Tag: pentagon

Pentagon’s AI office awards Palantir a contract to create a data-sharing ecosystem

The Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, or CDAO, leveraged its marketplace for fast-tracking the acquisition of innovative technologies to award Silicon Valley-based Palantir a contract to develop a data-sharing ecosystem — a tool that will help the Pentagon with its connect-everything initiative.

CDAO announced last Thursday that the ecosystem — known as Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories, or Open DAGIR — will enable the Department of Defense to scale its use of data, analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities through greater collaboration with private sector partners. 

Palantir said it received a $33 million prototype Other Transaction award from CDAO “to rapidly and securely onboard third-party vendor and government capabilities into the government-owned, Palantir-operated data environment to meet priority combatant command digital needs.”

The contract was awarded through CDAO’s Tradewinds Solution Marketplace, which allows private firms of all sizes to pitch DOD their AI, machine learning and data capabilities through five minute infomercial-style videos. Once companies are accepted into the marketplace, Pentagon components can search the platform to view videos of solutions from industry partners. Companies, in turn, are able to access post-competition, readily awardable contracts. 

Bonnie Evangelista, CDAO’s acting deputy for acquisition directorate, told Nextgov/FCW earlier this year that the platform can significantly shorten the time it takes for companies to receive DOD contracts.

During a NetApp conference on Tuesday, CDAO Director of Procurement Quentin McCoy said Palantir’s use of the Tradewinds marketplace allowed it to receive the award for Open DAGIR in 30 days. 

“It’s a sort of healthy prototype,” McCoy said about the Open DAGIR solution Palantir will provide, noting that “it’s going to allow industry and government to ingest data together and share and bring in third-party vendors to do this action.”

DOD said it will initially use Open DAGIR to support its Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control — or CJADC2 — initiative that is designed to promote interoperability across disparate military environments. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced in February that CDAO had achieved “the minimum viable capability” of the information-sharing network.

CDAO is also planning to use its ongoing Global Information Dominance Experiments, or GIDE, to determine whether any additional capabilities should be added to the Open DAGIR ecosystem. GIDE is designed, in part, to help inform the Pentagon’s use of emerging technologies to support its CJADC2 initiative. 

The GIDE series — created by U.S. Northern Command and relaunched by CDAO last year — tests out AI and data analytics tools to determine how they can be used for military decisionmaking. The department finished its GIDE 9 iteration in March. 

McCoy said CDAO is planning to hold several industry days in the next few months, including one scheduled for mid-July, in preparation for the office’s next GIDE iteration. 

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Pentagon says none of the aid unloaded from US pier off coast of Gaza has been delivered to broader Palestinian population

None of the aid that has been unloaded from the temporary pier the US constructed off the coast of Gaza has been delivered to the broader Palestinian population, as the US works with the UN and Israel to identify safe delivery routes inside the enclave, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Several desperate Gazans intercepted trucks delivering aid from the pier over the weekend, leading the UN to suspend the delivery operations until the logistical challenges are resolved.

The US is working with Israel and the United Nations to establish “alternative routes” for the safe delivery of the 569 tons of aid transported to Gaza since last week, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Tuesday.

Asked whether any of the aid has been delivered to the people of Gaza, Ryder said, “As of today, I do not believe so.” He added that aid had been held in an assembly area on shore, but as of Tuesday had begun getting moved to warehouses for distribution throughout Gaza as alternative routes have been established.

A US official told CNN that the Defense Department and UN are still working to determine how much aid can be held at he staging area inside Gaza at any given time.

The amount of aid getting to the Gaza shoreline from its initial staging area in Cyprus has also fallen short of initial Pentagon estimates.

Since Friday, more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance have been delivered through the temporary pier, called JLOTS, or Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, to the shore of Gaza to be distributed by humanitarian partners, Ryder said. But Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, said last week that the US hoped to initially transport 500 tons of aid per day via the pier, and scale up as time went on.

Over the weekend, as trucks began moving the aid delivered off the floating pier, CNN reported that a group of men in Gaza intercepted the aid, saying they did not trust that it was actually meant for the Palestinian people.

“I have doubts,” Mounir Ayad, a Gaza resident, told CNN near the pier. “I don’t understand this floating pier or what it indicates and what its purpose is. They say it’s for aid, but people are apprehensive. Is this aid or something else? We know that the US has never supported the Palestinian cause, so it’s implausible that it’s giving us aid without something in return.”

Ryder acknowledged on Tuesday that some initial aid brought into Gaza was “intercepted by some people who took that aid off those vehicles.”

