Military

Axios reports: The Israel Defense Forces have in recent weeks been instructed to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. will conduct a military strike against Iran before President Trump leaves office, senior Israeli officials tell me. The Israeli government instructed the IDF to undertake the preparations not because of any intelligence or assessment that Trump will order such a …

Via press release from the Defense Department: The Department has received notice that pursuant to the Presidential Transition Act, the GSA Administrator is making certain post-election resources and services available to the Biden-Harris Transition Team. This evening, DOD has been contacted by the Biden-Harris team and their designated lead for the DOD Agency Review Team and, based on the ascertainment …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump is threatening to veto legislation to fund the military as one of his final acts in office unless a widely supported, bipartisan provision to rename military bases honoring Confederate military leaders is removed, according to White House, defense and congressional sources. Since the Nov. 3 election, Trump has privately told Republican lawmakers that he …

CNBC reports: Acting Pentagon chief Christopher Miller said Tuesday that the United States will reduce its military presence in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops and 2,500 troops in Iraq by Jan. 15. The United States has approximately 4,500 troops currently in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 in Iraq. Last week, Miller ascended to the Pentagon’s acting Secretary of Defense role after …

CNN reports: US military commanders are anticipating that a formal order will be given by President Donald Trump as soon as this week to begin a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before Trump leaves office on January 20, according to two US officials familiar. The Pentagon has issued a notice to commanders known as a “warning …

Politico reports: The Pentagon’s acting policy chief resigned on Tuesday after falling out of favor with the White House, raising fears of a post-election purge at the Defense Department. The departure of James Anderson, the acting undersecretary of defense for policy, potentially paves the way for Anthony Tata, President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee for the top policy job who was …

CNBC reports: In a tweet Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump said he terminated his Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. “I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately,” Trump wrote. The latest revelation comes as Trump refuses to …

NBC News reports: Defense Secretary Mark Esper has prepared a letter of resignation, according to three current defense officials. It’s not uncommon for Cabinet secretaries to prepare undated letters of resignation during a presidential transition, giving the commander in chief the chance to replace them for a second term. The president decides whether to accept the resignation letters, and the …

Axios reports: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is leaning on the Pentagon to move ahead with a plan to stand up a 5G wireless network, sources tell Axios, and the idea, despite opposition from key government and private-sector players, could well outlive the Trump administration. The Department of Defense could lease out capacity to wireless carriers and other …

And nothing will be done about it: President Trump’s reelection campaign is using the Pentagon’s senior civilian and uniformed officials in a new online advertisement, in violation of standing Pentagon policy. The ad, which appeared as recently as Monday and targets possible mail-in voters, features a photo of Trump with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman …

The Week reports: At least one of the president’s five military aides tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, after Trump himself tested positive, CNN first reported and Bloomberg confirmed. The aides, each representing one branch of the U.S. military, stay close to Trump at all times, and carry his emergency briefcase known as the “nuclear football.” The aide is …

The Associated Press reports: The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and other top military leaders are under quarantine after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for the coronavirus, two U.S. officials said. Gen. Mark Milley and the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force have tested negative for the virus, but remain under quarantine as a …

The New York Times reports: Senior leaders at the Pentagon, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged that they were talking among themselves about what to do if Mr. Trump, who will still be president from Election Day to Inauguration Day, invokes the Insurrection Act and tries to send troops into the streets, as he repeatedly threatened to do during …

Military.com reports: Retired military officers and veteran entrepreneurs, including seven former service chiefs, recently retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and nine other four-stars, have endorsed a campaign to make sure military votes are counted among the avalanche of mail-in ballots. The “Count Every Hero” effort, funded by RepresentUs — a “cross-politics” nonprofit focused on …

NBC News reports: More than 200 retired generals and admirals endorsed Joe Biden for president in a letter published Thursday, saying he had the character and judgment to serve as commander-in-chief instead of President Donald Trump, who has failed “to meet challenges large or small.” Some of the officers who signed the letter supporting Biden had retired only in the …

Via press release: In light of recent comments made by President Donald J. Trump referring to military service members and veterans as “losers” and “suckers,” The Lincoln Project’s Veteran and Military Community Coalition announced today the launch of a new ad campaign that is running across the Military Times network and Stars & Stripes. “It’s a complete disgrace that a …

The Washington Post reports: A $1 billion fund Congress gave the Pentagon in March to build up the country’s supplies of medical equipment has instead been mostly funneled to defense contractors and used for making things such as jet engine parts, body armor and dress uniforms. The change illustrates how one taxpayer-backed effort to battle the novel coronavirus, which has …

The Military Times reports: The Pentagon has issued new guidance on religious liberty within the military — following pressure from Republican lawmakers to “prioritize protecting the rights and freedoms of service members” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While critics of the revised regulation say it will encourage military superiors to push their religious beliefs on subordinates and fellow …

Axios reports: Joe Biden, believing President Trump is suddenly vulnerable with military voters, goes up today with an ad called “Knock On The Door,” featuring retired Air force Brigadier General John Douglass, a former casualty notification officer. Douglass — who grew up in Florida, and now splits time between Virginia and Florida — used to deliver the dreaded “knock on …

Gothamist reports: A planned military flyover marking the anniversary of 9/11 was cancelled on Friday morning, after the decision to honor terror victims with a low-flying warplane was widely panned as tasteless and inappropriate. The Department of Defense announced their intention late Thursday to fly an F-18 jet over the Hudson River on Friday afternoon on the 19th anniversary of …