Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Feb. 3 ordered a military-wide “stand down” over the next 60 days to have units discuss extremism in the ranks, the Pentagon announced. The stand down, similar to the Air Force’s 2019 resiliency tactical pause to address suicide, ...
Plans to significantly reduce the U.S. footprint in Germany are now on hold as the new administration reviews the decision and its impacts, the head of U.S. European Command said Feb. 3. In July, then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and EUCOM boss Gen. Tod D. ...
Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth is focused on ensuring continuity in the department until a Senate-confirmed successor is secured, championing Air Force and Space Force priorities as the 2022 defense budget takes shape, and “telling the Department of the Air Force’s story,” according ...
The Biden administration still wants to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan as long as the Taliban abides by the agreement reached last year, but that hasn't happened yet, the top Pentagon spokesman said Jan. 28. The U.S. reached a deal with the Taliban last year ...
The Pentagon is sourcing a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy military personnel to help administer the COVID-19 vaccine, an expected increase to the more than 20,000 Guard personnel already helping across the country. The FEMA request, sent to the Defense Department ...
President Joe Biden hasn’t named his Air Force Secretary pick yet, or someone to serve as assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration. But when they arrive, they’ll need to hit the ground running. Once a new Secretary is nominated, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the ...
Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 25 ceremonially swore in new Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III at the White House, days after he started the job and has already announced multiple changes to the Defense Department. “Secretary Austin’s integrity, experience, and intimate knowledge of ...
On Jan. 6, as a throng of supporters of former President Donald J. Trump and right-wing extremists mobbed the U.S. Capitol, the Air Force Chief of Staff couldn’t tear himself away from the television. Brown, teleworking away from the Pentagon, said he watched in shock ...
Approximately 5,000 National Guard troops will remain on the streets of Washington, D.C., with most protecting the U.S. Capitol for almost two more months, in response to requests from federal agencies and local police who anticipate additional unrest. As of Jan. 25, there were about ...
A new team of acting leaders in the Defense Department and the Department of the Air Force took command at 12:01 p.m. Jan. 20, leading the military on a temporary basis while Biden administration nominees await confirmation. Immediately after President Joe Biden took the oath ...
Former President Donald J. Trump on the morning of Jan. 20 took off on Air Force One from Joint Base Andrews, Md., for the last time, after brief remarks highlighting his administration’s accomplishments in adding military funding and creating the newest military service. Hours before ...
Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon, spent his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 19 pressing his civilian bona fides to lawmakers, with some pledging opposition to the waiver Austin would need to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary. Austin spent ...