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Pentagon sounds alarm over Ukraine corruption

The conflict with Russia has created new opportunities for bribes, kickbacks and theft in Ukraine, the US military’s inspector general told Congress in the quarterly report on the $113 billion in aid sent to Kiev.

Department of Defense Inspector General Robert Storch also serves as the special inspector for Operation Atlantic Resolve, the US-led operation to arm Ukraine.

“The ongoing war with Russia has created new opportunities for corruption, with several recent scandals within the defense sector revealing the misuse of wartime resources and weapons procurement funds,” the report said.

“Endemic corruption persists” in Ukraine, which remains “one of the least accountable governments in Europe,” according to the Pentagon’s inspector-general.

“Bribes, kickbacks, and inflated procurement costs are common risks for corruption within the Ministry of Defense,” leading to purchases of “inferior equipment” or “diversion of funds” intended for food and ammunition, according to the report.

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Back Door War: SecDef Admits US Troops In Gaza May See Combat

In a fascinating exchange US Rep. Matt Gaetz probed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the role of the estimated 1,000 US troops involved in building a floating pier to deliver aid to Gaza. Austin insisted that they were not “boots on the ground” although he admitted they would be armed and would respond to incoming fire. Injecting US troops into a warzone requires a Congressional vote, Gaetz warned Austin.

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The Pentagon is lying about UFOs

Congress held a historic hearing on UFOs last July. The hearing, which featured testimony from two former Navy fighter pilots and a former senior intelligence officer, garnered a notable amount of attention and interest not seen on Capitol Hill in years.

In one remarkable exchange, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) described how his office received a “protected disclosure” from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, regarding a January 2023 UFO incident over the Gulf of Mexico. After being stonewalled by the Air Force, he delivered a tense, on-base reminder to the military about “how authorities flow in the United States of America.” The Air Force relented, permitting Gaetz to review sensor data gathered during the encounter.

According to Gaetz, fighter pilots tracked four unknown objects flying in a “clear diamond formation.” Notably, the incident occurred on a training range typically conspicuously free of any airborne clutter.

Still imagery indicated that one of the objects demonstrated capabilities that Gaetz, who has served on the House Armed Services Committee for nearly a decade, was “not able to attach to any human capability, either from the United States or from any of our adversaries.”

Radar data, according to Gaetz, showed that the four objects moved in a “very clear formation [with] equidistant” separation.

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Pentagon Chief Engaged In Pressuring EU Countries To Give Up Their Patriot Systems

America’s top defense official is engaged in efforts to pressure European countries to give up their own US-made anti-air defenses for Ukraine.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he’s been actively encouraging countries to donate their Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. “There are countries that have Patriots, and so what we’re doing is continuing to engage those countries,” Austin testified before a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

“I have talked to the leaders of several countries… myself here in the last two weeks, encouraging them to give up more capability or provide more capability,” he said.

Last Friday Austin announced that as part of a massive new $6 billion aid package for Kiev, the US will provide additional Patriot missiles. This is part of the first approved roll-out in the wake of Biden signing into effect the $61 billion in defense funding for Ukraine belatedly approved by Congress this month.

President Zelensky and his top officials have been essentially begging for more Patriots as Russia continues pummeling its cities and infrastructure. 

A Ukrainian outlet has quoted Zelensky as ramping up the pressure on his backers in NATO:

“Regarding the number of missiles to Patriots, we really expect a positive result in this regard. Thank God that after we convened the Ukraine-NATO Council, we received an assurance that there will be no delays in the process (of supplying missiles to the Patriot systems – ed.), Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Earlier this month a disturbing report by Financial Times identified Greece and Spain as being under the most pressure from Western allies to give up what few Patriot anti-air defense systems that they possess.

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The Sinister Web Untangled: CIA & Rockefeller’s Secret Agenda Revealed in the Shocking 2025 Depopulation Report by Deagel

In a world where reality often seems stranger than fiction, the machinations behind global events can be an enigma wrapped in mystery.

One such intrigue revolves around Deagel.com, an obscure online entity known for its exhaustive data on military capabilities and eyebrow-raising depopulation forecasts for 2025.

We can reveal that recent findings appear to link Deagel directly to significant players on the world stage: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)/ The Pentagon, and The Rockefeller Foundation.

And current real-world data on excess deaths in the West strongly suggest Deagel’s depopulation forecast is not just an estimation but in fact, a target that is on track to be hit thanks to the deadly effects of Covid-19 vaccination.

