Pentagon denies striking mosque in Syria, says it killed al Qaeda militants

The Pentagon on Friday denied accusations by a Syrian rebel group that the United States had targeted a mosque in Syria and, in a rare move, showed an aerial image to illustrate the mosque was intact and the building destroyed was in fact across the street. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis, addressing a Pentagon news […]

Exclusive: U.S. weighs deploying up to 1,000 ‘reserve’ troops for IS fight

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is weighing a deployment of up to 1,000 American soldiers to Kuwait to serve as a reserve force in the fight against Islamic State as U.S.-backed fighters accelerate the offensive in Syria and Iraq, U.S. officials told Reuters. Proponents of the option, which has not been previously reported, said it […]

Trump calls for a $54 billion increase on defense spending

According to White House Budget Officials, President Trump is preparing to unveil his new defense spending plan, which will include adding $54 billion to the existing defense budget, and cutting the same from non-defense related costs, including a large reduction in foreign aid. “This budget will be a public safety and national security budget,” Trump […]

Pentagon: ‘Conditions have been set’ for ISIS defeat in western Mosul

Air Force Colonel John Dorrian conducted a press briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday, in which he indicated that the progress made by coalition forces and the Iraqi military in recent days will have reverberating effects throughout the ISIS command structure, and will eventually lead to their defeat. The ISIS-controlled area is “shrinking steadily with […]

Read James Mattis’ letter to the Pentagon after being sworn in as SECDEF

James Mattis, fabled Marine general and newly appointed secretary of defense, wasted no time getting to work after being approved for the role in a near-unanimous 98-1 vote following President Trump’s inauguration on Friday. Mattis arrived at the Pentagon on Saturday morning, marking his first visit to the site under his authority, but would not […]

The Buzz CAS-kill: Who needs A-10s?

This article previously published by SOFREP 12.09.2013 Retired General T. Michael “Buzz” Moseley, who, you will recall from my last post, jumped into the sequestration dialogue again, this time stating it’s time to give the A-10 the axe. The Air Force, considering “divesting” entire mission sets, has stated eliminating the A-10s would save approximately $3.5 […]

The most expensive F-35 variant has hit another major snag that could take years to fix

The Pentagon has established a “red team” to address considerable shortcomings with the F-35C, the carrier-based naval variant of the most expensive weapons project in history. The F-35, subject to cost overruns and delays throughout its production, reached an initial state of military readiness with its Air Force and Marine variants in 2016, but the Navy’s […]

Leading Senate Democrat requests copy of Pentagon waste report

Washington, D.C. – A leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested a copy of a Pentagon report that identified $125 billion in administrative waste. The 2015 report, first identified in a report by The Washington Post, purportedly contains recommendations to streamline and reduce the Department of Defense’s administrative bureaucracy and to reinvest […]

Obama celebrates counter-terrorism achievments, pushes back against Trump proposals

Washington, D.C. – In what was billed as the final major national security address of his administration, President Barack Obama took a victory lap for his counterterrorism achievements in remarks made to Special Operations and Central Command officials at MacDill Air Force Base. The Dec. 6 speech also doubled a thinly veiled rebuttal to the […]

Trump administration urged to reassess use of Special Operations Forces in Counterterror

Washington, D.C. – A leading think tank told the Senate Armed Services Committee Dec. 6 that the incoming Trump Administration should undertake an assessment of special operations forces as part of any new counterterrorism strategy. The incoming Trump administration will have the burden to ensure SOF is enveloped into the Pentagon structure appropriately with new […]