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Pentagon Confiscates Foreign Reporter’s Phone During Official Flight

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The Pentagon confiscated a foreign reporter’s phone and forbade them from using all electronic devices while traveling with the deputy secretary of defense.

The situation unfolded during Dr. Kathleen Hicks’ flight to Norway on Sunday, which was first reported by Politico.

Before the plane took off, the reporter from Reuters was told of a new rule forbidding foreigners flying in Air Force planes using top secret classifications from using their electronic devices.

Shortly after they took off, a public affairs official asked the reporter to hand over their phone, and was told that they couldn’t use their computer or AirPods, Politico reported citing a person on the trip. Another journalist on the trip, who is a U.S. citizen, did not have to give up their phone. (Read more from “Pentagon Confiscates Foreign Reporter’s Phone During Official Flight” HERE)

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Pentagon Officials Haven’t Contacted Russian Counterparts in ‘Several Weeks’

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Top U.S. military leaders have not attempted to reach their Russian counterparts in “several weeks” after their previous efforts were rebuffed.

The United States had repeatedly tried to arrange conversations between Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and his Russian counterpart, Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, as well as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, but they have not spoken since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

Milley’s spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that the Joint Chiefs haven’t reached out to set up a call between Milley and Gerasimov in “several weeks.”

“It’s been quite some time — certainly, many weeks — since we’ve attempted another communication with Minister Shoigu,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. “And there has not been much interest shown by the Russians in having that conversation.”

Milley’s last conversation with Gerasimov took place Feb. 11, and Joint Staff spokesman Col. Dave Butler said at the time, “The military leaders discussed several security-related issues of concern. In accordance with past practice, both have agreed to keep the specific details of their conversation private.” (Read more from “Pentagon Officials Haven’t Contacted Russian Counterparts in ‘Several Weeks'” HERE)

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Sex, Lies, and UFOs: Pentagon’s Head of Counterintelligence and Security Ousted

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As the Pentagon’s Director for Defense Intelligence and a senior executive in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security OUSD(I&S), Garry Reid was in charge of all counterintelligence, security, and law enforcement operations within the Department of Defense.

This, in addition to heading up the Afghanistan Crisis Action Group, the office tasked with evacuating Afghan refugees during America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Now, in an exclusive, The Debrief has learned that Reid was recently dismissed from his responsibilities within the U.S. government.

Before his ousting as Director of Defense Intelligence, Reid had been the subject of a nearly two-year-long investigation by The Debrief. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, multiple current and former Pentagon employees told The Debrief Reid had engaged in wide-ranging misconduct and corruption for years.

In the past four years, the DoD’s Inspector General’s Office had investigated Reid on numerous allegations, including maintaining a sexual relationship with a subordinate employee, sexual harassment, and fostering a hostile work environment. (Read more from “Sex, Lies, and UFOs: Pentagon’s Head of Counterintelligence and Security Ousted” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Pentagon Worried the ‘Nintendo Generation’ Can’t Survive Boot Camp Because Their Bones Are Weak

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The Department of Defense has once again shown its age and its disdain for those daggon kids and their daggum Nintendos.

An early February press release, put out by the Military Health System, took aim at 18-to-25-year-olds and suggested that they’re having a hard time making it through boot camp because their bones are brittle from playing too many video games.

“Today’s recruits are coming from a far more sedentary lifestyle compared to previous generations, making their skeletons more prone to injuries because they’re not used to the kind of intense activity they will face at basic training,” reads the release.

But wait, it gets better. The statement even includes a few new Pentagon buzzwords and catchphrases.

“The ‘Nintendo Generation’ soldier skeleton is not toughened by activity prior to arrival, so some of them break more easily,” said Maj. Jon-Marc Thibodeau, a clinical coordinator at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. (Side note: “Nintendo Generation soldier skeleton” is an excellent idea for a band name or a DARPA project.) (Read more from “Pentagon Worried the ‘Nintendo Generation’ Can’t Survive Boot Camp Because Their Bones Are Weak” HERE)

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Pentagon Using Taxpayer Funds to Buy More COVID Tests Made in China

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In the wake of the Biden administration’s decision to offer no-cost COVID tests to Americans, the Pentagon announced on Friday that the Department of Defense, working with the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded contract modifications to two companies to purchase 138 million over-the-counter COVID tests. But there’s a problem.

