Page 4 - Us Pentagon

US defence secy orders $50 bn Pentagon cuts to fund Trump's priorities

Hegseth has committed to redirecting Pentagon spending to more directly support war fighters

DOGE getting lists of military's probationary workers from Pentagon

Department of Government Efficiency staffers were at the Pentagon on Tuesday and receiving lists of the military's probationary employees, US officials said. However, it was not clear that all probationary personnel would be let go -- instead, some might be exempted due to the critical nature of their work. The military services each had until end of business to identify their probationary employees. The affected personnel would include defence civilians who are still new to their jobs, not uniformed military personnel, who are exempt, according to the four officials who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The potential cuts at the Pentagon, first reported by The Washington Post, follow reductions at other federal agencies, where probationary employees who were conducting critical functions and had high-level clearances, including staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, were fired despite their role. The vast majority of the fired

More active duty troops to head to US-Mexico border, brings total to 3,600

The Pentagon will deploy roughly 1,500 more active duty soldiers to the southern border to support President Donald Trump's expanding crackdown on immigration, a U.S. official said Friday. That would eventually bring the total to about 3,600 active duty troops at the border. The order has been approved, the official said, to send a logistics brigade from the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deployment has not yet been publicly announced. The Pentagon has been scrambling to put in motion Trump's executive orders signed shortly after he took office on Jan. 20. The first group of 1,600 active duty troops has already deployed to the border, and close to 500 more soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are expected to begin moving in the coming days. About 500 Marines also have been told to go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some of the detained migrants will be held. Several hundred Marines have already arri

Pentagon to deploy 1,000 more troops for immigration crackdown under Trump

The newly deployed troops will help set up barriers, transport detainees, and provide intelligence and logistical support

Trump's Pentagon says it will 'rotate' out some media from offices

Each year going forward, one outlet from print, online, television and radio will rotate out of the Pentagon to allow a new outlet from the same medium that has not had unique opportunity to report

No travel reimbursement for US troops seeking abortion, fertility treatment

The Defence Department will no longer reimburse service members for travel out of state to get reproductive health care, including abortions and fertility treatments, according to a new memo. The directive signed this week eliminates a rarely used Biden administration policy enacted in October 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and more states began to impose increased abortion restrictions. Signed on Wednesday by Jeffrey Register, the director of the Pentagon's human resources department, the memo simply shows red lines crossing out the previous regulation and offers no other guidance. Asked if service members would still be allowed time off to travel at their own expense, the department had no immediate answer. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the policy change shameful. Our service members go wherever they need to in order to bravely serve our country and because President Trump's extremist Supreme Court

Pentagon workers used DeepSeek's chatbot for days before block: Official

The move came after defence officials raised concerns that Pentagon workers were using the tool, the person said

Stop fabricating false narratives: China slams Pentagon report on PLA

The Chinese military has denounced a recent Pentagon report alleging corruption is denting PLA's modernisation, saying the report "desperately slandered" the Chinese military and "exaggerated" the military threat posed by China. Reacting to the Pentagon's report to the US Congress titled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China" released recently, the Chinese Defence Ministry accused Washington of fabricating false narratives against the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The report "misinterpreted China's defence policies, speculated about China's military capacity development, flagrantly interfered in China's domestic affairs, desperately slandered the Chinese military and exaggerated the so-called military threat posed by China, Defence spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said on Saturday. China "strongly deplores and firmly opposes" all these statements, Zhang was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Zhang said that for over 20 years, t

US has 2,000 troops in Syria, increase from previous 900, says Pentagon

He explained that such fluctuations in numbers of personnel are often quite common, and that the additional forces have been in place since before the December 8 downfall of Syrian President

