the possibility that intelligence officers briefed Esper and other Pentagon leaders on the issue, but did not use that particular wording. “To the best of my recollection I have not received a briefing that included the word bounty,” Esper said in response to questions from Republican Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio). “If it was a credible report — that’s important, a credible corroborated report — that used those words, […]

Mitchell would not confirm details of the flyovers, which will involve Defense Department and “heritage” aircraft. But another defense official said the request for the Washington, D.C., event included the Air Force’s Thunderbirds demonstration team, while the Navy’s Blue Angels will fly over Mount Rushmore on July 3. This would mark the Thunderbirds’ first time participating in Trump’s “Salute to America” event. Last year’s festivities involved a Blue Angels flyover. In addition to the Thunderbirds, the request for the D.C. event included the F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, B-2 stealth bomber, V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters, Coast […]

In addition, the countries have agreed on a location for a U.S. armored brigade combat team and are in discussions about additional support infrastructure as well as a combat aviation brigade, the official said, declining to give details on the specific location. The officials did not mention plans for naming a military base in honor of the U.S. president, what Duda once called “Fort Trump.” Reuters reported last week that plans for Fort Trump had stalled amid funding and infrastructure disputes, but U.S. officials pushed back on that claim. A second senior defense official praised Poland for meeting the goal of […]

McCusker was nominated for the top position late last year, but the White House pulled her nomination in March after emails leaked to the media showed that she expressed concern over the administration’s demands to hold up aid to Ukraine. In one email exchange published by The New York Times in December, McCusker pushed back on Michael Duffey, an official at the White House Office of Management and Budget, when he suggested the Pentagon, not the White House, would be at fault. “You can’t be serious. I am speechless,” wrote McCusker. Trump was impeached this year on charges that he abused […]

The June 1 images of Milley walking the streets of D.C. in his combat uniform prompted outrage from current and retired officials, and many accused Pentagon leaders of allowing the military to be used as a political prop by the Trump administration. Trump had just announced to reporters that if states do not call up the National Guard to handle civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd, he would deploy active-duty troops to those cities. After the remarks, U.S. Park Police forcefully removed protesters from Lafayette Square, allowing Trump, Milley, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other top officials to walk […]

Trump’s break with Pentagon leaders on the controversial issue comes just a week after a flap with Esper over the defense secretary‘s expressing his opposition to deploying active-duty troops on the streets to respond to civil unrest, two days after Trump threatened to do just that. A Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to the White House. An Army spokesperson did not immediately return a phone call. Prompted by protests over racial injustice and police violence that have swept the nation in recent weeks, Esper and McCarthy on Monday said they were “open” to having a “bipartisan discussion” about renaming the 10 Army […]

People gather at the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Va. Recent protests have renewed calls for the removal of Confederate monuments. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is now “open” to renaming the service’s 10 bases and facilities that are named after Confederate leaders, an Army official told POLITICO, in a reversal of his previous position. “The Secretary of the Army is open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic,” said Army spokesperson Col. Sunset Belinsky Monday. Advertisement As recently as February, the Army said the service had no plans to rename the facilities, following the Marine […]

“On Sunday evening, the security elements were almost overwhelmed,” McCarthy said. Ultimately, the Pentagon did not have to deploy active-duty troops to D.C. to help quash the protests, but “we came right up to the edge” of doing so, McCarthy said. On Monday, the Pentagon ordered 1,600 active-duty soldiers from infantry and military police units, including the 82nd Airborne Division, to the national capital region in case they were needed. All of them have since returned home. “We didn’t want to do it. The DoD didn’t want to do it. We knew once you went to that escalation it would be […]

McCarthy also said he ordered D.C. Guardsmen to not carry weapons on Monday when it became clear there were enough federal law enforcement defending the city. Defense Secretary Mark Esper. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo McCarthy detailed the chain of events that took place this week, noting that the decision on Monday to put active-duty troops on alert in the D.C. area was made after an “incredibly challenging night” for local law enforcement. Protesters defaced the Lincoln Memorial and hit five soldiers in the head with a brick, he said. “Inside of Lafayette Square we definitely lost control, to the point where […]

