https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/07/1080689723_0:0:3072:1728_1200x675_80_0_0_2ec0dfdb186ca96e1be509dc4dde1f05.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/military/202010141080773178-us-and-south-korea-committed-to-denuclearizing-pyongyang-mark-esper-says/ WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States and South Korea remain strong military allies and both are still committed to the goal of getting North Korea to scrap its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, welcoming recently appointed Seoul Defense Minister Suh Wook to the Pentagon. “We agree that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs remain a serious threat to the security and stability of the region and the world. In the face of these and other threats, the United States remains committed to the security of the Republic […]
mark esper
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has released a pair of memos to the Department of Defense, outlining concerns about operational security and issuing new guidance on dealing with the media. One of the memos, entitled “Reinforcing Operations Security and the Importance of Preventing Unauthorized Disclosures,” was leaked to Defense News Tuesday morning. In it, Esper writes that “‘ongoing reviews reveal a culture of insufficient OPSEC practices and habits at DoD.” The existence of both memos was first reported by CNN. “The Department of Defense (DoD) remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust,” Esper writes. However, “Unauthorized […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday that he has not issued any orders to remove American forces from South Korea, but left the door open for such a move in the future. Esper, speaking at an event hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also said that America remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon was drawing up plans to reduce the U.S. presence in South Korea below the current level of 28,500 personnel. A similar situation, which played out earlier this year, has resulted in […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered an investigation into leaks of both classified and unclassified material to media, he told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a Thursday hearing. The secretary brought up what he called an aggressive effort to pursue leaks after a series of what he called “bad leaks” in the fall. “I’ve launched an investigation that is underway to go after leaks, whether it’s of classified information or unclassified information that is sensitive and also, you know, unauthorized discussions with the media,” Esper said. “All those things, again, hurt our nation’s security. They […]
WASHINGTON ― The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday delivered a near-unanimous bipartisan rebuke to President Donald Trump’s plans to pull about 10,000 U.S. troops from Germany. During its markup of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, the panel voted 49-7 to approve the measure. It was backed by HASC’s chairman, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., its top Republican, Rep. Mac Thornberry, of Texas, and other lawmakers who said the move was poorly planned and undermines the NATO alliance. “Part of what our military does is build those alliances and makes sure we don’t have to actually use the military. All of […]
WASHINGTON — Unless Defense Secretary Mark Esper meets a legal requirement to explain where troops are deployed around the world, he’ll lose a quarter of his personal travel budget, according to a plan passed by the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. During the panel’s markup of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the committee approved an amendment to fence off “25% of travel funds for the Office of the Secretary of Defense” until the Pentagon complies with a transparency requirement in the 2019 NDAA. Under that law, the department must make a quarterly public report on the total numbers […]
WASHINGTON ― Congress is a step closer to eliminating the Pentagon’s chief management officer position, four years after creating the job to help streamline reform efforts inside the department. The House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican, Rep. Mac Thornberry, said Monday he supports the aim of a proposal from the Senate Armed Services Committee to discontinue to the Pentagon’s No. 3 civilian job. He said he may propose legislative action this week in the annual defense policy bill, which the panel would debate at its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act, set for Wednesday. “I have come to the conclusion […]
WASHINGTON — When Elaine McCusker, Kathryn Wheelbarger and Lisa Porter announced their resignations from the Department of Defense within a week of each other, it represented more than just the opening up of more empty seats in the Pentagon. McCusker, the acting comptroller, and Wheelbarger, the acting assistant secretary for international security affairs, were two of the highest-powered women in a building where gender balance in top roles has historically been a foreign concept. And their exits, so close together and under similar circumstances, led to talk in national security circles about the number of women left in top jobs at […]
WASHINGTON — Elaine McCusker, who has been serving as the Pentagon’s acting comptroller for 18 months, has resigned, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced Tuesday. “Today Elaine McCusker submitted her resignation as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) effective Friday, June 26, 2020,” Esper said in a statement. “Since joining the Department of Defense, Elaine has worked tirelessly to ensure that our budgeting and audit processes give full value to the taxpayer while meeting the enormous security needs of our nation as well as the men and women who serve it.” “I am grateful for her dedication to public service and […]
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee today expressed “profound frustration” with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper over a “unacceptable” lack of response to a request that Esper appear before the committee. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., also indicated that the White House may be directing Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, not to respond to the request from the Democratically-controlled House, while the Pentagon pushed back at his criticisms. “It is unacceptable that, except for staff communication, you have not responded to our formal written request that you and Chairman Milley […]
Getty George Orwell once observed that during times of upheaval it’s often not the big events that etch themselves into your memory but the smaller or tangential ones. The other day I was watching television and saw a black man explain that he had done what had to be done, what was long overdue, and he didn’t care about who was bothered by it anymore. Randall Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, had ordered the razing of a 115-year-old monument commemorating the American Confederacy. And razed it was—in the space of 24 hours, right in the middle of an annual state […]
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper did the wrong thing before, days later, he did the right thing. Walking across Lafayette Park cleared by pepper gas and something called pepper-ball projectiles by troops on the order of the Attorney General William Barr, he was summoned to stand with the president, who was giving stage directions for his tableau where he would “dominate” the “battle space.” Esper was not innocent, but he did look flummoxed when Donald Trump pulled a Bible out of Ivanka’s purse and then didn’t read so much as a comforting passage. Five years ago, he famously remarked of the […]
WASHINGTON — With Secretary of Defense Mark Esper facing criticisms from his boss, from former defense leaders, from inside his own department and from outside scholars, there is widespread speculation in Washington that the secretary’s job security is on shaky ground. Nothing appears to have been decided about Esper’s fate, but a tumultuous Wednesday, in which he reportedly infuriated President Donald Trump, have raised questions about how long the former Raytheon lobbyist and Army secretary can hold onto the Pentagon’s top job. Members of Congress moved to bolster Esper’s position in the last 24 hours, with Trump allies Sen. Lindsey Graham, […]
The Pentagon has spent less than a quarter of the $10.6 billion Congress gave it in March to protect military personnel and marshal American industry to procure face masks, ventilators and other… Source link
The US Department of Defense is requesting congressional authorization to strike a potential $17.7 billion deal with General Dynamics for two nuclear-powered, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. Amid lawmakers’ drafting of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon has requested Congress grant the department permission to secure two of the US Navy’s new Columbia-class subs via an estimated $17.7 billion deal with General Dynamics. The proposal would “permit the Navy to enter into one block buy contract for up to two Columbia-class submarines (SSBN 826 and SSBN 827), providing industrial base stability, production efficiencies, and cost savings when compared to an […]
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has shown support for Lisa Hershman, the current Chief Management Officer. Source link