This story has been updated with a statement from the Aspen Institute.The Pentagon abruptly pulled several of its top officials from speaking this week at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, saying Monday the forum’s organizers do not share values with the Defense Department.“Senior Department of Defense officials will no longer be participating at the Aspen Security Forum because their values do not align with the values of the DOD,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to Defense News. “The department will remain strong in its focus to increase the lethality of our warfighters, revitalize the warrior ethos,…
Author: Tommy Grant
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened Russia with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration about unsuccessful negotiations for ending the war.The latest steps reflect an evolving approach from the Republican president, who promised to swiftly resolve the war Russian President Vladimir Putin started when he invaded Ukraine three years ago. Trump has often criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for allowing the war to happen but more recently has expressed growing irritation toward Putin.“It just keeps going on and on and on,” Trump said. “Every…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth withdrew a Navy admiral’s nomination to lead the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet — the Navy’s largest overseas force — amid reports of drag shows taking place under his command seven years ago, the Pentagon confirmed.Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly was named as a candidate for promotion to vice admiral and commander of the 7th Fleet on June 18 by President Donald Trump. But amid a recent report by conservative news outlet The Daily Wire about Donnelly allowing drag performances under his command aboard the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the Pentagon has moved on from the admiral.“The…
A retired Army officer who worked as a civilian for the Air Force has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia’s war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform.David Slater, 64, who had top secret clearance at his job at the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, pleaded guilty to a single count before a federal magistrate judge in Omaha on Thursday. In exchange for his guilty plea, two other counts were dropped.Slater remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. Prosecutors and his lawyers agreed that he should…
MELBOURNE, Australia — The largest-ever war-fighting drills in Australia, Exercise Talisman Sabre, are underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships.Australia launched missiles from its M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, on Monday during live-fire exercises at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, a 1,700-square-mile Outback expanse in Queensland state. The HIMARS launchers were recently bought from the United States.“Today was the first time the Australian Army has live-fired our long-range, multi-domain platforms being the HIMARS, so it is a remarkable day,” Brig. Nick Wilson told reporters.Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint…
PORTLAND, Maine — An Army reservist responsible for the deadliest shooting in Maine history received a glowing review from his superiors even as some of his family members were growing increasingly worried about his mental health.The annual evaluation from April 2023 indicated Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, was “a consummate professional” who “excelled as a squad leader” and whose mentoring of troops was “among the best,” according to the documents released under an open records request. Six months later, Card killed 18 people in a mass shooting before killing himself.The personnel files also show Card had received some mental health-…
The Air Force wants to start putting in place key parts of its sweeping reorganization as soon as possible so it can better plan for its future needs, the service’s chief of staff said Wednesday.But budget uncertainties and a possible 1% cut to funding levels could jeopardize the Air Force’s ability to set up a new Integrated Capabilities Command and other changes in time to have the right impact, Gen. Dave Allvin said at a Brookings Institution event.“It’s not a matter to me of: this is an optional thing that we think is a good idea to do,” Allvin said.…
This article was originally published by Rhoda Wilson at The Exposé. Despite Bill Gates attempting to claim a Dutch court has no jurisdiction over him, the court case against him and 16 other defendants went ahead on Wednesday. Two lawyers were representing seven vaccine-injured claimants: Arno van Kessel and Peter Stassen. In June, the day after submitting documents for the initial proceedings, van Kessel was arrested and taken away blindfolded by a team of semi-military police. He is still being held in the Netherlands’ highest-security prison. So, on Wednesday, Stassen represented the 7 claimants on his own. Speaking after the hearing,…
Veterans advocates are raising alarms about a behind-the-scenes GI Bill rule change that could allow students to use up their tuition stipends on non-degree programs, potentially wasting their military education benefits.Veterans Affairs officials say the move is meant to be a technical correction to definitions governing online-only college programs, and does not require a formal public review period.But 25 veterans organizations — including The American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America — said the change raises serious concerns about how students may use or misuse the GI Bill in the future.In a letter to…
UPDATE — This story has been updated to reflect the accurate total funding spent on Southwest border operations. The Army under secretary provided an incomplete total in Tuesday’s briefing and later corrected the record.The U.S. military may run out of personnel funds before the end of the year, be forced to scale back operations and see ongoing modernization efforts harmed if Congress fails to pass a defense spending bill by the end of next week, service leaders warned Tuesday.The undersecretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force said they’d have billions of dollars in “misaligned” funds — money that exists…