Pentagon

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Pentagon Watchdog to Investigate Austin Controversy

Defense chief failed to disclose his hospitalization

(Newser) - The Pentagon's internal watchdog said Thursday he will review the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization and why the Defense Department waited days to inform the White House that he had transferred authority to his deputy. Austin, 70, is still in the hospital being treated for complications...

Ex-Pentagon Chief Panetta on Austin Incident: 'Serious Risk'

Defense secretary's secrecy over hospitalization, subject of a formal inquiry, remains in the spotlight

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is continuing to work from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on what's now the 11th day of his current hospitalization. Meanwhile, a storm continues to brew over the failure of the secretary, second in the line of military command, to notify officials that he...

Biden Didn't Know About Defense Chief's Ailment for 3 Days

Pentagon didn't immediately inform White House Lloyd Austin was in the hospital

(Newser) - The White House press corps and members of Congress are miffed they didn't know defense chief Lloyd Austin was in the hospital . But Politico reports a remarkable addendum to that: President Biden himself didn't know for three days that his secretary was out of action. The outlet says...

Questions Arise Over 'Evolving Situation' With Defense Secretary

Lloyd Austin's hospitalization on Jan. 1 for complications following surgery was kept quiet

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is already home after being hospitalized most of the week—except almost no one knew he'd been hospitalized in the first place. The Pentagon announced Friday that Austin, 70, checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year's Day, after he suffered...

Pentagon Changes Protocol on Sexual Assault Cases

Independent lawyers, not commanders, will investigate them from now on

(Newser) - The US military on Thursday opened a new chapter in how it investigates and prosecutes sexual assault and other major crimes, putting independent lawyers in charge of those decisions and sidelining commanders after years of pressure from Congress. The change, long resisted by Pentagon leaders, was finally forced by members...

GOP Hardliners Unhappy as Defense Bill Passes

Gaetz, others complain about concessions on abortion, trans issues

(Newser) - The House passed a defense policy bill Thursday that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, overcoming objections from some conservatives concerned the measure did not do enough to restrict the Pentagon's diversity initiatives, abortion travel policy, and gender-affirming health care for transgender service...

Pentagon: US Ships Were Attacked in Red Sea

Houthi rebels report firing on two vessels but don't mention US

(Newser) - An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. Yemen's Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked to Israel but did not acknowledge targeting a US Navy vessel. The attack potentially marked a major...

Senate Confirms First Woman for Joint Chiefs of Staff

Nominations of Adm. Lisa Franchetti, two others are approved despite Tuberville's hold

(Newser) - The Senate easily confirmed three senior military officers for new jobs on Thursday, one of whom will become the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Adm. Lisa Franchetti was approved to lead the Navy, the Washington Post reports. The Air Force also got a new boss: Gen....

Pentagon Sends Urban Combat Veteran to Israel

Air defense systems also are on their way to Middle East

(Newser) - The Pentagon has sent military advisers, including a Marine Corps general versed in urban warfare, to Israel to aid in its war planning and is speeding multiple sophisticated air defense systems to the Middle East days ahead of an anticipated ground assault into Gaza. One of the officers leading the...

China Preps for Assault With Tips Learned From Russia

Government looks to limit the effect of potential sanctions as it builds up military capability

(Newser) - A Pentagon report on China's military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is "almost certainly" learning lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like, per the AP...

Pentagon: Footage Shows Chinese Jets' Risky Behavior

Says more than 180 intercepts of US warplanes by Chinese aircraft happened in last 2 years

(Newser) - The Pentagon has released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of US warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the last two years—more than the total amount over the previous decade and part of a trend US military officials called concerning. The photos and video...

US: Downing Turkey's Drone 'Regrettable'

Pentagon says armed drone came close to American troops in Syria

(Newser) - Pentagon officials said several warnings were issued before a US fighter jet shot down an armed drone belonging to Turkey on Thursday. The drone was flying close to American ground forces in northeast Syria, US officials said. Fearing the downing will increase the already rising tensions between the two nations,...

Pentagon Official Has Allegedly Been Dogfighting for 20 Years

Frederick Douglass Moorefield Jr. of communications team faces years in prison

(Newser) - A senior member of the Pentagon communications staff has allegedly spent the last two decades taking part in a dogfighting ring. Last month, agencies including the FBI and Department of Agriculture raided the Maryland homes of Frederick Douglass Moorefield Jr. and a friend, Mario D. Flythe, finding they kept five...

Senate Goes Around Tuberville, Confirms Joint Chiefs Chairman

Charles Brown Jr. will succeed Mark Milley next month

(Newser) - Gen. Charles Brown Jr., a fighter pilot and former Air Force chief of staff, was confirmed as the nation's next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday. His nomination was approved on an 83-11 Senate vote after being held up for months by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville'...

More Witness Interviews in Kabul Bombing Ordered

US general says he wants new accounts of airport attack taken seriously

(Newser) - For the first time, almost 20 eyewitnesses to the bombing at the Kabul airport as US forces were leaving Afghanistan will be able to tell their stories to Pentagon investigators. Gen. Michael Kurilla ordered the interviews of US personnel who were wounded in the August 2021 attack and whose public...

US Schedules Training of Ukrainian Pilots on F-16s

Crews also will learn how to maintain the fighter jets

(Newser) - The Pentagon announced Thursday that Ukrainian fighter jet pilots will begin training on US-made F-16s in Arizona, starting in October. The pilots and support personnel will complete English language education at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, in September, then go to Morris Air National Guard Base to...

Pentagon Weighs Changes in Deploying DC National Guard

Proposals follow problems with response to George Floyd, Jan. 6 protests

(Newser) - The Pentagon is developing plans to restructure the National Guard in Washington, DC, in a move to address problems highlighted by the chaotic response to the Jan. 6 riot and safety breaches during the 2020 protests over the murder of George Floyd, the AP reports. The changes under discussion would...

House OKs Defense Bill With Eyebrow- Raising Extras

Add-ons in annual legislation include restrictions on abortion, transgender health care, diversity training

(Newser) - The US House on Friday approved a sweeping annual defense bill that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with political add-ons from Republicans to block abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon, and transgender issues that deeply divided the chamber....

Marines Hold Ceremony to Transfer Power but Can't

Commandant's position is one of the military jobs frozen by senator

(Newser) - Gen. David Berger's retirement arrived on schedule Monday after four years atop the Marine Corps, and a colorful ceremony was held, but politics got in the way of a smooth handover of power. "You know, it's been more than a century since the US Marine Corps has...

US to Send Controversial Weapon to Ukraine

Pentagon will send cluster bombs, banned by many nations over risk to civilians

(Newser) - The US has just made perhaps its most controversial decision to date in regard to the Russia-Ukraine war: It will send Ukraine controversial munitions commonly known as cluster bombs, report the Washington Post and the AP . Many nations, including some of America's closest allies, ban the bombs because of...

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