Tag: Secretary of Defense

Commentary: Out of Office

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Lloyd Austin

Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has apparently been in the hospital, following complications from a surgery for an unknown ailment. He had the surgery and passed the baton to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, but did not inform the President, the National Security Advisor, and a bunch of other people who should have been kept in the loop.

Worse, Austin’s deputy was apparently on vacation when she was put in charge. This all matters because the military functions through a chain of command, and the Secretary of Defense is a crucial link in that chain, the interface between the uniformed military and the President.

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Virginia Lawmakers Urge Department of Defense to Address Chinese Seabed Mining

The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Defense is being urged by members of Congress to develop a national security plan to address China’s interest and investments in seabed mining.  

Virginia U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, led over two dozen legislators including fellow Rep. Jen Kiggans in sounding the alarm on China’s involvement in mining critical resources, such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese and zinc from the seabed.

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Florida Congressman Files Article of Impeachment Against U.S. Defense Secretary

The Center Square

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, R-Florida, made good on his promise earlier this year to file articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. On Friday, he filed one article of impeachment against Austin alleging high crimes and misdemeanors.

Mills appears to be the first to file an article of impeachment against a Defense secretary in U.S. history.

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Pentagon Nominees Blocked by GOP Senator Are Pushing Left-Wing Initiatives to Reshape Military

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Several of the military officers whose promotions are held up due to a senator’s fight with the Pentagon have supported left-wing cultural stances and diversity initiatives, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of social media posts, Pentagon materials and public footage.

Republican Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has single-handedly blocked numerous officers’ confirmations in protest of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s directive that the military fund out-of-state travel for female troops seeking abortions, initiating a game of chicken between Tuberville and the Pentagon that shows no sign of stopping. Yet several of the candidates in line for promotion have a history of making political statements and backed or spearheaded internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives related to race and sexuality, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of publicly available information.

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Tennessee Representatives Join Letter Demanding Answers from Pentagon over Veterans’ Lack of Access to TRICARE Pharmacies

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee Representatives Mark Green (R-TN-07), David Kustoff (R-TN-08), and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) joined 25 of their colleagues on Wednesday in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “regarding the impact of the Department of Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) decision to proceed with Cigna/Express Script’s reduced reimbursement plan.”

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Marines Describe ‘Sham’ Religious Vaccine Exemption Process

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The COVID-19 vaccine exemption process in the Marine Corps gives no consideration to the faiths of individual soldiers and could hamper military readiness, according to Marines fighting the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate on religious grounds who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation anonymously out of fear of retribution.

As of Friday, 95% of active duty members of the Marine Corps were fully vaccinated, and another 2% were partially vaccinated, Department of Defense (DOD) spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz told the DCNF. A total of 334 Marines have been separated with a vaccine refusal discharge code. The Marine Corps has received 3,538 religious exemption requests, and only three were approved, out of 3,414 requests that were processed.

The Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum on Aug. 24, requiring that all service members be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a matter of readiness.

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Private Afghanistan Evacuation Team Criticizes Biden Administration Officials Who ‘Did Absolutely Nothing’ to Help Girls Escape Taliban

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Afghan women refugee settlment

The Biden administration ignored several pleas for help from an American evacuation team in the waning days of the Afghanistan withdrawal, emails reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.

The team had contacted senior officials in the administration to help evacuate people from Afghanistan before the U.S. withdrawal, according to emails obtained by the DCNF. They were working to get Americans and vulnerable Afghans out of the country, but it was a difficult task to do alone, according to the team.

Robert Stryk, who earlier spoke with the DCNF about his frustrations with the administration before Aug. 31, said Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer failed to act on his team’s desperate pleas for help in getting hundreds of girls out of Afghanistan as the U.S. withdrawal deadline approached.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Issues 60-Day ‘Stand Down’ Order to Address ‘Extremism’ in the Military

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Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has issued an unprecedented “stand down” order for the entirety of the United States military over the course of the next 60 days, for the purpose of addressing alleged “extremism” in the military’s ranks, as reported by Breitbart.

Austin announced the decision in a Tweet on Wednesday, saying that he “met with senior leaders to discuss extremism in the military. As a first step, I’m ordering a stand down to occur over the next 60 days so each service, each command, and each unit can have a deeper conversation about this issue.”

