Tag: pentagon

Former SecAF Kendall Unwittingly Exposes The Base Problem Of The DEI Agenda

The Biden Administration’s Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall (a West Point graduate whom a classmate said is “left of Marx”), displayed remarkable tone deafness quoted in a recent article, Pete Hegseth’s blocks on promotions rankle former military leaders, where those interviewed erroneously think SecWar Hegseth is blocking promotions because the person is black or a woman.

That is the complete opposite of what Hegseth is trying to do in eliminating DEI–throwing out selections based on skin color or sex. (Now if the person was an enthusiastic advocate for the divisive Marxist-based CRT/DEI/Woke ideology and pushed that agenda, that’s another thing).

Kendall was quoted in this article as saying,

“There seems to be an assumption that if you were a minority or a woman and you were promoted, that it was because of your identity and not because you’re good at what you do.”

Well, yeah, because you created that assumption by pushing the DEI agenda so much where people WERE promoted based on their DEI identity and not their qualifications. (See sample articles below).

Servicemembers watched this happen over and over again causing more qualified, experienced people to give up and leave or not recommend military service.

This is the whole base problem of constantly pushing the divisive DEI agenda on the military: it created an atmosphere where minorities and women (and their coworkers observing) didn’t know if they were selected because they were good at what they do or because of their skin color or gender, thus creating doubts in everyone–a horrible situation. Said one senior military officer,

“If we can’t get rid of this DEI BS, none of us of color are ever going to know if we really earned the position we are promoted into.”

Hegseth is removing DEI and its advocates and once DEI is really in the wastebin and no longer pushed and thought about, everyone can assume people are selected based on their qualifications, period. In other words, Merit.

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‘Slash the Pentagon Act’ Would Cap Trump’s Military Budget To Fund Healthcare, Education, and More

Democratic US Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts took aim Monday at President Donald Trump’s illegal war of choice on Iran and request for a record $1.5 trillion in total military-related spending authorization by introducing legislation that would cap the Pentagon budget at half that amount.

Markey introduced the Slash the Pentagon Act at a Capitol Hill press conference that took place “as Americans struggle to pay for healthcare, rent, electricity, groceries, and gas, while Trump has spent over $100 billion on his expensive, dangerous, and unnecessary war with Iran.”

“Instead of funding Medicaid and education or investing in veterans’ care, Republicans want to pad the pockets of gold-plated defense contractors with billions more dollars for weapons and wars we do not need,” Markey said at the press conference.

“Just before SpaceX’s IPO made Elon Musk a trillionaire, Trump gave SpaceX billions in contracts for his expensive and ineffective ‘Golden Dome’ system,” Markey continued. “Coincidence? No, corruption.”

“It’s time to put people before the Pentagon and make major cuts to Trump’s bloated and wasteful defense spending,” the senator added. “We should invest in our hospitals, schools, affordable housing, and the real security American families need right now – not expensive wars and weapons that make us less safe.”

Markey’s bill comes just days after the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 18-9 to advance the $1.15 trillion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027, and the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee approved the Fiscal Year 2027 Defense Appropriations Bill during a closed-door markup. The House bill provides $1.072 trillion for the Pentagon and other military-related activities, a $234 billion increase from this year’s enacted level.

The Trump administration’s broader national security proposal requests nearly $1.5 trillion in total defense-related spending for 2027, which includes $350 billion in supplemental funding for munitions production, shipbuilding, missile defense, drones, artificial intelligence, and other long-term military programs.

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Sanders Says ‘We Must’ Strip Section on US-Israeli Military Integration From Pentagon Budget

US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday urged congressional lawmakers to strike a highly controversial provision from next year’s military spending authorization bill that is aimed at deepening integration of the US and Israeli armed forces under the guise of reducing aid.

A provision of the proposed $1.15 trillion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027 originally titled Section 224 but now renumbered Section 219 would establish a formal “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” requiring the US defense secretary to designate a Pentagon executive agent responsible for coordinating and expanding US-Israel defense technology collaboration.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza – has called the section his personal plan.

“Only 16% of Americans support arming Israel without restrictions. So what is Congress doing? Burying a provision in the defense bill that would give Israel more military integration than any NATO ally,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said on social media. “We must strip Section 224 from the Pentagon budget.”

