Defense
WASHINGTON -- Expert witnesses described a deeply troubled Defense Department at a Senate hearing Tuesday as Congress tries to decide whether to approve a new leader for the U.S. military. They said the Defense Department has fallen victim to political... Read More
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden announced Kathleen Hicks and Colin Kahl as his nominees for deputy secretary of defense and under secretary of defense for policy on Wednesday. If confirmed to the positions, they are slated to join Secretary of... Read More
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump made good on a threat Wednesday, vetoing the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act. Congress passed the fiscal year 2021 defense spending plan earlier this month with more than the two-thirds majority needed in both... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who has threatened to veto the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill, has until Dec. 23 to either do so or sign it into law, congressional aides said Monday. The Senate cleared the $731.6 billion measure... Read More
President Donald Trump repeated his threat to veto the U.S. defense spending bill that last week won enough bipartisan support in Congress to easily overturn his opposition. “THE BIGGEST WINNER OF OUR NEW DEFENSE BILL IS CHINA!. I WILL VETO!”... Read More
WASHINGTON - The Senate, as expected, overwhelming endorsed a $740 billion national defense policy bill Friday, sending the measure on to the White House where president Trump threatened to veto it. Ignoring those threats, the Senate voted 84-12 in favor... Read More
WASHINGTON — Although expected to pass with bicameral and bipartisan support, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 is unlikely to contain provisions that would integrate a reserve component or National Guard for the United States Space Force.... Read More
WASHINGTON -- Defense analysts warned Congress Friday against the U.S. troop withdrawal in Afghanistan announced this week amid indications that radical Islamists could resume terrorist attacks. They said further proof is needed that Taliban fighters would not try to seize... Read More
WASHINGTON — A senior Defense Department official resigned on Tuesday, opening the way for a longtime ally of President Donald Trump to take on a key leadership role a day after Pentagon chief Mark Esper was fired. James Anderson, the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for policy,... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's decision to fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday raised concerns that he may be planning far-reaching military moves in his final weeks in office — and is putting in place new leadership more inclined to go along. Trump named Christopher... Read More
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Space Force recently launched its Space Operations Command, according to Air Force Magazine. Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting was introduced as the head of the operations command during a ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo.,... Read More
SAN ANTONIO – The military’s newest branch, the United States Space Force, swore in its first recruits Tuesday, Oct. 20. Seven recruits, five men and two women, will commence the force’s inaugural boot camp at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for... Read More
WASHINGTON — Machine learning and artificial intelligence technology are fast-moving, complex technologies businesses and government agencies are increasingly putting to use to develop efficiencies of people and processes. Federal IT practitioners, in particular, are seeing the benefits of this technology... Read More
WASHINGTON — Top Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee and a former U.S. spy chief expressed concerns about U.S. national security Tuesday after news broke that most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are quarantining after coming in contact... Read More
Although still far from happening, United States Space Command leader Maj. Gen. John Shaw said Space Force troops will eventually be sent to space. Shaw’s comments on the Space Force came during the AFWERX Engage Space Conference, which ran from... Read More
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is winding down the U.S. military presence in Germany, and relocating some, but not all of those troops closer to the Russian border, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced Wednesday. The decision marks a major force restructuring... Read More
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Thursday passed with a veto-proof majority a Defense spending bill that includes a provision to remove the names of Confederate officers from 10 military bases. All four senators from Kansas and Missouri backed National Defense... Read More
WASHINGTON - The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved the fiscal year 2021 defense spending bill on a vote of 30 to 22. The legislation funds the Department of Defense, including operations and maintenance, readiness activities, research and development, equipment... Read More
WASHINGTON — House appropriators approved a $115.5 billion Military Construction-VA spending bill Thursday on a 30-20 vote, with Texas Republican Will Hurd joining Democrats to advance the legislation to the floor. The rest of the panel’s Republicans opposed Democrats’ decision to add $12.5 billion... Read More
WASHINGTON - Defense policy discussions are attracting most of the attention on Capitol Hill this week as the Senate takes up the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill on the floor and the House Armed Service Committee marks up its version.... Read More
WASHINGTON — Abandoning decades of resistance, the Pentagon signaled Monday that it is open to stripping the names of Confederate heroes off Fort Hood and nine other Army posts, including one named for the rebels’ top general, Robert E. Lee.... Read More
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he opposes the use of active-duty military to police U.S. cities and contain current street protests over the death of George Floyd. "I've always believed and continue to believe that the National... Read More
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 approved a new, independent Space Force within the Department of the Air Force. As this new military branch takes shape, Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett and Chief of Space Operations General... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump moved swiftly this month to replace inspectors general across the government. Now Trump’s nominees for these watchdog jobs face questions about whether they will bark when needed, especially if Trump wants silence. Arguably the most... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has quietly asked Congress to reverse key parts of a recent law that tightened the rules governing retired Defense Department officials influencing their former government colleagues on behalf of defense contractors. Three years ago, Washington enacted... Read More
WASHINGTON — The United States has a new military service, the Space Force, but it has never been clear whether or not the country will also have a Space Guard and Reserve. Many observers on Capitol Hill were hoping the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Top members of the House Armed Services Committee assailed Pentagon leaders Wednesday, warning that the administration’s reprogramming of $3.8 billion of Defense Department money for a border wall could damage its relationship with Congress. Echoing a letter they... Read More
WASHINGTON - A Pentagon proposal to cut funding for Stars and Stripes is causing an uproar among media organizations and reporters covering the Defense Department who contend the independent newspaper remains a vital source of information for military personnel stationed... Read More
WASHINGTON — The United States has made “no decision whatsoever” to pull troops out of Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday after a Defense Department memo to an Iraqi military official surfaced discussing moving U.S. forces. The comments came... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon made plans Monday to send an additional 2,500 U.S. Marines to the Middle East, the latest fallout from President Donald Trump’s order to kill a powerful Iranian general last week, but one that could increase the... Read More