The second reversal comes as White House aides made clear their irritation with Esper for declaring his opposition to deploying active-duty troops to quash recent unrest just two days after President Donald Trump threatened to do so. Officials say the Defense secretary is on thin ice with the president. The units — a total of 1,600 troops — also include an infantry battalion assigned to the Army’s Immediate Response Force and the 16th Military Police Brigade headquarters based at Fort Bragg, N.C., and the 91st Military Police Battalion from Fort Drum, N.Y. The active-duty troops have been on heightened alert status […]

“At this point it’s just direction from the WH on what they want to do,” the official said. The flyover and previously announced fireworks at Mount Rushmore will kick off this year’s Independence Day celebrations across the country, but the main event will be a “Salute to America” on the National Mall on July 4 that may include military aircraft, band performances and other displays, according to a second defense official. The news that the administration is planning large military demonstrations for the second year in a row to celebrate the Fourth of July comes at a moment of heightened concerns […]

“I hold all members of the District of Columbia National Guard to the highest of standards,” Maj. Gen. William Walker, DCNG commanding general, said in a statement. President Donald Trump activated the nearly 1,300 D.C. National Guardsmen on Monday to help local law enforcement respond to the protests, and on Tuesday governors sent an additional 1,500 Guardsmen from other states. Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, stressed the difficult and delicate mission the Guard faces in helping tamp down the protests, noting that the Guard members “live and work and are from these communities. “The civil unrest mission […]

But Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Myers Vasquez said the sailors who do not meet the criteria to return to the ship and require additional time to recover will remain in isolation on Naval Base Guam, where they will continue to receive medical care. Once the sick sailors have recovered, the Navy will either fly the sailors back to the ship or back to their home station once the Roosevelt departs the area on mission, Vasquez said. Sailors must be symptom-free for three days and have two consecutive negative tests, as well as complete a 14-day isolation period, in order to return to […]

During Trump’s phone call with governors, Milley pointed to studies showing that “when there is an overwhelming National Guard presence it actually deescalates the situation and causes less civil unrest,” McEnany said. During the call, Esper can be heard urging officials to “dominate the battlespace.” “The sooner that you mass and dominate the battlespace the sooner this dissipates and we can get back to the right normal,” he said. Developing News on Nationwide Protests As of Monday, governors in 23 states and the District of Columbia had called up more than 17,000 Guardsmen to aid state and local law enforcement in […]

Naval security forces responded to the shooter around 6:15 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Security forces “neutralized” an active shooter this morning at a Texas naval installation, the Navy announced. One naval security force member was injured. It was not immediately clear if there were any other casualties. Advertisement Naval security forces responded to the shooter around 6:15 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, the Navy said in a statement. Authorities have locked down the installation while first responders process the scene. Source link

“It feels great to be back at sea,” said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9. “Getting Theodore Roosevelt and Carrier Air Wing 11 one step closer to returning to their mission in the Indo-Pacific is a great achievement for the crew.” While completing their deployment, the crew will execute Covid-19 mitigation measures including wearing masks, sanitizing shared spaces and maintaining social distance, according to the Navy. The ship’s former commanding officer, Capt. Brett Crozier, was fired after sending a memo to Navy leaders pleading for help as the virus spread through the ship. Then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas […]

The evidence “shows that the Pensacola attack was actually the brutal culmination of years of planning and preparation by a longtime AQAP assocaite,” said Wray. Wray stopped short of saying al Qaeda directed the attack, but noted that Alshamrani had been coordinating with the group. He shared “plans and tactics,” including making pocket videos of his classroom building, said Wray. “We know that he was coordinating with them and providing an opportunity for them to take credit for the attack,” said Wray. AQAP has claimed responsibility for the attack and said they were in touch with the gunman. Investigators concluded that […]

CNN first reported on Thursday that five sailors had tested positive after reboarding the ship, so the new number means the positive cases have more than doubled. The 13 Covid-positive sailors have been removed from the ship and are back in isolation on U.S. Naval Base Guam, according to the officials. “This week, a small number of TR Sailors who previously tested COVID positive and met rigorous recovery criteria have retested positive,” said Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Myers Vasquez. “These protocols resulted in a small number of close contacts who were also removed from the ship, quarantined and tested. “The ship remains […]

