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DEFENSE SECRETARY LLYOD Austin on Wednesday ordered a military-wide "stand down" to address the kind of extremism within the ranks that was thrust into the public view on Jan. 6 when supporters of President Donald Trump – including some active-duty war veterans – forcefully stormed the U.S. Capitol. The dearth of details about the stand-down highlights the apparent lack of understanding overall on the issue of extremism among military leaders. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday afternoon told reporters that commanders would have 60 days to schedule events for "needed discussions" about extremism.

Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios. Behind the scenes: A top Biden official was unaware of the directive. Administration officials left open the possibility cooperation would resume after a holiday pause. The officials were unsure what prompted Miller's action, or whether President Trump approved. Why it matters: Miller's move, which stunned officials throughout the Pentagon, was the biggest eruption yet of animus and mistrust toward the Biden team from the top level of the Trump administration. What happened:...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., it is hereby ordered as follows:Section 1. Order of Succession. (a) Subject to the provisions of section 2 of this order, the following officials of the Department of Defense, in the order listed, shall act as and perform the functions and duties of the office of the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) during any period in which the Secretary has died, resigned, or otherwise become unable...

Legendary Special Forces (Green Beret) hero, Christopher C. Miller, has been appointed Acting Secretary of The Department of Defense by the President, following the sacking of Mark Esper. I just watched the ceremony and announcement of this momentous move on the Hallowed Grounds of Ft. Bragg in my home state of North Carolina, where monuments to Special Forces heroes past, stand in remembrance. But the jaw-dropping moment for me, was just before Special Forces Legend, Chris Miller’s speech, when the young man introducing him came to the podium. Without getting too deep in the weeds as they say, this brilliant...

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., on Thursday announced her intention to block Senate confirmations for 1,123 senior U.S. Armed Forces promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms he will not block the "expected and deserved" promotion of Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Vindman, an Iraq War veteran, served on the White House National Security Council and was thrust into the limelight last year when he testified about President Trump's July 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that became the heart of a Democratic-led impeachment inquiry. Vindman said he listened to the call and filed a whistleblower complaint over concerns...

I cringed after Donald Trump started trashing James Mattis following his resignation as Secretary of Defense. Mattis’s departure was reportedly connected to Trump’s announced withdrawal from Syria, which Mattis opposed. In response to Mattis’s departure, rather than praise him for his service and acknowledge the tremendous progress they’d made together cleaning up the mess left by Obama, Trump trashed Mattis as “the world’s most overrated general.” Mattis wasn’t the only person Trump kicked out the door with a litany of attacks. He lambasted former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as “dumb as a rock,” and described his former chief of...

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday said that the United States is not looking to start a war with Iran but is “prepared to finish one.” “The United States is not seeking a war with Iran but we are prepared to finish one. We are seeking a diplomatic solution, but first this will require Iran to deescalate, it will require the regime to come to the table with the goal of preventing further bloodshed,” Esper told reporters at the Pentagon. “We are open to having this discussion with them but we are just as prepared to deliver a forceful response...

<p>Eric Chewning, the chief of staff to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, is resigning and will be leaving his post at the end of January, the Defense Department announced Monday.</p> <p>Chewning has been in his role since January 2019, after starting with the Department in October 2017 as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy. He now plans on returning to the private sector, according to Pentagon press secretary Alyssa Farah.</p>

Defense Secretary Mark Esper put Iran and its militia groups operating in Iraq on further notice Thursday morning, warning that further violence and attacks against the United States will be dealt with accordingly. "If anybody challenges us, they will be met with a severe response, a strong response by U.S. forces," Esper said during an interview with Fox News. "I'm not going to telegraph what we're going to do but people know that we have vast capability to do any number of things. We will act in response to actions by Iran or its proxies and we will act to...

Over the last week or so, Gen. James Mattis has been running around hawking his new book, but it was revealed on Sunday that he's planning to cash in on his government service in a much more swampy way.

The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm former defense industry lobbyist Mark Esper as secretary of defense after months without a permanent replacement. The confirmation vote was 90-8 and he will be sworn in by the end of the day, ending the time without a permanent leader, as Esper was formally working as the acting Defense Secretary. Esper will replace former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who retired at the end of February after two years on the job.

President Donald Trump plans to nominate acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to formally take over the top spot at the Pentagon, the president's spokeswoman said Thursday. Shanahan, a former longtime executive at the aerospace giant Boeing, needs Senate confirmation for the post most recently held by James Mattis. "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," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on Twitter.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan started his first day on the job Tuesday with a welcome memo that asserted the Pentagon “remains focused on safeguarding our nation” under the direction of President Trump. “As acting secretary of defense, I now look forward to working with President Trump to carry out his vision alongside strong leaders including the service secretaries, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commanders, and senior personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense,” Shanahan wrote. “The Department of Defense continues to be one of our nation’s bedrock institutions. Our foundational strength lies in the remarkable...

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Defense Secretary James Mattis will depart the Pentagon by January 1, a date earlier than anticipated, and will appoint Patrick Shanahan as acting Secretary. The president’s announcement, made via Twitter, comes days after Mattis stunned Washington by announcing his resignation, prompted by what the former marine said were policy differences with Trump. Shanahan is the Pentagon’s number 2 official.

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. During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting....

More than 100 House Democrats told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday he should not send additional military personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border. A handful of ranking members from related House committees and 104 rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers sent the top Pentagon official a letter Thursday to say, first and foremost, they do not approve of the operation

In March of 2012, Senator Jeff Sessions had a shocking exchange with Leon Panetta, Obama’s CIA Director. In the exchange caught on video, you can see General Kelly, the current White House Chief of Staff, sitting smugly behind Panetta. I find it very revealing that Kelly is present at this controversial time during the Obama administration, and now he is guarding President Donald Trump as White House Chief of Staff. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s declaration before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the President should not consult the Congress but look to the globalist power of NATO and the...

A trio of retired generals is urging Defense Secretary James Mattis not to delay accepting transgender recruits into the military after reports that the Pentagon chief was considering such a move. “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has stated that he will make personnel decisions based on evidence about what best promotes force readiness,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, retired Army Major Gen. Gale Pollock and retired Army Brig. Gen. Clara Adams-Ender wrote in a statement provided to The Hill.

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The White House is giving the Pentagon greater flexibility to determine the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, in another move by President Trump to shift greater power to his military leaders. The decision will give Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the authority to send more forces into Syria, to assist U.S.-backed local troops as they move to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State group, which has used the city as a de facto capital. It will also let him adjust the force numbers in Iraq, in the ongoing fight to oust ISIS from Mosul and stabilize it as...