Tag: army

Palantir Secures Historic $10 Billion Army Contract for AI-Driven Defense

The U.S. Army has awarded Palantir Technologies a monumental $10 billion contract, consolidating dozens of existing agreements into a single enterprise deal over the next decade.

This landmark agreement, announced on July 31, 2025, positions Palantir as a cornerstone of the Army’s data and software infrastructure. It underscores a strategic shift toward leveraging commercial AI to enhance military readiness and efficiency.

The contract streamlines 75 separate agreements, offering volume-based discounts and eliminating redundant procurement costs.

This approach maximizes buying power while delivering cutting-edge data integration and AI tools to soldiers faster. The deal reflects a broader Pentagon push to modernize warfare capabilities amid rising global tensions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific.

Palantir’s role builds on its success with the Maven Smart System, which received a $795 million boost earlier this year to expand AI-driven targeting across U.S. forces.

The system fuses intelligence from drones, satellites, and sensors to identify threats in near real-time, maintaining human oversight for critical decisions.

This capability has proven vital in conflicts like Ukraine, where rapid data analysis drives battlefield outcomes.

Founded by Peter Thiel and Alex Karp, Palantir has deepened its federal footprint, securing $373 million in U.S. government revenue in Q1 2025 alone, a 45% increase year-over-year.

The Trump administration’s emphasis on cost efficiency and commercial partnerships has propelled Palantir’s rise, with new contracts spanning the Navy, ICE, and CDC.

Critics, however, warn that such dominance by a single vendor could stifle competition and innovation.

The Army’s enterprise agreement not only enhances operational efficiency but also aligns with President Trump’s vision of a leaner, tech-driven military.

By consolidating contracts, the Army projects significant savings, freeing resources for mission-critical programs.

Palantir’s software, like the Foundry platform, enables seamless data integration, empowering soldiers with actionable intelligence.

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Army Sends Letter to Pro-Life Groups Apologizing for Referring to Them as ‘Terrorists’ During Training Under Biden

The Gateway Pundit reported that during Joe Biden’s regime, the Defense Department categorized pro-life organizations as “terrorist organizations” during an anti-terrorism briefing held at Fort Bragg’s Directorate of Emergency Services, formerly known as Fort Liberty.

Citizen journalist Sam Shoemate, or @samour, shared the disturbing slide on X.

“An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as “terrorist organizations.” The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East,” Shoemate wrote on X.

The presentation slide, which was widely circulated on social media, lists these pro-life organizations that oppose “Roe[sic] v. Wade” under a headline reading “TERRORIST GROUPS.”

The presentation specifically targets groups like National Right to Life and Operation Rescue, which have long been pillars of the pro-life community.

These organizations are dedicated to peaceful advocacy against abortion, grounded in the belief that every life is valuable and worth protecting.

The slide shockingly equates their activities, such as demonstrations, protests, mass demonstrations, Life Chain, The Rescue, The Truth Display, and picketing, along with counseling efforts at sidewalks and crisis centers, with terrorism.

Now that the DOD has rational, non-woke leadership, U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll sent a letter offering a “sincerest apology” for the actions taken under the prior administration on behalf of himself and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

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US Army rolls out $13M smart rifle scopes that auto-target and take down enemy drones in combat

The US Army is giving its soldiers a high-tech edge in the fight against drones, and it’s called SMASH.

During a live-fire training exercise on June 6 in Germany, a soldier with the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment used the SMASH 2000L smart scope mounted on an M4A1 rifle to target drones in the sky.

The demo was part of Project Flytrap, a multinational training event.

The SMASH 2000L, made by Israeli company Smart Shooter Ltd., is no ordinary sight.

It uses cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence to track targets and decides the perfect time to fire, according to reporting from Army Recognition.

Once a drone is locked in, the system controls the trigger and only fires when a hit is guaranteed.

In May, the Army awarded Smart Shooter a $13 million contract to begin delivering these scopes to troops under its Transformation In Contact (TIC 2.0) program.

The goal is to quickly get new, useful tech into soldiers’ hands.

The smart scope weighs about 2.5 pounds and fits onto standard-issue rifles.