Earlier this month, members of the House Armed Services Committee from both parties rejected an amendment introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to remove the integration provision from the 2027 NDAA. The committee then advanced the broader defense package. The Senate Armed Services Committee subsequently voted to advance the proposed NDAA.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) – an anti-interventionist libertarian who recently lost his reelection primary to a challenger backed by President Donald Trump – said Sunday that he and Khanna have submitted an amendment to strip Section 219 from the proposed NDAA. Massie’s measure requires the assent of seven of the House Rules Committee’s 13 members to get a vote.

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A Nation of Suspects

Some of the recent legal challenges to the use of surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security upon Americans have resulted in the revelation of truly terrifying behavior by the government, in direct defiance of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. We now know that the federal government spies on innocent Americans without suspicion and without warrants.

The spying seems to fall into several categories. The National Security Agency, which is in the Department of Defense, employs about 60,000 domestic spies. These are the folks who want us to believe that they go through the trouble of making applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for warrants to spy on foreigners.

Actually, from time to time they do go to this court, but their travels there — where judges are frisked upon entering and leaving the courthouse by the NSA agents who appear before them — serve as fig leaves for their massive warrantless spying on Americans. The FISA Court is unconstitutional because it issues warrants based on probable cause of communicating with a foreign person, rather than on probable cause of crime as the Fourth Amendment requires.

The courts have ruled consistently since the 1960s that spying — surveillance, as the feds call it — is a search, and the capture of data from a surveillance is a seizure.

The Fourth Amendment protects all persons in America — not just Americans — from warrantless searches and seizures of their “persons, houses, papers, and effects.” There are some well-recognized exceptions to this constitutional baseline, such as evidence that will quickly vanish or be seriously degraded, but those exceptions do not apply here as the NSA captures in real time all keystrokes on all digital devices and all fiber optic data transmitted into, out of and within the United States.

The judges of the FISA Court surely know that the Department of Justice lawyers and NSA agents who appear before them are going through a charade, and the court has been made a part of it. The charade is the pretense that all spying is done pursuant to the warrants that FISA Court judges issue. Former NSA agents have revealed publicly that this is hardly the case.

Nevertheless, the lowered standard from probable cause of crime to probable cause of communicating to a foreign person was crafted by Congress — in another of its many moments heedless of the Constitution. After a few years of this, the FISA Court began to issue warrants for spying on the Americans who communicate with foreigners, out to the sixth degree. A sixth grader can do the math, as this leads to hundreds of millions of Americans whose communications are captured.

A second category of spying is employed by the DHS. The DHS — now a 250,000-person strong federal police department nowhere countenanced by the Constitution — has sophisticated software that can read fingerprints at 15 feet and irises at 15 inches. So, if you wave goodbye or good riddance to an ICE agent, and he holds up his mobile phone, and you are in the federal system for any benign reason, he has captured your bank, health, legal and commercial records on the spot. If he talks to you in your car and is within 15 inches of your face, he can capture the same data.

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New UFO files dump reveals CIA destroyed a ‘message from space’

The Pentagon released a third batch of UFO files today, including documents that claim the CIA destroyed a ‘message from space.’

Among the tranche is a 1958 CIA memorandum discussing a phone conversation with a scientist regarding concerns about a destroyed ‘space message and its transmitter.’

The scientist, Dr. Leon Davidson, was a chemical engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project and at Los Alamos, and studied UFOs.

The memo stated that Davidson was told by the CIA that the agency ‘cannot resolve his problem concerning the space message and its transmitter because records on the matter have been destroyed by the evaluating agency.’

The third set of documents was quietly uploaded to the Department of War’s website on Friday morning.

According to the Pentagon, there have been ‘unprecedented levels of interest’ in the UFO files, and the Department of War’s website has received over 1.7 billion hits worldwide since its launch in May.

The latest trove of files includes dozens of new documents, photographs and videos to the government’s rapidly expanding archive of unexplained sightings.

A one-page memo in the third tranche of UFO files released on Friday revealed a 1958 phone conversation between the CIA and a scientist about an alleged ‘space message’ which had been destroyed after its reception on Earth.

The scientist, Dr Leon Davidson, was a chemical engineer and UFO researcher who worked on the Manhattan Project, the mission to create the world’s first atomic bomb in World War II.

The memo stated that Davidson was told by the CIA that the agency ‘cannot resolve his problem concerning the space message and its transmitter because records on the matter have been destroyed by the evaluating agency.’