The contracts announced by the Pentagon are with Roche Diagnostics Corporation and Siemens Healthineers.

In at least the case of the Siemens test, the company’s site directs readers to an Amazon listing for their at-home antigen rapid tests which reveal an obvious conclusion: the country of origin is China. The other company, Roche Diagnostics, doesn’t have as readily available information on its test kits. But a release on an earlier contract mentions the tests are produced with Roche partner SD Biosensor, a South Korean manufacturer. Better than China, but still not great to know that the United States is dependent on other countries for supplies used in a public health emergency. (Read more from “Pentagon Using Taxpayer Funds to Buy More COVID Tests Made in China” HERE)

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Pentagon Says Almost 450 Americans – Not 100 – Are Still in Afghanistan

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Nearly 450 American citizens are estimated to remain in Afghanistan almost two months after U.S. troops withdrew from the country, according to the Pentagon.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken originally said the Biden administration believed there to be “under 200, and likely closer to 100, who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave,” on Aug. 30, the day before the last Anerican troops left Afghanistan.

“In terms of how many American citizens we estimate are currently in Afghanistan, the Department of State is in contact with 196 American citizens who are ready to depart – and arrangements are being made for them to do so, either via air or over ground,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said at a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing Tuesday.

“Another 243 American citizens have been contacted and are not ready to depart, either because they want to stay in Afghanistan or aren’t ready,” he added, bringing the total number of citizens remaining to 439. (Read more from “Pentagon Says Almost 450 Americans – Not 100 – Are Still in Afghanistan” HERE)

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The Pentagon’s Vaccine Mandate Is Driving Yet Another Wedge Between Troops and Leadership

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The Pentagon’s vaccine mandate for all military service members is creating a divide among troops and leadership, and some of the former group are choosing to leave the service entirely rather than be forced to get vaccinated.

A substantial number of the military’s most elite operators, including Navy SEALs and fighter pilots, are seeking an exemption from the vaccine mandate, and many of those individuals are planning a change of career if an exemption is not granted, the Daily Caller has learned. Active members of multiple branches of the armed services, who spoke to the Daily Caller on the condition of anonymity so they could speak freely, described being subjected to pressure campaigns and experiencing worsening morale as the Pentagon rolls out its mandate before the end of the year.

Davis Younts, an attorney representing dozens of troops who are seeking religious or medical accommodations for the vaccine mandate, said that most of his clients are not going to comply with the mandate even if they aren’t granted an exemption. “My clients, the guys I’m representing, and the SEALs I’ve spoken to, are what we’re calling ‘hard no’s’… that means you’re going to submit a religious accommodation request, you’re going to submit a medical exemption based on where you’re at… and then if it’s not approved, they’re not going to take the vaccine.”

The direct consequences for refusing a lawful order to get vaccinated are unclear as of now, and will likely vary from case to case. Republicans on Capitol Hill have wrestled with the Biden administration and Pentagon leadership on whether or not those who refuse the mandate can be dishonorably discharged, and the Army has said that “continued failure to comply could result in administrative or non-judicial punishment – to include relief of duties or discharge.”

Younts, whose dozens clients include a variety of servicemembers from multiple Navy fighter pilots to a growing list of SEALs, said that uncertainty exists even for those who do get an accommodation. (Read more from “The Pentagon’s Vaccine Mandate Is Driving Yet Another Wedge Between Troops and Leadership” HERE)

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/32006622188

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Pentagon Tech Chief Quits in Frustration, Says U.S. Has No “Fighting Chance” Against China; Ex-Pentagon Official: U.S. Has Lost the Technology Battle to China

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By Futurism. In a blistering new interview with the Financial Times, the Pentagon’s former chief software officer said that he resigned in protest of slow technological innovation in the United States — and, in a provocative twist, opined that China is dominating in the space, particularly at developing advanced artificial intelligence.

