Pentagon News
Reports on the Department of Defense, U.S. military strategy, and global security. The Daily Signal combines conservative reporting and commentary.
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The Pentagon Auditing Process Is Expensive, Inefficient, and in Arrears
Many months and about $1 billion in taxpayer funds later, the U.S. Department of Defense recently announced that it had failed its second comprehensive audit, chalking up another “F” on its audit report card. The 1990 Chief Financial Officers Act requires extensive annual audits of U.S. federal agencies, but the Pentagon was only required to…Thea Dunlevie -
Acting Defense Chief Shanahan Tapped to Succeed Mattis at Pentagon
President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to be the secretary of defense—and none too soon. Shanahan has been the longest-serving acting secretary of defense in the nation’s history, assuming the position upon the departure of James Mattis on Jan. 1. The nomination of a permanent secretary of defense is…Thomas Spoehr -
Pentagon’s $80 Billion in Unspent Funds Shows Need for a Better Budget Process
Inside Defense magazine recently reported that the Department of Defense returned $80 billion to the Treasury in canceled funds over the past six years. That has drawn charges from some corners of Congress that the Pentagon has more money than it knows what to do with. If only. While $80 billion is indeed a startling…Frederico Bartels -
Personnel Issues Are Stymieing the Pentagon’s Cybercapabilities
The Pentagon in October revealed the details of a cyberbreach of the Defense Department’s travel system, which compromised the credit card information of more than 30,000 current and prospective Pentagon employees. Ironically, this revelation came on the heels of a concerted Defense Department effort to both increase the security of its systems and onboard new…Will Thatcher -
Pentagon Report Shows China’s Growing Military Capabilities
The Department of Defense has released the latest edition of its report on Chinese military and security developments. Mandated in the fiscal 2000 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual report is an important source of regular updates regarding China’s growing military capabilities and its expanding range of security-related activities. Since the People’s Republic of China…Dean Cheng -
No, the Pentagon Shouldn’t Plan for ‘a Lean Future’
As part of the budget process for the coming fiscal year, the House Armed Services Committee hosted Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford. Among the many exchanges between the lawmakers and the Pentagon leaders, the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., warned Mattis: “While 2018…Frederico Bartels -
Goal of Nuclear Posture Remains Deterrence, Pentagon Official Says
A new report on the nation’s nuclear defense posture focuses on how to strengthen America and her allies, a top Pentagon official says. The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review “re-establishes deterrence of nuclear attack against us, our allies, and our partners as the top priority of U.S. nuclear policy,” David J. Trachtenberg, the Defense Department’s deputy…Rachel del Guidice -
Pentagon Critics See Better Way to Help Troops Quit Smoking
As the federal government continues to tackle smoking as a public health issue, some experts argue it should be more open to allowing electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as valuable tools for those trying to kick the habit. European studies have found both far less harmful than cigarettes, they say. And current government policy actually…Fred Lucas -
Incoming Pentagon Appointee Strongly Supports Base Realignment and Closure
A new Pentagon appointee is vowing to push for reform within the Department of Defense that reduces long-term costs and closes excess infrastructure. During his July 18 nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to become the assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and environment, Lucian Niemeyer expressed strong support for congressional authorization…Andrew Nagode -
Trump Administration Keeps Obama LGBT Policies at Pentagon, Other Agencies
The Defense Department recently held an LGBT Pride Month event, while the Army conducted transgender sensitivity training, moves that baffled retired Army Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin and some other conservatives. “Every dollar we spend on social engineering is one dollar less we are spending on defense,” Ken Boehm says. They had expected that the new command, under…Fred Lucas -
The Pentagon Has a ‘Ghost Soldiers’ Problem
Since 2002, billions of U.S. tax dollars have been spent rebuilding Afghanistan after decades of war. A big chunk of that money pays Afghan soldiers and police. But it turns out a lot of those troops may not, in fact, exist. On “Full Measure,” we investigate how your tax money is being wasted on “ghost…Sharyl Attkisson -
Pentagon Nominee James Mattis Warns of Russian Attempts to ‘Break NATO’
Russia is the principal threat facing the United States, and the new administration should increase support to allies in the face of the Kremlin’s attempts to “break the North Atlantic alliance,” Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary testified Thursday. Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, speaking at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee,…Josh Siegel -
4 Reasons the Pentagon Shouldn’t Play ‘Hardball’ With This Funding Gimmick
This week, Politico broke the story of a memo from senior Pentagon officials to the secretary of defense laying out how the Pentagon could “play hardball” against a funding gimmick included in the House defense policy and funding bills. The gimmick in both bills involves only funding overseas operations (in Afghanistan and elsewhere) for part of…Justin Johnson -
Pentagon’s Transgender Policy Defies Common Sense
On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that the U.S. military is dropping its policy of treating male and female troops according to their biology—to be replaced by a policy based on a radical new gender ideology. This change was not precipitated by military needs but by political correctness. After all, the military is not stretched…Roger Severino -
Pentagon Got ISIS’ Second Ranking Leader. Why We Need to Try Harder.
American defense officials have announced that a very senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader has been killed in a U.S. military operation. While this is good news, it’s difficult to speculate the exact effect this will have on ISIS’ operations. It’s also pure conjecture to guess at what this success says about the U.S. military’s ability…James Carafano -
What Acquistion Reform for the Pentagon Should Look Like
Not since the heady days of the “revolution in military affairs” over a decade ago has reforming the Pentagon been such a central focus of Washington musings. Recently, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., kicked off a series of hearings looking at the roles and missions of the armed forces with an eye toward reducing…James Carafano -
Another Foreign Policy Failure for Obama: Pentagon Training for Syrian Rebels Ends
After the grim announcement last month that only four or five Syrian rebels trained by U.S. military personnel remained inside Syria, the Obama administration has decided to call it quits on the program altogether. There were supposed to be roughly 5,400 trained fighters this year and 15,000 within 3 years in order to effectively combat…Elizabeth Hortopan -
The Chinese Economy Just Hit a Major Speed Bump. Why the Pentagon Cares.
The Pentagon cares as much about how money moves around the world as it does about the movement of arms. Small wonder the recent bobbling in Beijing’s economy has caught the armed services’ attention. After owning bragging rights to one-third of global economic growth, the Chinese economy just hit a major speed bump. Growth slowed. The…James Carafano -
Pentagon to Lift Ban on Transgender Military Service
Pentagon officials are in the final stages of preparing to lift the ban on transgender individuals serving in the United States Military, the Associated Press reported Monday. Senior U.S. officials told AP that when the ban is lifted, they will be formally ending one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service. A…Chelsea Scism -
What the Pentagon Could Learn From Vietnam-Era Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird
As Congress and the Obama administration clash over the Department of Defense’s budget, few Americans will probably think of the former Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. This would be a mistake, as many of the current budget battles within the Pentagon have parallels that can be drawn to Laird’s tenure as secretary of defense. From…Carl Best