The memo then acknowledged that two agents from the CIA had been in contact with Davidson before the scientist reached out to the agency regarding the mysterious transmission.

The memo admitted that agents ‘Walker and Skakich’ attempted to conceal their identity from Davidson while speaking to him about the message from space.

‘Referenced telephone conversation disclosed that there is nothing in the record to show that Davidson knew he was dealing with the Agency in his contacts with Walker and Skakich, that in fact, an effort had been made to to conceal their CIA identity from him.’

‘But the answer was hardly fair to Davidson, and one not likely to be fully accepted by him,’ the memo continued, noting that Davidson was given no answers on how or why the transmission was destroyed.

It is unclear when and where Davidson allegedly received his message from space.

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Pentagon amends ‘Christian’ designations after Mormon members of Congress complain

The U.S. Department of War further amended its recently revised list of recognized religious affiliations Monday after several Mormon members of Congress expressed outrage that Mormonism was initially listed as separate from other Christian denominations.

“Last week, a proposed list of simplified faith codes was released to the media. The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed,” the Department of War said in statement that was forwarded to The Christian Post.

“The goal of this effort is to simplify a previously out-of-control ‘belief’ coding system that had ballooned to over 200 codes. In order to clarify the work of chaplains, and simplify the work of commanders, the Pentagon has consolidated and simplified the list to roughly thirty codes — using the previously used labels for faiths.”

The Pentagon added that its job “is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks.”

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Hegseth warns Cuba: Acquiring drones from Russia and Iran invites U.S. confrontation

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a stark warning to Cuba, stating that any attempt by Havana to acquire advanced weaponry capable of striking the U.S. or its assets would invite a direct military confrontation.

Hegseth delivered the firm message to American service members during a visit to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on Wednesday, amid rising regional tensions.

The Pentagon chief integrated his security briefing with the troops by participating in a morning physical fitness session, meeting with stationed personnel, and hosting a traditional coin recognition ceremony to honor outstanding performance.

“It would be unwise of the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland. They would be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want but ​they could not stand. No country on Earth can match the capabilities of the United States of America,” he emphasized at the base.

According to intelligence leaks, Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and recently discussed contingency plans to use them against the Guantanamo base, U.S. naval vessels and targets in Florida.

Washington has also warned of potential military action as U.S. warships continue to operate in the Caribbean Sea.

Meanwhile, the visit unfolds amid an intensifying U.S. energy and oil blockade against the island, which has further crippled Cuba’s power grid. President Donald Trump has repeatedly hinted that Havana could be the next government to fall under intense American pressure, following the recent collapse of the Venezuelan regime.

After the news hit headlines, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez fiercely denied the intelligence reports, accusing the U.S. of fabricating a baseline pretext to plot its next conflict.

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Hegseth Threatens: Cuba Seeking Weapons Invites Confrontation

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to the US military base at Guantanamo Bay and threatened to attack the Cuban government if it acquired weapons that could strike the American military facility or homeland. 

“It would be unwise of the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland,” Hegseth said on Wednesday. “They would be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want but they could not stand. No country on Earth can match the capabilities of the United States of America.”

The War Secretary’s threat follows a report from Axios last month in which a US official claimed that Havana was attempting to secure weapons that could hit the US. A senior US official speaking with the outlet said that signals intelligence found that Cuba reached out to Russia for additional attack drones and is seeking to replicate Iran’s military strategy. Axios notes that the intelligence leak “could become a pretext for US military action.”

President Donald Trump has eyed regime change in Cuba since returning to office. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio is a long-time advocate of replacing the government in Havana with one chosen by Washington. 

Trump has attempted to cause economic collapse in Cuba by strengthening sanctions and cutting energy sales to Havana. While the policy has caused more suffering in Cuba, there have been no mass protests against the government. 

Recently, Washington announced that former Cuban leader Raúl Castro had been indicted on murder charges. The White House previously used the indictment against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to justify attacking the country and kidnapping the leader. 

Hegseth told US forces at Guantanamo Bay, “No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared and postured for any possible contingency.” 

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Pentagon Bans EV Giant BYD from Defense Contracts, Citing Chinese Military Ties

The Pentagon has added Chinese tech giant Alibaba, electric vehicle (EV) titan BYD, and search engine Baidu to its list of companies that cannot secure U.S. defense contracts because they are linked to the Chinese military.

