The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to further withdraw forces from Afghanistan and Iraq by mid-January, despite warnings from the former Defense Secretary and an independent watchdog that violence remains high. CNN first reported Nov. 16 that the Pentagon has issued a “warning order” to begin ...
President Donald J. Trump on Nov. 9 fired Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, announcing on Twitter that he was appointing Christopher C. Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, to serve as the acting Pentagon boss. “Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper ...
Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are tentatively scheduling a “Big Four” meeting for Oct. 26 to begin hashing out an agreement on the 2021 defense policy bill, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told reporters. The Big Four ...
Senior Department of the Air Force leaders have repeatedly tested negative for the coronavirus within the past several days, as news emerged early Oct. 2 that President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump contracted COVID-19. Top military officials, including Secretary of the Air ...
The Senate voted 84-10 on Sept. 30 to pass a stopgap spending measure that would keep the federal government open through Dec. 11, pending President Donald J. Trump’s likely approval. Congress opted not to finish the appropriations process before fiscal 2021 begins Oct. 1, so ...
Three U.S. Air Force C-17s, plus another from the multinational Strategic Airlift Capability group, on Aug. 6 began carrying aid to Lebanon after a massive explosion in Beirut’s port killed at least 135 people and injured thousands more. The three Globemaster IIIs from Al Udeid ...
RAF Mildenhall, U.K., will remain open and keep its American refueling and special operations missions through the 2020s, reversing the Pentagon’s original 2015 plan to consolidate bases and infrastructure across Europe. The Pentagon last week announced broad plans to downsize the troop presence in Germany, ...
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. took a ceremonial oath of office Aug. 4 in a surprise event at the White House, two days before he officially becomes the 22nd Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Accompanied by his family and senior Air Force and ...
Democratic senators on Aug. 4 indicated they could hold up the confirmation of Shon J. Manasco as Air Force undersecretary as recourse for the Trump administration’s decision to install a controversial official into a key Pentagon policy post without Senate approval. That standoff loomed over ...
More than seven months after Congress created a Space Force, House lawmakers want assurances that the new service can improve how it develops and buys new technology. They’re even willing to hand the military extra money to work on it. The catch: The Trump administration ...
Lt. Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, currently the director of the Joint Staff, was nominated July 1 to take over as the next commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. If confirmed, VanHerck will receive his fourth star and take over for ...
A bipartisan group of senators are attempting to block the White House’s effort to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany, saying such a step would be a “gift” to Russia. On June 29, a group of senators led by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) ...