Reuters reports unnamed officials in the Biden administration say a new $1 billion weapons package is waiting for the president’s signature. The next arms transfer will be the 18th since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Department of Defense
Pentagon Struggles to Recruit Young Americans, Army Waives High School Graduation Requirement
A record low number of America’s youth are eligible for military service, and fewer are considering the military as a career. According to a report from NBC News, every branch of the Department of Defense is struggling to meet its 2022 recruitment quotas. The military is rolling out new tactics to drive recruitment, including exploiting the new Top Gun movie, utilizing TikTok and removing the requirement that soldiers complete high school. The Pentagon assesses that less than a quarter of young Americans meet the Pentagon’s standards for recruits. Only 23% of citizens aged 17-24 are...
6/3/22 Tom Secker on the Pentagon’s Control Over Top Gun: Maverick
Download Episode. Scott interviewed British journalist Tom Secker about the Pentagon’s role in producing Top Gun: Maverick. The Department of Defense has an entire office set up to work with Hollywood. They give producers access to some military personnel as well as equipment in exchange for the final say over the script. Secker has gone through many documents over the years to find exactly what the military has changed in popular films. But with the Top Gun movies, the relationship is on a whole other level. Secker lays out the history of the first film, the sequel that got scrapped...
Press Release: Survivors of Israel’s Strike on USS Liberty Commemorate 55th Year
Survivors and of the brutal Israeli military attack against the American communications vessel U.S.S. Liberty will gather at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. on June 8 to commemorate the memories of 34 Americans who were killed and host a 55 year reunion at the Holiday Inn Arlington, Virginia on June 6-9. While patrolling in international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was savagely attacked without warning or justification by air and naval forces of the State of Israel. Of a crew of 294 officers and men, including three civilians, 34 crew...
IG Report: Army Risks Wasting Nearly $22 Billion on Visual Augmentation System
A Department of Defense Inspector General report on the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program reveals potentially billions in waste. The Pentagon audit found, “IVAS program officials did not define minimum user acceptance levels to determine whether IVAS would meet user needs. This occurred because Army policy did not require program officials to define suitable user acceptance levels. Procuring IVAS without attaining user acceptance could result in wasting up to $21.88 billion in taxpayer funds to field a system that Soldiers may not want to use or use as...
Afghan Translator Alleges American Soldiers Tortured an Afghan Commando Before He Died
A Department of Defense investigation into the death of an Afghan commando includes evidence the man was tortured while in US custody and died hours later. Eight Green Berets received reprimands for their role in the soldier's death. On October 22, 2018, Wahidullah Khan opened fire on three Czech soldiers, killing Cpl. Tomáš Procházka and wounding two others. Khan, an Afghan commando, was suspected of infiltrating NATO's training program and then carrying out an "insider attack." Khan was then arrested by Afghan forces and handed over to NATO - American and Czech - soldiers for...
Biden’s Budget Includes Billions for Cyber Warfare
The White House released a massive $5.8 trillion budget for the 2023 fiscal year on Monday. The spending proposal calls for the Pentagon to receive $11.2 billion for cyber operations, and $11 billion will be distributed to the rest of America’s domestic government agencies for various cyber projects. Under the spending plan, the Pentagon will expand its Cyber Command’s Cyber Mission Force (CMF). Five new teams will be added to the CMF, bringing the total to 142. According to a Department of Defense fact sheet, part of the team’s mission is to carry out offensive cyber operations...
Pentagon Report Blames Poor Leadership, ‘Culture of Complacency’ for Deadly 2020 Attack in Kenya
The Department of Defense has issued two reviews of the 2020 al-Shabaab attack on the Camp Simba military base in Kenya that killed three Americans. The reports name poor leadership, inadequate training and a “culture of complacency” as the leading causes that allowed the attack to succeed, according to sources that spoke to the AP before the report was released. The attack under review occurred on January 5, 2020 in Manda Bay, Kenya, where al-Shabaab – a Somalia-based jihadist faction – carried out a pre-dawn raid initiated by launching an RPG at an American surveillance aircraft. The...
Pentagon Chief Extends DC Troop Deployment
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has agreed to extend a National Guard deployment on the streets of the nation's capital – set to face down the anti-Covid mandate “People’s Convoy” as the American public remains fixated on Russia’s war on Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced the move on Monday, saying the Department of Defense had extended the “previously approved National Guard support in the District, including around the US Capitol area.” Austin first authorized the 700-troop deployment in late February, which was set to expire Monday. The National Guard will provide...
COI #202: Biden Tries to Divide the World
On COI #202, Kyle Anzalone discusses how President Joe Biden’s effort to create a ‘Democratic’ bloc of countries is dividing the world into camps. The camps are not “democracy” versus “autocracy” as Biden claims. Rather, the divide is between the current American-led order and countries seeking an independent foreign policy. Kyle breaks down the latest tensions between the US and Russia. Biden appears to have slightly stepped down from the height of tensions, though he still refuses to recognize Russia’s sphere of influence. Kyle updates the investigation into the August Kabul drone...
Shop Our Books
Voluntaryist Handbook
Hotter Than The Sun: Time To Abolish Nuclear Weapons
[playlist artists="false" images="false"...