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Commentary: The Military-Intelligence Complex

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Much has been written about the so-called Resistance of disgruntled Clinton, Obama, and progressive activists who have pledged to stop Donald Trump’s agenda. The choice of the noun “Resistance,” of course, conjures up not mere “opposition,” but is meant to evoke the French “resistance” of World War II – in the melodramatic sense of current loyal progressive patriots doing their best to thwart by almost any means necessary the Nazi-like Trump.

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US Senate Confirms Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense

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by Reuters   WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Army Secretary Mark Esper to be secretary of defense, ending the longest period by far that the Pentagon has been without a permanent top official. As voting continued, the Senate overwhelmingly backed Esper, a former lobbyist for weapons maker Raytheon Co., to be President Donald Trump’s second confirmed leader of the Pentagon. Esper, 55, received strong bipartisan support despite some sharp questioning during his confirmation hearing by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren about his ties to Raytheon and his refusal to extend an ethics commitment he signed in 2017 to avoid decisions involving the company. Warren, a 2020 presidential hopeful, was the only member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to voice opposition to Esper’s confirmation during the hearing. Raytheon is the third-largest U.S. defense contractor. There has been no confirmed defense secretary since Jim Mattis resigned in December over policy differences with Trump. Many members of Congress from both parties have urged the Republican president to act urgently to fill the powerful position. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on members to support Esper as he opened the Senate on Tuesday morning. “The nominee is beyond qualified. His record…

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Rep. Green Says Secretary of the Army Mark Esper Is a ‘Great’ Nominee for Secretary of Defense

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) told Fox News that Mark Esper is a “great” nominee for Secretary of Defense and mentioned that he was a fellow classmate at West Point even as details emerge of what happened to the nomination of Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. Shockwaves were felt when President Donald Trump announced that Shanahan would not seek the job on a permanent basis, leading to Esper being nominated. Shanahan withdrew his name after reports surfaced of an alleged domestic abuse incident with his ex-wife almost a decade ago, Bloomberg reported. “It is unfortunate that a painful and deeply personal family situation from long ago is being dredged up and painted in an incomplete and therefore misleading way in the course of this process.,” Shanahan said in a statement. “I believe my continuing in the confirmation process would force my three children to relive a traumatic chapter in our family’s life and reopen wounds we have worked years to heal.” The Trump Administration never submitted formal paperwork needed to start Shanahan’s confirmation to the Senate, Government Executive reported. There were rumors that the president was backing off or that something was delaying the background check. Now that Esper…

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Trump to Nominate Patrick Shanahan for Defense Secretary

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by Henry Rodgers   President Donald Trump will nominate acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to officially take over the top spot at the Department of Defense, The White House confirmed Thursday. “Based upon his outstanding service to the Country and his demonstrated ability, President Trump intends to nominate Patrick M. Shanahan to be the Secretary of Defense,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a tweet. “Acting Secretary Shanahan has proven over the last several months that he is beyond qualified to lead the Department of Defense, and he will continue to do an excellent job,” Sanders continued. President Trump intends to nominate Patrick M. Shanahan as Secretary of Defense. pic.twitter.com/RaOXb09qMr — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) May 9, 2019 “I am honored by today’s announcement of President Trump’s intent to nominate,” Shanahan said in a statement Thursday. “If confirmed by the Senate, I will continue the aggressive implementation of our National Defense Strategy.” “I remain committed to modernizing the force so our remarkable Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines have everything they need to keep our military lethal and our country safe,” he continued. In late December, Trump announced Shanahan would replace James Mattis, as the acting Secretary of Defense.…

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President Trump Ousts Mattis Early, Names Patrick Shanahan Acting Secretary of Defense

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by Chuck Ross   President Trump announced Sunday that Secretary of Defense James Mattis will leave office on Jan. 1, two months earlier than expected. Trump is appointing Mattis’ deputy, Patrick M. Shanahan, as acting defense secretary until a permanent replacement is found, he announced on Twitter. I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019. Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018 Mattis tendered his resignation on Thursday after Trump decided to pull troops out of Syria. In a letter to Trump, Mattis subtly criticized Trump over the decision, as well as his treatment of U.S. allies. “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues,” Mattis wrote. “Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me…