Navy Adm. Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo Michael Gilday, the Navy’s top admiral, will self-quarantine this week despite testing negative for Covid-19 after coming in contact with a family member who tested positive, the Pentagon confirmed on Sunday. Meanwhile, Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, tested positive for Covid-19 Saturday afternoon, but a subsequent test the same day was negative. Advertisement Lengyel will undergo a third test early Monday “to confirm his negative status,” according to a spokesperson. Source link

Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt move ready-to-eat meals for sailors who have tested negative for Covid-19. | Julio Rivera/U.S. Navy via AP Photo By LARA SELIGMAN 04/13/2020 09:25 AM EDT Updated: 04/13/2020 11:11 AM EDT A sailor assigned to the virus-stricken aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt who was admitted to the intensive care unit last week died of coronavirus-related complications today, the Navy announced. The news marks the first virus-related death among the crew of the Roosevelt, which was forced to dock in Guam last month after an outbreak onboard. It was also the first coronavirus-related death […]

“The ship is following protocols and taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of all crewmembers and patients on board,” Fage said. The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that the number of cases had reached seven. The 1,000-bed Mercy docked in Los Angeles in late March to relieve the pressure on local hospitals by treating non-coronavirus patients. The Mercy, along with its twin the USNS Comfort docked in New York Harbor, are not configured to treat infectious diseases. But after receiving only a handful of non-coronavirus patients, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the Comfort would also treat […]

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo The top U.S. general said evidence that the coronavirus originated at a Chinese research lab is “inconclusive,” following a report that U.S. officials warned of safety concerns at a research facility in the city of Wuhan two years ago. “We’ve had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told reporters Tuesday. “At this point it’s inconclusive, although the weight of the evidence seems to indicate natural. But we don’t know for certain.” Advertisement The comments come hours after The Washington Post reported […]

Eleven Iranian vessels conducted “dangerous and harassing” approaches of U.S. ships in the international waters of the northern Persian Gulf on Wednesday. Source link

But the biggest problem is the lack of reliable information about the status of the ship or the outside world, the sailor said. “It’s not terrible, honestly. We could be on a boat,” the sailor said. “It’s just frustrating because we have no idea what’s going on.” Support for the skipper After reports of the first Covid-19 cases on board the ship emerged last month, a second sailor described feeling helpless and scared. The staff began bleaching the ship two or three times a day, sometimes spending two hours cleaning. Rumors flew: One minute, sailors were told they were all going […]

Navy leadership took the steps after a number of sailors tested positive for the novel coronavirus even after their 14-day isolation period, three crew members told POLITICO. Some of the sailors who recently tested positive had previously tested negative, one Navy official said. “Results of out-testing portions of the TR crew following 14 days of quarantine leads us to reevaluate our assessment of how the virus can remain active in an asymptomatic host,” according to a Navy directive sent to the crew and viewed by POLITICO. “While further assessment is made regarding test-out procedures, I am directing a halt to all […]

“If you come across and you are at a safe distance and you are waving, that’s one thing. If you have a gun and you point it at me, that’s another thing,” Hyten said. “We know what that line is and we will respond.” “The president’s message was crystal clear,” he said. An Iranian armed forces spokesman responded to the tweet by suggesting the U.S. government should focus on saving its service members from coronavirus. “Today, instead of bullying others, the Americans should put all their efforts toward saving those members of their forces who are infected with coronavirus,” Abolfazl Shekarchi […]

“The first patient transported is already improving and will self-isolate. We are taking every precaution to ensure we identify, isolate, and prevent any further spread onboard the ship,” said Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. “Our medical team continues coordinating with the ship and our focus is the safety and well-being of every Sailor.” The Kidd is the second U.S. Navy ship at sea to see an outbreak of the coronavirus in a further sign of the its ability to strike at the world’s most powerful military. CNN reported this week that crews from 26 ships […]