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Vaxxed Army pilot facing separation from military after denied promotion over COVID vaccine mandate

Avaccinated Army pilot, who was reprimanded after his initial hesitation to receive the COVID-19 shot, is still being denied promotion and could be separated from the military in September.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Budge in the 7th Infantry Division’s 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, who has served in the military for over 20 years, may be forced out of the Army for adverse actions in his file that prevented him from receiving promotions. 

The brigade to which he belongs was formed in battle in January 1968 and first activated at Marble Mountain, Danang in the northernmost part of South Vietnam. The unit uses the moniker “Raptors” and consists of approximately 2,500 soldiers, and is the largest Aviation Brigade in the Army.

Wants to continue his service

Budge is now asking the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to remove the adverse actions from his record so that he may receive his promotion and remain in the service.

While Budge never said he wouldn’t get the COVID vaccine, he was initially hesitant to receive it, asking questions about the lawfulness of the mandate, inquiring about religious accommodation requests, and hoping to wait until at least 90 days had passed since he contracted the virus before getting the shot, Budge’s attorney, R. Davis Younts, previously told Just the News in October 2022.

Budge came down with COVID in March 2021 and was supposed to deploy to South Korea that September. However, if he wasn’t vaccinated, he was told, he would have to be quarantined for two weeks. His wife was pregnant at the time with their seventh child, so he wanted to avoid quarantining so he wouldn’t miss the birth of their son. 

The adverse actions affecting his continued service are centered on claims his records were falsified without his knowledge to show that he had received the COVID vaccine before he actually got the shot.

Towards the end of summer 2021, Budge went to a clinic for another matter, but the medic, thinking she was helping him, falsified his record without his knowledge to show that he received the COVID vaccine, Younts said. Budge got the shot soon after and learned that his records showed he had already received it.

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Trump pardons Mark Bashaw, former Army officer who defied covid protocols

President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned a former Army officer who was found guilty in 2022 by a military judge of violating coronavirus prevention protocols, a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Washington Post.

Former 1st Lt. Mark Bashaw was convicted and sentenced to no punishment for his refusal to obey orders meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. According to the military news publication Stars and Stripes, Bashaw did not comply with orders to telework, submit a negative coronavirus test before reporting to work or wear a mask indoors.

Bashaw, who was an entomologist at the Army Public Health Center in Maryland, said he was facing discrimination because of his religious beliefs. He said he was discharged in 2023.

After receiving the pardon on Wednesday, Bashaw said on social media that he was “humbled, grateful, and ready to continue fighting for truth and justice.” The post also included an image that referenced the “plandemic,” a debunked conspiracy theory about COVID-19.

Within weeks of being sworn in for his second presidential term, Trump issued an executive action directing the defense secretary and the secretary of homeland security to reinstate members of the military who were discharged for their refusal to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

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Expect Trump’s Military Parade to Cost More Than the Army Says

President Donald Trump boasted on Monday that his hosting of a military parade in Washington, D.C., next month to honor the Army’s 250th anniversary — coincidentally the same date as his 79th birthday — was an act of divine intervention.

“We’re going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years,” he said during a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery. “Can you imagine? I missed that four years, and now look what I have, I have everything. Amazing the way things work out. God did that.”

The massive military parade and related festivities planned for June 14 will cost an estimated $25 to $45 million, according to the Army. This is likely a significant underestimate due to many expenses that are unaccounted for – or will be billed later, such as damages to local infrastructure caused by armored vehicles. Members of Congress are already expressing outrage at what they see as a gross misuse of funds.

“Trump squandering $45 million in taxpayer dollars on a military parade for his birthday is the epitome of government waste,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “If the Trump Administration truly cared about celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army, they would honor past and present soldiers and reinstate the thousands of veterans who they fired from the federal workforce — not throw away millions on an extravagant parade.”

The purpose of the parade is also seemingly up for interpretation. The White House now says the parade is a celebration of the Army’s semiquincentennial after, last month, denying reports that a parade would be held on the president’s birthday. Trump, for his part, has offered shifting explanations, stating that the parade is a celebration of Flag Day, the military writ large, or tanks and other weaponry.

