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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Pentagon is reckoning with the growing presence of ideological extremists in its ranks, especially white supremacists and militia members who target troops to bolster their organizations’ credibility. A group of lawmakers on Jan. 14 called on the Defense Department to launch a “comprehensive” investigation ...
Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal is the preferred new home of U.S. Space Command, the Air Force said Jan. 13, signaling a major move from the longtime center of military space operations in Colorado Springs, Colo. After the Air Force vetted several cities as prospective SPACECOM headquarters ...
SpaceX will carry data-transport and missile-tracking satellites to orbit for the Space Development Agency, the Pentagon said Dec. 31. SpaceX won a $150.5 million contract for two launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., starting in September 2022. The entire constellation of up to 28 ...
The Senate passed the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill 84-13 on Dec. 11 after a bumpy few weeks for the key annual legislation. “We must protect freedom, democracy and peace, and support our troops. This is the heart of the National Defense Authorization Act, and ...
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be his Defense Secretary, the transition team announced Dec. 8. Austin, who left the military in 2016 as the four-star head of U.S. Central Command, would be the first-ever Black man to ...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center—which recently treated President Donald J. Trump after he contracted the new coronavirus disease—told Air Force Magazine it is poised to handle the surge predicted to grip the nation this ...
The Pentagon is again increasing its COVID-19-related restrictions amid a jump in positive cases in the region and more positive test results inside the building itself. Beginning Nov. 26, the Pentagon will limit the number of workers inside the building and mandate face coverings if ...
The U.S. is looking to piece together military and commercial data on orbital traffic and potential threats for a better idea of what’s hanging out in space. To get there, federal agencies and companies need to get over a basic hurdle: trust. In the beginning, ...
The Pentagon on Nov. 17 formally announced the plan to withdraw thousands of forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, just two months before President Donald J. Trump is expected to leave office. The drawdown is set to be complete by Jan. 15, 2021, but some leaders ...