Defense Secretary Mark Esper rallied the troops for the New Year in a letter telling Pentagon employees to work hard, spend money wisely, and prioritize their time well to maintain global military dominance. In a Jan. 2 memo to all Defense Department personnel, Esper urged ...
Iran began what it called its revenge on the US late Jan. 7, firing ballistic missiles at two bases inside Iraq hosting US personnel with unknown casualties and damage. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to Twitter after the attack saying Iran "took and concluded ...
US intelligence showed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani was just “days” away from an attack targeting Americans when he was killed in a targeted drone strike on Jan. 3, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. The international community and some members of Congress have been skeptical ...
There are no plans to remove forces from Iraq following the Iraqi Parliament’s non-binding resolution calling on the government to kick coalition forces from the country, despite a mistakenly released letter detailing plans to withdraw, top Pentagon officials said Jan. 6. Chairman of the Joint ...
Eric Chewning, the chief of staff to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, will step down this month, the latest in a series of high-profile officials to leave the Pentagon. Jen Stewart, currently the minority staff director for the House Armed Services Committee, will take over the ...
The Pentagon will send thousands more US soldiers to the Middle East as tensions skyrocket with Iran following the Jab. 3 targeted killing in Iraq of Tehran’s most prominent military leader. In the aftermath of the strike, the Iraqi parliament has vowed to kick the ...
The Jan. 3 US drone strike targeting Iranian Quds force commander Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport was taken because of an “imminent threat” against US personnel in the aftermath of the Soleimani-directed attack on the US Embassy in the city, American officials said. The ...
The Pentagon is bolstering security at the US Embassy in Iraq after Iranian-backed militias attacked it on Dec. 31. About 750 soldiers are immediately deploying aboard USAF C-17s, with more deployments possible over the next several days. “To Iran and its proxy militias: We will ...
The Afghanistan War remains a “strategic stalemate” 18 years after it began, the Pentagon's top uniformed officer said Dec. 20, defending the conflict's main mission as successful from the beginning. “This is a very difficult, complicated situation," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. ...
The US may soon drawdown forces in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Dec. 16. Commanders on the ground say they can accomplish their mission with a smaller footprint allowing the Defense Department to shift troops to higher priority locations. “I would like to go ...
The Islamic State group has not completely been pushed out of Syria and without a sustained US presence, including air surveillance and strike operations, it will re-emerge within a matter of months, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said at a ...
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Dec. 6 refuted a recent Wall Street Journal report that the US is contemplating sending 14,000 more troops to the Middle East.