The current plan, nonetheless, involves a martial spectacle reminiscent of the Soviet Union or North Korea in the heart of America’s capital, with armored vehicles rolling down Constitution Avenue. It is slated to involve more than 100 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, four M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, as well as military relics like World War II-era Sherman tanks, a B-25 bomber, and a P-51 Mustang single-seat fighter plane, according to Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith. She added that the parade will also feature 34 horses, two mules, one wagon, and one dog.

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Army Suspends Top Commander After Shocking Insult to Trump, Vance and Hegseth

A garrison commander at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin has been suspended following an incident where photos of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were missing from the base’s chain-of-command board.

This marked yet another instance of apparent insubordination within military ranks.

Colonel Sheyla Baez Ramirez, who has served as garrison commander since July 2024, was removed from her position as the Pentagon continues to address what appears to be a pattern of discipline issues across military installations. 

As garrison commander, Ramirez was said to be responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of the Wisconsin base.

The controversy began when social media posts circulated showing empty black frames where the photos of the three top officials should have been displayed.

This prompted immediate backlash online and triggered a Department of Defense investigation into the matter. 

Task & Purpose reported that the images quickly spread across various platforms, drawing attention to what some critics have called a sign of resistance within military leadership.

While speculation has swirled that Ramirez deliberately omitted the photos, military officials have not confirmed this theory. 

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Three of four missing US Army soldiers found dead in Lithuania

Three of the four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing in Lithuania last week when their vehicle sunk in a peat bog have been found dead at the site, while the search for the remaining soldier is ongoing, U.S. and Lithuanian officials said on Monday.

Lithuania had said earlier on Monday that rescuers had recovered the armoured vehicle of the missing soldiers in a military training area in the Baltic country.

“It is with deep sadness and sorrow that I received the news of the tragic loss of three U.S. soldiers,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on social media platform X.

“Lithuania mourns together with the American nation,” he said.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said the search for the fourth soldier would continue.

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Horror as four American soldiers ‘are found dead’ after vanishing during training exercise in Lithuania

Four US Army soldiers have reportedly been found dead the day after they were reported missing during a training exercise in Lithuania. 

The four servicemen, who have not been identified by authorities, were with the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. 

Early reports indicate that the soldiers may have been traveling in an M88 recovery vehicle, one of the largest armored vehicles used by the US military, which may have fallen into a body of water. 

The soldiers had been reported missing at around 4:45pm Tuesday following a training exercise near Pabrade, Lithuania, sparking a widespread search conducted by the US Army and Lithuanian authorities. 

The soldiers were reportedly carrying out a tactical training routine at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, which is less than six miles from the border with Belarus. 

The Lithuanian Armed Forces said Wednesday that they had identified a ‘possible location’ of the missing soldiers and their vehicle. 

The military said in a statement that ‘a search and rescue operation is underway, led by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, with additional capabilities from the Fire Protection and Rescue Department and other institutions.’ 

Officials have not offered any details regarding how the soldiers or their vehicle went missing nor the manner of their reported deaths.  

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Humvees, Machine Gun Hardware, Bayonets Stolen From Military Storage Warehouse Near Los Angeles

Suspects broke into a U.S. Army warehouse near Los Angeles this week and made off with Humvees, machine gun hardware, bayonets, and other gear, according to authorities.

The incident unfolded sometime before midnight on Wednesday in Tustin, a city in Orange County.

Suspects managed to gain entry to a warehouse at the Army Reserve Center and raid multiple storage lockers.

They also tried unsuccessfully to access a uniform storage area.

The suspects then cut through fencing and entered a parking lot before driving off in three Humvees, one of which was armored.

The Tustin Police Department (TPD) itemized additional stolen gear as follows:

  • 8 machine gun vehicle mounts
  • 7 free-standing machine gun tripods
  • 40 pairs of binoculars
  • 18 bayonets
  • Medical equipment

“The Army has informed us there is no known loss of weapons or ammunition other than what is listed in the above flyer,” TPD stated in a press release.

“If you see these vehicles, please contact Tustin PD dispatch immediately at 714-573-3225 or your local law enforcement agency.”

It is currently unclear if the brazen burglary is connected to lawlessness and chaos breaking out amid historic fires in the Los Angeles area.

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