India-US defence ties accelerating and advancing in terrific ways: Pentagon

The defence relationship between India and the United States is accelerating and advancing in terrific and exciting ways, the Pentagon has said amidst the transition from the Joe Biden administration to that of President-elect Donald Trump. "The US-India defence relationship stands on its own. It is accelerating and advancing in terrific and exciting ways, both as it relates to defence industrial base cooperation as well as operational cooperation across the services," Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told reporters at a news conference here. "It (the India-US defence ties) is a continuing growth area, even as the India-China relationship waxes and wanes," Ratner said in response to a question. India has been accorded the status of Major Defence Partnership by the United States. Biden administration officials have described the defence ties as one of the key pillars of this relationship. This fall, India concluded an agreement with the U

Pentagon sends anti-drone tech to New Jersey after mysterious sightings

The Defense Department provided equipment capable both of detecting drones and disabling them

Corruption may hinder Chinese military modernisation goals, says Pentagon

Since last year, China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge

US' Pentagon rules out security threats as drones seen across New Jersey

Pentagon Press Secretary Major General, Pat Ryder, in a press briefing, clarified that none of the drones were assets of the US Department of Defence

Some North Korean troops killed fighting alongside Russia, say Ukraine, US

Ukraine's military intelligence agency and the Pentagon said Monday that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk border region. These are the first reported casualties since the US and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war. Ukraine's military intelligence agency said around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during battle with the Ukrainian army over the weekend. The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion, the agency, known by its acronym GUR, said in a public post on the Telegram messaging app. At least three North Korean servicemen went missing around another Kursk village, GUR said. Maj Gen Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that some North Korean troops have died in combat in Kursk but did not have a specific number of those kill

Trump's Pentagon nominee Hegseth refuses to back down amid growing doubts

Hegseth has denied allegations made in a police report that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 at a conference in California

Trump mulls replacing Pete Hegseth with Ron DeSantis for Pentagon, says WSJ

DeSantis, who lost his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to Trump, was on an earlier list of potential defense secretary candidates but Trump decided to go with Hegseth, the Journal

US stealth destroyer to house first hypersonic weapon on navy warship

The US Navy is transforming a costly flub into a potent weapon with the first shipborne hypersonic weapon, which is being retrofitted aboard the first of its three stealthy destroyers. The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship. It was a costly blunder but the Navy could take victory from the jaws of defeat here, and get some utility out of them by making them into a hypersonic platform, said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute. The US has had several types of hypersonic weapons in development for the past two decades, but recent tests by both Russia and China have added pressure to the US military to hasten their production. Hypersonic weapons travel beyon

Why Trump's Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth seen as potential 'insider threat'

Fox News personality and Army National Guard veteran Pete Heseth has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as Defence Secretary, his association with military extremism raises concerns

Trump likely to name a loyalist as Pentagon chief after tumultuous 1st term

President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defence secretary is still up in the air, but it is a sure bet he will look to reshape the Pentagon and pick a loyalist. During his tumultuous first term, five men held the job as Pentagon chief only to resign, be fired or serve briefly as a stopgap. While he has yet to announce a decision, the names of potential Pentagon chiefs stretch from the well-known such as Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee to an array of former administration loyalists, including retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who held national security posts during Trump's first term. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been floated, but Trump said on social media Saturday that Pompeo would not be joining the new administration. Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida had also been mentioned, but he's now been tapped to be Trump's national security adviser. Some decisions may linger for days as candidates jostle for attention and officials wait for the

Pentagon allows US contractors to repair weapons in Ukraine during war

The Pentagon is easing restrictions to allow a small number of private American defense contractors to work inside Ukraine, helping repair and maintain equipment, U.S. officials said Friday. The contractors will be far away from the front lines during Russia's invasion and will not be taking part in combat, the officials said. The department is soliciting bids now, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal decisions. Ukraine has been receiving billions of dollars worth of American weapons and equipment over the past two years, including a number of sophisticated systems. For much of that time, U.S. and allied troops have been providing real-time maintenance advice using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms with Ukrainian forces. Officials said the Pentagon is allowing the contractors to go because some equipment including F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems requires high-tech expertise to repair. Using the contractors, th