We can confirm that Dr. Edwin A. Deagle Jr., who passed away on February 16th 2021, is the confirmed figurehead authorities would like you to believe is solely behind Deagel.com.

During his life, Dr Edwin served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was also the Director of International Relations for The Rockefeller Foundation, an influential global philanthropic organization.

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THE PENTAGON’S NEW UAP REPORT IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Last month the U.S. government’s new UAP investigation office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), submitted a report to Congress entitled, “Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” (UAP, the new term for UFO). This new report is itself anomalous for several reasons.

First, who ever heard of a government report being submitted months before it was due? Especially one so rife with embarrassing errors in desperate need of additional fact-checking and revision? Was AARO Director Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick rushing to get the report out the door before departing, perhaps to ensure that his successor could not revise or reverse some of the report’s conclusions?

Second, this appears to be the first AARO report submitted to Congress that the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) did not sign off on. I don’t know why, but Avril Haines and her Office were quite right not to in this case, having spared themselves considerable embarrassment in the process.

Third, this is the most error-ridden and unsatisfactory government report I can recall reading during or after decades of government service. We all make mistakes, but this report is an outlier in terms of inaccuracies and errors. Were I reviewing this as a graduate student’s thesis it would receive a failing grade for failing to understand the assignment, sloppy and inadequate research, and flawed interpretation of the data. Hopefully, long before it was submitted, the author would have consulted his or her professor and received some guidance and course correction to prevent such an unfortunate outcome.

Another irregularity worth noting is the fact that before its release, Department of Defense (DoD) Public Affairs sponsored a closed-door pre-brief on the report’s findings for a select group of press outlets on an invitation-only basis. Outlets like The Debrief, which closely follow the UAP issue, were excluded. Following the report’s release, most of the news agencies that had participated in the pre-brief went on to publish articles that uncritically parroted the report’s findings. Moreover, they seem to have done so without consulting any of the scholars or experts who have studied and written extensively on this topic as would normally be the case in another field.

What about consulting the famous scientist, author, venture capitalist, and UAP expert Dr. Jacques Vallee, who worked with Air Force astronomer Dr. J. Allen Hynek on Project Blue Book and lived much of the history this UAP report purports to cover? Neither AARO nor the press bothered to speak with him. How about Robert Powell, Director of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies and author of the outstanding new book UFOs: A Scientist Explains What We Know (and Don’t Know)? Or professor Alexander Wendt at the Ohio State University? I’m sure these and many other authors and scholars would have been happy to assist AARO or the press, had they been contacted.

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The Pentagon Ate Our Government

The biggest boost in spending from 2023 to 2024 went to the Pentagon. Of course! Even though the Pentagon has yet to pass an audit. Throw money at it as a reward!

Let’s do some basic math. Add the Pentagon budget, Homeland Security, Military Construction and the VA, and State/Foreign Ops and you get $1.118 trillion. (Basically, the State Department is a tiny branch of the Pentagon.) But even that figure is low, since some Energy spending goes to nuclear weapons, and I can’t imagine that spending on science doesn’t have military applications.

Let’s go with the $1.118 trillion figure as a rough estimate of military spending. Adding up all the numbers of money spent produces a total of $1.627 trillion. That means the percentage of money spent on the Pentagon and related military matters amounts to 68.7% of federal discretionary spending.

Yes, the Pentagon ate our government.

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Cutting the Pentagon Down to Size

In an age when American presidents routinely boast of having the world’s finest military, where nearly trillion-dollar war budgets are now a new version of routine, let me bring up one vitally important but seldom mentioned fact: making major cuts to military spending would increase U.S. national security.

Why? Because real national security can neither be measured nor safeguarded solely by military power (especially the might of a military that hasn’t won a major war since 1945). Economic vitality matters so much more, as does the availability and affordability of health care, education, housing, and other crucial aspects of life unrelated to weaponry and war. Add to that the importance of a Congress responsive to the needs of the working poor, the hungry and the homeless among us. And don’t forget that the moral fabric of our nation should be based not on a military eternally ready to make war but on a determination to uphold international law and defend human rights. It’s high time for America to put aside its conveniently generic “rules-based order” anchored in imperial imperatives and face its real problems. A frank look in the mirror is what’s most needed here.

It should be simple really: national security is best advanced not by endlessly preparing for war, but by fostering peace. Yet, despite their all-too-loud disagreements, Washington’s politicians share a remarkably bipartisan consensus when it comes to genuflecting before and wildly overfunding the military-industrial complex. In truth, ever-rising military spending and yet more wars are a measure of how profoundly unhealthy our country actually is.

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