Military News
Coverage of the armed forces, defense spending, and global security challenges. The Daily Signal offers news, analysis, and conservative commentary.
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opinion
Hegseth Was Right to Ban Race in Admissions At Military Service Academies, but Not for the Reasons You Might Think
On May 9, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sent a memorandum to the entire Department of Defense prohibiting the military service academies from using race in admissions, which they had been doing for decades. Effective immediately, offers of admissions to the highly selective military service academies must be based “exclusively on merit.” Hegseth justified… -
news
Inside Defense Secretary Hegseth’s Visit to Fort Bragg
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina—On Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first trip to Fort Bragg since restoring the base’s name, he unveiled a plan in step with his core mission of prioritizing lethality and the warrior ethos in the military. Hegseth began Thursday at the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Week review ceremony. After landing in Fayetteville, Hegseth… -
news
Hegseth Vows to Involve ‘Best’ US Companies in Missile-Defense ‘Golden Dome’ Construction
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed America’s commitment to making all the materials for the “Golden Dome” missile-defense shield domestically. “We’re going to defend America with great American companies,” Hegseth told The Daily Signal on Thursday. “We’re committed patriotically to the defense of the homeland.” The U.S. plans to build a “Golden Dome” to guard against… -
news
With Injunction Lifted, Pentagon Set to Remove Trans Service Members From Military
Days after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Pentagon’s ban on transgender-identifying service members, the Department of Defense will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 people diagnosed with gender dysphoria out of the military. Others will have 30 days to self-identify under a new directive issued Thursday. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3… -
opinion
Pete Hegseth’s Hard Choices: Today’s Decisions and Tomorrow’s Military
CARLISLE, Pennsylvania—Maj. Gen. David Hill was standing a few feet from where the Black Hawk helicopter en route from the Defense Department would soon be landing, at the lush green fields of the Army War College. Hill is the commandant of the prestigious military institution and had been preparing for days for something rare around… -
opinion
CCP-Linked Stores on Military Bases? This Congressman Is Trying to Close Them Down
Before freshman Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., came to Washington in January, no one seemed to notice that a Chinese Communist Party-linked company had stores that sold health products to our troops. Though it was once an American-owned company, the vitamin store GNC was purchased by the CCP-linked Harbin Pharmaceuticals in 2020 after GNC filed for… -
news
Advisers Purged at Pentagon
In the latest shake-up under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a number of policy advisers from previous administrations have been ousted from the Pentagon. The dismissals, announced Friday, come amid growing concerns about leaks at the Pentagon—an issue that led to the dismissal of three members of Hegseth’s inner circle in April. Hegseth scrubbed the… -
news
Who’s Leaking at the Pentagon?
The Pentagon has a leak problem, and high-ranking Defense Department figures are not shying away from making accusations against those they suspect of speaking to the press off the record. High-profile leaks in the past months include reports of Elon Musk’s communications with Pentagon officials, the contents of Signal chats that included top Cabinet members,… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon Eliminates Woke Violations of Trump’s Executive Orders
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A senior Pentagon official ordered employees to cease all communications promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as climate change, The Daily Signal has learned. Department of Defense employees must end all communication initiatives that violate President Donald Trump's executive orders, according to a March 11 memo sent to senior Pentagon… -
news
Mitch McConnell Joins With Dems to Oppose Senior ‘America First’ Defense Nominee’s Confirmation Bid
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The Senate voted largely along party lines to approve Elbridge Colby’s nomination to serve as the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy Tuesday afternoon. Senators voted 54 to 45 to confirm Colby with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky the lone Republican to vote “no” on the nomination. Colby’s successful confirmation vote comes after reporting that… -
opinion
Luigi Mangione’s Defense Fund: A Symbol of Society’s Distrust of Wealth
The Left’s embrace of an assassination in the name of equality shows how much contempt it has for success. The recent creation of a defense fund for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, shines light on an uncomfortable truth that much of American society has a violent disdain for businessmen,… -
opinion
Hegseth Bids Adieu to Military Wokeness
For the past four years, the very foundations of America have been shaken. Formerly a nation with “liberty and justice for all,” the United States has seemingly strayed from its founding, claiming equal opportunity for all, while openly favoring some based on immutable characteristics like race or gender. This has posed a critical threat to… -
news
‘Hoax-Peddlers’: Pentagon Spokesman Attacks Atlantic After More Signal Chat Messages Released
On heels of the testimony of several leaders of the U.S. intelligence agencies, The Atlantic released additional screenshots from the Signal group chat that was composed of high-ranking Trump administration national security officials and accidentally also included The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. “It’s no surprise hoax-peddlers at the Atlantic have already abandoned their ‘war plans’… -
opinion
The Pentagon’s War on Wasted Dollars
So far, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has swept through government agencies like the United States Agency for International Development, brushing off cobwebs and uncovering skeletons as it goes. Now, DOGE is set to enter a much bigger agency whose shortfalls demand reform: the Department of Defense. Long criticized for its budget woes, the DOD… -
news
Firings Disrupt the Pentagon Status Quo
A series of Trump administration firings has shaken up the Pentagon status quo, drawing strong reactions from members of Congress. On Friday, President Donald Trump removed Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one of the most high-ranking officials in the Pentagon. Brown had previously been criticized by… -
opinion
Pete Hegseth’s Military
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. I’d like to speak a little bit today, very briefly, about the Pentagon under new Defense… -
news
Conservatives Express Support for Colby for Pentagon Post
Elbridge Colby, nominated to be undersecretary of defense for policy, received robust support from conservative Republicans over the weekend after there was some online discussion of potential Senate holdouts on his confirmation over previously expressed views on Iran. Colby is set to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee at a to-be-determined date for a… -
opinion
‘It Doesn’t Happen Often’ Is Not a Reasonable Defense for Men in Women’s Sports
Americans are gaining ground in the fight to protect women’s sports. This week, for example, the Department of Education sent a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations, urging them to restore female athletes’ records. The demand comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive orders to… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Watchdog Asks Pentagon Chief Hegseth to Pull Security Clearance of Leftist Megadonor Reid Hoffman
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A watchdog group is asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revoke the security clearance of Reid Hoffman, a major Democratic donor who had ties to the now-deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and bankrolled litigation against President Donald Trump. Peter Flaherty, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, sent the… -
news
New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Shows Changes Already in Motion
THE CENTER SQUARE—Pete Hegseth, the newly-confirmed U.S. secretary of defense, says changes to the military are already in motion. Hegseth told reporters outside the Pentagon Monday that President Donald Trump will soon authorize the reinstatement of military members who were discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, with backpay. He also hinted that military…