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Commentary: Trump is Smarter Than the Generals

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by Christopher Roach   A bipartisan consensus among the foreign policy elite holds that America needs to maintain its de facto overseas empire. This includes both preserving stability, as well as fomenting deliberate instability, including regime change in places like Syria. This consensus among elected officials, defense contractors, general officers, talking heads, and various experts is not shared by the vast majority of Americans, who elected Barack Obama and Donald Trump on their promises to end “stupid wars” and put America first. The American people have good instincts on these matters. The Confused Syria Campaign Our Syria campaign has been a confused affair from the beginning. In the waning days of the Arab Spring, Obama supported various rebel factions seeking to oust Bashar al-Assad, as he had earlier in Libya and Egypt. Syrians soon found themselves in the midst of a brutal civil war, and in this vacuum—as in Iraq only a decade earlier—jihad tourists from all over the Middle East soon joined the fray. The various enemies of the Syrian regime included the so-called “moderate” rebels, Kurds, and Sunni extremists, the latter of which were divided between al Nusra and ISIS. There are no obvious good guys here, and…

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President Trump: Mattis Leaving at the End of February

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President Trump said in a duo of tweets Thursday afternoon that Defense Secretary James Mattis will leave the administration early next year. “General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years,” he tweeted, adding: During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service! ….equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2018 The president’s announcement comes on the heels of his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, fulfilling a long-standing campaign promise. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY…        

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Mattis Dismisses Reports He May Be Leaving Trump Administration

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Tennessee Star

Reuters   U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday flatly dismissed reports suggesting he may be leaving President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming months, saying flatly: “I wouldn’t take it seriously at all.” “How many times have we been through this, now, just since I’ve been here? It will die down soon, and the people who started the rumor will be allowed to write the next rumor, too,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon. “Just the way the town is,” he added. “Keep a sense of humor about it.” The remarks were the most direct by Mattis to date about intensifying rumors about his future as Trump approaches the half-way mark of his four-year term amid speculation about changes to his cabinet after upcoming November mid-term elections. Mattis has become a focus in media stories in recent weeks about the Trump administration, particularly after the release of a book this month by Watergate reporter Bob Woodward that portrayed Mattis privately disparaging Trump to associates. Mattis strongly denied making any such remarks. Trump on Sept. 5 said he defense chief would remain in his job, adding: “He’ll stay right there. We’re very happy with him. We’re having a lot of…

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Secretary of Defense Mattis Criticizes Chinese Aggression During South American Tour

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Mattis

by Carla Babb   Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has cautioned South American allies against Chinese aggression, slamming what he called China’s “predatory economics” and its militarization of increasingly important areas in both sea and space. Speaking to a group of military students in Rio de Janeiro, Mattis called for partnering with Brazilians to defend American assets in space, adding that steps toward building a U.S. Space Force were reactionary based on Chinese and Russian attack capabilities. He provided the example of when China used a missile to destroy one of its satellites in space in 2007. “We understand the message China was sending, that they could take out a satellite in space,” Mattis told the group. “We don’t intend to militarize space. However, we will defend ourselves in space, if necessary.” U.S. satellites are used for communications, weather forecasting and GPS. They also bring in trillions of dollars of economic output, according to Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. China has shown growing interest in boosting Latin American space efforts, even financing and operating a space center in Argentina. American space firms are enthusiastic about the possibility of launching satellites out of Brazil’s new space…

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Mattis Backs Up Trump’s Strong Words On Iran

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by Evie Fordham   Secretary of Defense James Mattis backed up President Donald Trump’s fiery message about Iran at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California, on Tuesday. “[Iran] cannot continue to show irresponsibility as some revolutionary organization that is intent on exporting terrorism, exporting disruption across the region,” Mattis said, reported The Hill. Trump tweeted an all-caps message to Iran on Sunday night. “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!” he wrote. To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018 “The president was making very clear that they’re on the wrong track,” Mattis said at the Hoover Institution. Mattis was in California with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for a  meeting with Australian officials, reported The Hill. The defense secretary discussed Iran’s role…

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