“We have no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years,” Nicolas Chaillan, who quit the Defense Department in September, told the newspaper in his first interview since leaving the post. “Right now, it’s already a done deal; it is already over in my opinion.”

Chaillan’s complaints are numerous. He blasted cybersecurity in some parts of the US government as “kindergarten level,” decried lack of cooperation between the US military and its tech sector, and said that he had wasted his time “fixing basic cloud things and laptops.”

Most of all, though, he seems furious that China is pulling ahead in the realms of artificial intelligence, machine learning and cyberattack capability. In a particularly grim critique, he complained that US tech giants like Google have been hesitant to dive into particularly controversial AI research, whereas Beijing isn’t held back by those pesky ethical debates. (Read more from “Pentagon Tech Chief Quits in Frustration, Says U.S. Has No “Fighting Chance” Against China” HERE)

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Ex-Pentagon Official: U.S. Has Lost the Technology Battle to China

By Washington Examiner. The former inaugural chief software officer at the Pentagon said he believes the United States has already lost the technological battle against China.

Nicolas Chaillan, 37, who worked for three years on a Department of Defense-wide effort to enhance cybersecurity and became the first chief software officer of the Air Force , resigned last month in part due to his belief that the U.S. is getting outmaneuvered by foreign powers.

“We have no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years. Right now, it’s already a done deal; it is already over in my opinion,” he told the Financial Times in an article published on Sunday, adding there was “good reason to be angry.”

Chaillan argued that the emerging technological advances and developments pose a much more important aspect to defense than commonly thought of military hardware, such as fighter jets.

Some of the U.S. cyberdefense systems are at a “kindergarten level,” he said, later noting that China is angling to dominate the military sphere in the future. Even though the U.S. still spends more than three times on defense as the Chinese do, Chaillan said much of that funding is being spent on the wrong things and that bureaucracy and regulations play a role in it, too. (Read more from “Ex-Pentagon Official: U.S. Has Lost the Technology Battle to China” HERE)

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Durham Investigates Pentagon Contractors Who Helped Clinton Campaign Plot Russia Hoax

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Cybersecurity experts who held lucrative Pentagon and homeland security contracts and high-level security clearances are under investigation for potentially abusing their government privileges to aid a 2016 Clinton campaign plot to falsely link Donald Trump to Russia and trigger an FBI investigation of him and his campaign, according to several sources familiar with the work of Special Counsel John Durham.

Durham is investigating whether they were involved in a scheme to misuse sensitive, nonpublic internet data, which they had access to through their government contracts, to dredge up derogatory information on Trump on behalf of the Clinton campaign in 2016 and again in 2017, sources say — political dirt that sent FBI investigators on a wild goose chase. Prosecutors are also investigating whether some of the data presented to the FBI was faked or forged.

These sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive law enforcement matter, said Durham’s investigators have subpoenaed the contractors to turn over documents and testify before a federal grand jury hearing the case. The investigators are exploring potential criminal charges including giving false information to federal agents and defrauding the government, the sources said.

The campaign plot was outlined by Durham last month in a 27-page indictment charging former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann with making a false report to the FBI. The document cites eight individuals who allegedly conspired with Sussmann, but does not identify them by name. (Read more from “Durham Investigates Pentagon Contractors Who Helped Clinton Campaign Plot Russia Hoax” HERE)

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GOP Lawmakers Warn Against More Military Coordination With Russia

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Top Republicans in the House and Senate on Monday pushed back on the Pentagon’s recent call to increase coordination between the U.S. and Russian militaries, saying they were “deeply troubled” by the news.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley last week said U.S. and Russian forces should “have an effective means of military-to-military communications in order to clearly understand each other’s positions on very difficult issues” and help “de-escalate any kind of crisis situation.”

Milley’s comments come as the U.S. government is hoping to make inroads with Russia to gain Moscow’s help in fighting extremist groups in Afghanistan.

With the U.S. military completely out of Afghanistan as of Aug. 31, Biden administration officials want to secure basing rights and counterterrorism support in the nations that border the country.

But such interactions could have negative consequences, according to the ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Armed Services Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Armed Services Committee. (Read more from “GOP Lawmakers Warn Against More Military Coordination With Russia” HERE)

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