The Defense Department reportedly erased data from the phones of top departing agency and Army officials at the end of the Trump administration, deleting texts from potential witnesses to events related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
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Joe Biden announced on Thursday that an additional 7,000 U.S. troops will be deployed to Germany, bringing the total of U.S. troops sent to Europe this month to 12,000. On February 2, 1,700 troops were ordered to Poland, and 300 to Germany. Another 3,000 troops were added to Poland on Feb. 11, as the crisis loomed.
The U.S. forces are being deployed to bolster NATO’s defenses as Russia continues its military incursion into Ukraine.
Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Biden stressed that U.S. soldiers will not be going to Ukraine and will not be fighting Russian troops.
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On Tuesday, a district court judge ruled against the state of Oklahoma in its effort to block the coronavirus vaccine mandate for members of the state’s National Guard, The Hill reports.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot explained his reasoning in a 29-page ruling, in which he rejected a motion filed by Governor Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) and Attorney General John O’Connor (R-Okla.) to indefinitely block the mandate; Judge Friot claimed that the plaintiffs’ claim was “without merit.”
“The court is required to decide this case on the basis of federal law, not common sense,” said Friot in his ruling. “But, either way, the result would be the same. The claims asserted by the Governor and his co-plaintiffs are without merit.”
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Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell announced Wednesday that she is suing the Defense Department in regards to their vaccine mandate.
According to The Hill, Powell is representing the Texas-based group “Defending the Republic” in a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in regards to the military’s mandatory vaccination requirements.
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The House late Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act after a marathon day of voting on hundreds of amendments as Congress continues work toward a government funding bill with a potential shutdown one week away.
The $768 billion defense bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with 316 lawmakers voting in favor. It now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass and soon after become law as it has yearly for nearly six decades.
It provides an additional $24 billion for the defense department compared to last year’s legislation, an amount touted by both Washington Democratic Rep. Adam Smith and Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, the House Armed Services Committee’s chair and ranking member.
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The US Special Operations Command reinstated its head of diversity on Thursday after an investigation concluded he did not violate any Defense Department policies in a series of controversial Facebook posts.
Richard Torres-Estrada was named Chief of Diversity & Inclusion for the Defense Department’s US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in March, but was reassigned pending an investigation into his social media activity, which included a post comparing then-president Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.
The investigation found that Torres-Estrada’s posts violated no Defense Department (DoD) policies and he could return to his job, Military Times reported Thursday.
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President Joe Biden’s pick for national cyber director is on the advisory board of an intelligence think tank co-founded by Stefan Halper, the longtime political operative who worked as a confidential human source for the FBI during its investigation into the Trump campaign.
Chris Inglis, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, was nominated for the cyber role on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
“We are determined to protect America’s networks and to meet the growing challenge posed by our adversaries in cyberspace — and this is the team to do it,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in an announcement of the nomination.
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The Defense Department is promoting reading resources on opposing “systemic racism” that include radical authors as part of a program to combat extremism within the ranks of the military.
In a virtual meeting for “all hands” last month, the agenda—obtained by The Daily Signal—counted the scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center as a credible resource alongside the Department of Homeland Security and the University of Maryland.
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The recent revelation that a senior Navy task force is proposing an oath to be taken by every member of the Navy was a warning of how deep woke-think has penetrated American institutions – even the Defense Department.
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The pending military stand-down to address “extremism in the ranks” may bring results that go beyond what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected to achieve, according to active duty service members who are scheduled to attend the mandatory sessions.
Austin on Friday ordered all uniformed and civilian leaders in the Defense Department to set aside a day soon to discuss “impermissible behaviors” related to extremism.
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The Defense Department estimates the National Guard deployment at the Capitol through March 15 will cost nearly $483 million, in addition to $500 million it has already spent, Fox News reported Monday.
Approximately 26,000 National Guard troops from across the country were sent to Washington D.C. after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The number has gradually reduced, however there are still more than 7,000 troops guarding the Capitol building with plans to gradually decrease its presence through the end of March, to fewer than 3,000 troops, according to Fox News.
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