The Department of War began maintaining a list of “Chinese military companies” in 2021 known as the 1260H list, named after the section of the defense authorization act that created it. Companies on the list are known to provide services to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), although they are not explicitly state-owned firms.

The list is supposed to map out the extensive coordination between China’s military complex and private companies, and caution American companies that doing business with named companies could risk their physical or intellectual property to end up in the hands of the PLA.

The new additions, made on Monday, brought the 1260H list up to 188 companies, from 130 last year. Although companies on the list are not automatically subjected to punitive sanctions, the Chinese government considers the 1260H list to be anti-competitive and unfair – more of an effort to “contain” China’s growing industrial sector than to address real security threats.

On Monday the Chinese Embassy to the United States accused the Pentagon of “overstretching the concept of national security and making discriminatory lists to go after Chinese companies.”

“The U.S. should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies,” the embassy said.

Alibaba released its own statement insisting that it is “not a Chinese military company, nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy.”

“We will take all available legal action against attempts to misrepresent our company,” an Alibaba spokesman said.

The Pentagon noted that Alibaba, BYD, and Baidu are all affiliated with the Chinese Communist government’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Another firm, robotics company Unitree, made the list because it “knowingly received assistance” from the Chinese state.

Fortune noted on Monday that all three of China’s top artificial intelligence (A.I.) companies – Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent Holdings – are now 1260H listed entities.

Two chipmakers that were seemingly removed from the list this year, ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, have been restored. When they vanished from the list in February, some critics said the Trump administration was attempting to placate China ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with dictator Xi Jinping.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chair of the House Select Committee on China, said Monday that not only was the 1260H list necessary and appropriate, but even stronger action should be taken against companies that appear on it.

“These Chinese companies are working with the Chinese military against our national interests,” he said. “Any of them that are publicly traded on U.S. exchanges should be immediately delisted and their products should be removed from supply chains our country depends on.” 

Moolenaar added, “American companies must stop doing business with these threats to our national security; otherwise they are enabling China’s military ascendance.” 

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U.S. Secretly Deployed Paratroopers to Israel

When the Pentagon announced that the 82nd Airborne was deploying to the Middle East in March, it concealed a key detail: some of the paratroopers were headed to Israel, as revealed in an Army deployment order I obtained.

A military source involved in war planning tells me the deployment is tied to new U.S.-Israeli joint contingency plans, completed since February, for seizing Kharg Island and carving out coastal territory inside Iran.

The 82nd Airborne Division is the Army’s premier quick reaction force, trained to parachute into hostile territory.

By keeping the deployment quiet, the Pentagon headed off public debate over a joint U.S.-Israeli operation inside Iran — a prospect many considered plausible at the time, amid a fever pitch of mainstream reporting on a potential ground invasion. The secrecy also sidestepped what’s euphemistically called “host nation sensitivities.” A joint U.S.-Israeli operation raises thorny questions for America’s Gulf Arab “partners,” especially over logistical support — hence the 82nd, which could launch directly from Israel without any Gulf state’s consent to use its territory.

The Army deployment order, issued April 7, 2026, directs elements of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment — the storied “Geronimo” battalion — to deploy to Israel on “temporary duty.” The Israel deployment has not been previously reported.

The Pentagon has never acknowledged it; in public it has said only that the 82nd was bound for “CENTCOM,” the military’s term for U.S. Central Command, the combatant command responsible for the entire Middle East. The press echoed the vague terminology, suggesting the unit was headed to existing U.S. bases in Kuwait or Qatar.

Asked about the number of troops deployed to Israel and their mission, the Pentagon referred my request to CENTCOM, which at the time of publication had not yet responded.

In late March, the New York Times reported that senior military officials were “weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division … to support U.S. military operations in Iran.” The forces would come from the division’s Immediate Response Force — a brigade of roughly 3,000 soldiers able to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Those forces, the Times noted, “could be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.”

The groundwork had been laid weeks earlier. The Army abruptly pulled the division’s 300-member headquarters from a planned exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, officials told the Times, so the command element wouldn’t be “caught out of place if the balloon went up.” The Aviationist reported that the division’s commander, Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, and his command element had been ordered to deploy, and tracked a string of flights leaving Pope Army Airfield, which serves Fort Bragg, for the Middle East.

When the Pentagon finally did talk about the 82nd publicly, it took pains to keep Israel out of it.

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