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Typifying the utterly ineffectual foreign policy that has been endemic for the entirety of the Obama administration, Ukrainian Defense Minister Pavel Lebedev rebuffed U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, refusing to take even one of the phone calls Hagel made to him. Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby admitted on Thursday, "Secretary Hagel has been trying, himself, since early this week," adding that Lebedev refuses "to communicate, to accept a phone call" from either Hagel or the Pentagon.

Ukraine Defense Minister Pavel Lebedev has refused to take multiple phone calls made personally by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the Pentagon said Thursday. "Secretary Hagel has been trying, himself, since early this week," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. Lebedev refuses "to communicate, to accept a phone call" from Hagel or the Pentagon.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wants military leaders to inject more urgency into ensuring “moral character and moral courage” in a force suffering a rash of ethical lapses. Hagel has been worried by a string of scandals that has produced a wave of unwelcome publicity for the military. But in light of new disclosures this week, including the announcement of alleged cheating among senior sailors in the nuclear Navy, Hagel on Wednesday demanded a fuller accounting of the depth of the problem. Last month the Air Force revealed it was investigating widespread cheating on proficiency tests among nuclear missile launch officers...

The Pentagon will become more accommodating to individuals’ respective religions, according to updated instruction released today. A new Pentagon policy states that military departments will accommodate religious requests from individual service members unless a request would interfere with military readiness, a mission, unit cohesion, or good order and discipline. This would include religious clothing, facial hair, religious tattoos and piercings. The changes come after a Sikh American Army major complained to congressional staffers that fellow Sikhs should be able to wear a turban or maintain a beard while in uniform. Each request will be decided on a case-by-case basis, and...

How Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Steals from His Soldiers That is a tough charge, not made lightly. The Secretary of Defense is stealing earned but deferred income from his soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. It is especially troubling because Hagel is a former Vietnam combat soldier and noncommissioned officer. He served in the infantry with valor and gallantry. He just stole $6 billion from his retiring or retired soldiers. No need to detail here the massive debt the nation has created and much of that from fighting mostly unfunded wars. No need to repeat the abundant and perpetual...

Hoping to boost sagging morale, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made a rare visit Thursday to an Air Force nuclear missile base and the men and women who operate and safeguard the nation's Minuteman 3 missiles. But his attempt to cheer the troops was tempered by news that launch officers at another base had been implicated in an illegal-narcotics investigation.... Two officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana are being investigated for allegations of drug possession, said Lt. Col. Brett Ashworth, a service spokesman in Washington. Both of those being investigated are ICBM launch officers with responsibility for operating intercontinental...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called his Egyptian counterpart, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on Sunday to again tsk-tsk the interim government for not being “inclusive.” It was the first such call in a month and comes after Egypt branded the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. That came in the wake of a bombing at the security directorate headquarters in Mansoura that killed 16, but Egyptians made clear that the designation was warranted by a long history of incitement and violence by the MB. “Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called Egyptian Minister of Defense General Al-Sisi today to discuss recent events in...

The Pentagon's top civilian says it's time to tame burgeoning military personnel costs, but he's facing a test of wills with the nation's powerful veterans groups, which want no cut in their benefits. Veterans groups are fighting curbs in annual pension increases for military retirees under age 62 that are part of the new budget deal passed by Congress last week and awaiting President Barack Obama's signature. After a barrage of protests from the military community, lawmakers said they'll review the cut next year and possibly reverse it. But Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that reform of military...

The Thomas More Law Center with the Family Research Council (FRC) and 14 other organizations announced yesterday the submission of a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel requesting that the Department of Defense (DOD) ensure that future training materials do not rely on information from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) or any other organization that engages in groundless and highly pejorative mischaracterizations of long-standing Christian organizations for their own political purposes. The request comes after several training incidents in which Army instructors may have relied on anti-Christian materials produced by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that was...

United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that his country would continue to support “moderate” rebel forces in Syria, but will withhold non-lethal assistance to the rebels until it can assess who is in control of arms depots and border crossings. According to AFP, Hagel told reporters that setbacks for Syria’s Western-backed opposition are a “big problem” and the United States is assessing the damage. …

Breaking on Fox. Headline only DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL ORDERS US MILITARY TO TRANSPORT BURUNDIAN TROOPS TO CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC AMID CONFLICT

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Saturday called the Egyptian army chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, to express “US concerns” about the state of democracy in Egypt. “Secretary Hagel noted that the Egyptian government’s response to free expression will demonstrate the interim government’s commitment to a non-violent, inclusive and sustainable democratic transition,” Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a statement.

The military must prepare for major upheaval, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Tuesday, because meeting the budgetary and security challenges of the future will “require significant change across every aspect of our defense enterprise.” And deep cuts in end strength could be just one of the results. (snip) “We may have to accept the reality that not every unit will be at maximum readiness, and some kind of a tiered readiness system is perhaps inevitable,” Hagel said. “This carries the risk that the President would have fewer options to fulfill our national security objectives.” (snip) “We will need to...

- Rep. Duncan Hunter was on with Megyn Kelly again tonight to discuss the fact that Obama and Harry Reid had a change of heart and tonight Obama signed a bill to ensure military families get the death benefits they so deserve. Megyn Kelly made a great point during this, that if it was really a concern for the DoD that death benefits weren't going to be paid out to military families, that they would have come back to Congress 9 days ago and said fix it. But they never did, according to Hunter, who says that someone made a...

Chuck Hagel traveled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Joining Hagel on the trip from Washington were Army Secretary John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. The remains of every U.S. military member killed overseas are flown to Dover for processing. Family members often attend the arrivals, but high-ranking Pentagon officials usually do not.

At least five families of U.S. military members killed during in Afghanistan over the weekend were given a double-whammy by federal officials: Not only have your loved ones died, but due to the government shutdown, you won’t receive a death benefit. The benefit is $100,000 and is wired to family members of the killed military member within 36 hours of the death. The so-called “death gratuity” is aimed at paying for funeral costs and to help with those living expenses normally covered by the soldier’s paycheck. They serve as a transition pay benefit until the military’s survivor benefits begin. The...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told lawmakers a limited military strike to deter Syria from using chemical weapons would likely cost tens of millions of dollars, but if past experience is a guide, the number could be substantially higher than that. It is not uncommon for U.S. forces to open an assault by launching scores of Tomahawk missiles costing over $1 million apiece and dropping bombs from radar-evading B-2 planes that fly 18 hours each way from their base at a cost of $60,000 an hour. "I was surprised when I heard him (Hagel) say tens of millions of dollars. That's...

In strong language, U.S. Rep. Tom Marino made his opposition to intervention in Syria abundantly clear Wednesday, pointedly questioning Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at a House hearing. Mr. Marino predicted American soldiers would ultimately die if the U.S. gets involved. Despite President Barack Obama's assurance that no American troops would enter the ground war in Syria, Mr. Marino predicted even Mr. Obama's planned limited response to the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons would backfire on the U.S. "And this I cannot accept. Soldiers coming home deformed and limbless and even in a...

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel perked up some ears at today’s House Foreign Affairs hearing on Syria with a brief exchange in which he said Russia had supplied chemical weapons to Syria. It all happened in an exchange with Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., during which Hagel said it’s no secret that the Assad regime has significant stockpiles of chemical weapons. When Wilson asked where they’d come from, Hagel said, “Well, the Russians supply them. Others are supplying them with those chemical weapons. They make some themselves.” After the hearing had concluded, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little issued a clarification, explaining...

Hearing will be live on CSPAN.