All articles tagged with #defense department
Weeks before a flu outbreak swept through an Air Force basic training wing in San Antonio, leaders from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for permission to vaccinate recruits after he lifted the flu vaccine requirement in April; approval arrived on June 16, by which time the outbreak was already underway.
Amid a growing flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base that sickened about 275 recruits and involved a fatal medical event, the Air Force moved to reinstate the mandatory flu vaccine for basic training after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reversed the policy in April. Exemption requests slowed the process; the mandate was approved on June 11, but the outbreak was already underway, and officials learned June 18 that shots would be required again for incoming trainees.
The White House asked Congress for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding to cover the Iran war and other priorities, including $21B for the Defense Department, $1.4B for Ebola response, $768M for energy security, plus funds for farmers, Penn Station renovations, and DC projects, drawing swift Democratic criticism and requiring congressional approval to any disbursement.
The Defense Department narrowed its registry of servicemember religious identities from more than 200 to 31, omitting Mormonism, a move that triggered outrage from Utah Republicans including Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. John Curtis who urged a reversal. Pentagon officials said the change is intended to streamline support for chaplains and avoid implying any faith is more legitimate, while critics argued it marginalizes LDS believers and misportrays the church.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins rebuts Scott Jennings after he downplays a Washington Post report about a Defense Department memo for attendees at Trump’s White House UFC event. The memo allegedly requires ticket recipients to meet a waist-to-height ratio below 0.55 and to satisfy service-specific fitness standards, prompting debate over whether the military would be restricted or used as props and illustrating ongoing contention around the memo’s implications.
President Donald Trump bought more than $1 million in Dell Technologies stock weeks before Dell Federal Systems won a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract to oversee Microsoft software purchases, prompting ethics watchdogs to warn about potential conflicts of interest; officials say no actual violation occurred, but critics argue the timing raises questions about appearances and self-enrichment.
Senior Pentagon leaders are lining up uniformed service members to receive free tickets to a White House South Lawn UFC event hosted by President Trump, but eligibility hinges on meeting a waist-to-height ratio below 0.55 and service-specific fitness requirements. The move aligns with the Defense Department’s adoption of waist-to-height ratio as the new body composition standard for “warfighting readiness.” Officials say organizers want attendees who are genuine UFC fans and who are junior enlisted or junior officers, preferably from outside the DC area, though attendees must pay their own travel. The Pentagon declined to comment on the guidance, and past Trump troop appearances have been tied to optics and appearance.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a morning PT clip aboard the USS Boxer with his wife Jennifer Rauchet, a former Fox News producer with no military service, prompting criticism that the Pentagon is being used for public PR stunts; the Defense Department did not comment.
A Pentagon leak reported by The Washington Post shows the United States has shouldered a heavier missile-defense burden for Israel than Israel does itself during Operation Epic Fury, with U.S. interceptors used up to half of some inventories while Israel’s magazines are kept in reserve. Experts describe a lopsided burden that could strain U.S. stocks and production, though Pentagon officials insist the defense network is layered and that both countries shared the burden effectively.
The U.S. Defense Department has paused routine federal permits for 54 Texas wind projects amid national-security reviews, part of a nationwide backlog that currently affects about 165 onshore wind developments. The interagency process, involving the FAA and DoD, has slowed to a crawl, delaying financing, local permitting, and construction while officials say reviews are necessary to prevent interference with military operations; critics argue the hold is slowing renewable energy during an affordability crisis.
Republicans press for a formal interpretation of the War Powers Act's 60-day clock in the Iran campaign after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested the timer could pause during a ceasefire; Democrats argue a ceasefire does not end hostilities, while Republicans weigh whether to extend time or wind down, citing Libya 2011 as a precedent.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was abruptly removed, with sources saying he departed “effective immediately” after friction over shipbuilding reforms and direct communication with Trump; Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary. The shakeup comes as the U.S. Navy continues a blockade of Iranian ports during a ceasefire, redirecting 29 vessels and boarding two ships, with officials not yet clarifying the reasons for Phelan’s departure.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Defense Department will stop requiring service members to get a yearly flu shot, arguing the policy restores medical autonomy and freedom while vaccines remain available and recommended. He tied the change to opposing Biden-era Covid policies, calling the old mandate overly broad and not rational, and said vaccination should be voluntary with conscience and health considerations respected.
The Defense Department awarded Anduril Industries a potential $20 billion sole-source contract to supply advanced defense tech (including Lattice OS, drones, and surveillance systems) over the next decade, with backing from Joshua Kushner, Jared Kushner’s brother, highlighting ongoing Kushner-family involvement in Trump-era security decisions.
A Vatican diplomat characterized a January Pentagon encounter with Trump administration officials and Cardinal Christophe Pierre as a tense, aggressive confrontation described as bullying, with U.S. officials allegedly insisting the U.S. military could act as it saw fit and pressing the pope to side with Trump. The disclosures follow reporting by The Free Press and The Pillar, prompting denials from the Trump camp and a counter-narrative from the Pentagon, while tensions between the Vatican and the Trump White House deepen amid Leo XIV’s criticisms of Trump’s policies.