Tag Archives: Air Force

The 19th News: Thousands of LGBTQ+ veterans were supposed to get pardons. A year later, only four have succeeded.

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President Biden pledged to use his clemency powers to right ‘an historic wrong.’ Why did it fall so short of its promise?

The email came while James Harter was on vacation with his husband in Quebec City, Canada. He was checking his computer in their RV when he read the no-nonsense subject line: Certificate of Pardon.

He had no idea just how uncommon that email was ….

Fast forward one year:

Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have been erased under the new administration’s zeal to refocus the military on lethality. Thousands of transgender service members are being discharged and banned from serving. And the Pentagon is considering renaming ships, including the USNS Harvey Milk, named for the slain gay rights activist and veteran who was discharged over his sexuality, among other ships that don’t fit a “warrior” ethos. 

While The War Horse had previously reported on the low number of pardon applications for LGBTQ+ veterans, records disclosed last month by the Office of the U.S. Pardon Attorney are the first to reveal just how few have been granted: two from the Navy, one from the Air Force, and one from the Army.

What a difference a year makes, when bigots like Hegseth & Trump are now running the show.

Thousands of LGBTQ+ veterans were supposed to get pardons. A year later, only four have succeeded.
Thousands of veterans separated from the military due their sexuality qualified for pardons under Biden, only four got one.
Leah Rosenbaum, The War Horse Archives
The 19th is an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy.

https://19thnews.org/author/leah-rosenbaum-the-war-horse

Atlantic: The Shame of Trump’s Parade

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Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

Today—250 years since the Continental Army officially formed to fight for the independence of the American colonies against the British monarchy—marks a milestone in President Donald Trump’s effort to politicize the U.S. military. Though they are rare, military parades have happened before in Washington, D.C. For the most part, these have been celebrations of military achievements, such as the end of a war. But today is also Trump’s birthday, and what he and his supporters have planned is a celebration of Trump himself.

A mark of a free society is that its public institutions, especially its military, represent the body politic and the freedom-enabling equal rights that structure civic life. If service members and the public begin to believe that the military is not neutral but is in fact the servant of MAGA, this will threaten the military’s legitimacy and increase the likelihood of violent conflict between the military and the public. Today’s events bring us one step closer to this disaster.

And a few lies, none of which are true:

The organizers have made it abundantly clear that today’s purpose is to directly laud Trump and his politics. In promotional materials, they tell us, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Army has been restored to strength and readiness.” They credit his “America First agenda” for military pay increases, enlarged weapons stockpiles, new technologies, and improvements in recruitment, declaring that he has “ensured our soldiers have the tools and support they need to win on any battlefield.”

As the Trump-aggrandizing bullshit piles up:

Monica Crowley, the State Department’s chief of protocol and a former Fox News host, went on Steve Bannon’s podcast WarRoom to say that the concurrence of the U.S. Army’s anniversary and Trump’s birthday is “providential.” She called it “meant to be. Hand of God, for sure.” She added, “It is really a gift, and we want to be sure that we celebrate in a manner that is fitting, not just of this extraordinary president but of our extraordinary country.” She also expressed hope that the crowd would serenade the president with “Happy Birthday.” Clearly, Trump isn’t merely the guest of honor; he is the reason for the party.

The Shame of Trump’s Parade
Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/06/250th-anniversary-army-parade/683162

New York Magazine: Playing Secretary — Could These Be Pete Hegseth’s Last Days in the Pentagon?

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As war looms, Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon is beset by infighting over leaks, drugs, and socks. How long will Trump stand by his man?

In the drama of Hegseth’s January confirmation hearings, it was easy to get distracted by the financial settlement for an assault allegation, by the multitudinous accounts of heavy drinking on the job, by claims of misogyny from both his mother and his sister-in-law, by the fact that Hegseth, while married with three small children, had fathered a child with a Fox News producer who was also married with small children, during which pregnancy he had slept with the woman who later accused him of assault, and thereby miss some straightforward information about his managerial experience.

Pete Hegseth had run a nonprofit called Veterans for Freedom for several years, an organization that employed fewer than 20 people, and resigned after alleged financial mismanagement nearly bankrupted the organization. He had run a group called Concerned Veterans for America, which employed around 160 people, and resigned amid allegations of misconduct and, once again, financial mismanagement.

In choosing Hegseth, Donald Trump did not choose from the large set of people who had never managed an organization, or the considerably smaller set of people who had managed an organization without incident, but from a smaller still set of people who had managed multiple bureaucracies and resigned multiple times under complex circumstances.

It’s a good read but a bit long. Click the link below to read the entire article:

Could These Be Pete Hegseth’s Last Days in the Pentagon?
archived 13 Jun 2025 19:07:18 UTC

https://archive.is/xG4FF#selection-1205.0-1209.128

Atlanta Black Star News: ‘This Is So Targeted and Intentional’: New U.S. Military Grooming Policy Is ‘Racist,’ Singles Out Black Servicemembers, Critics Say

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Several branches of the United States military have changed their policies governing pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition more commonly known as razor bumps or ingrown hairs, which affects more Black men than any other group.

Now critics accuse the military of targeting Black men with the condition, even as past studies have shown those with medical waivers allowing them to have short beards were already lagging behind in promotions compared to their non-waivered counterparts.

In March, the U.S. Marine Corps issued new guidance on its shaving waivers that could result in the expulsion of service members with a recurring condition of PFB. The Air Force and Space Force also updated their guidance on grooming waivers in January.

Pete Hegseth’s military: Women and minorities need no apply. Screw ya!

‘This Is So Targeted and Intentional’: New U.S. Military Grooming Policy Is ‘Racist,’ Singles Out Black Servicemembers, Critics Say
Several branches of the United States military have changed their policies governing pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition more
‘This Is So Targeted and Intentional’: New U.S. Military Grooming Policy Is ‘Racist,’ Singles Out Black Servicemembers, Critics Say

Associated Press: Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon

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Bedeviled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late Friday that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon without a government escort — areas where the press has had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world’s most powerful military.

Newly restricted areas include his office and those of his top aides and all of the different locations across the mammoth building where the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force maintain press offices.

The media will also be barred from offices of the Pentagon’s senior military leadership, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, without Hegseth’s approval and an escort from his aides. The staff of the Joint Chiefs has traditionally maintained a good relationship with the press.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Step out of line, the men come and take you away

Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered further restrictions on how the press operates at the Pentagon.

https://apnews.com/article/military-pentagon-hegseth-press-access-ff9ed0431848cae8816108a8b19c640f

MSNBC: Trump admin accepts jet from Qatar, ignoring legal restrictions and bipartisan pushback

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Team Trump’s decision to accept the Qatari “gift” doesn’t end the controversy; it starts the controversy.

The Times’ report added that the Defense Department “has not given an estimate of when the work on the Qatari plane might be done, even though Mr. Trump and the White House have made clear the president wants it soon, perhaps even by the end of the year.”

What the president “wants” is likely to prove irrelevant: NBC News recently reported that converting the luxury jet will “take years to complete.”

Indeed, it’s worth emphasizing that the administration’s decision to accept the Qatari “gift” doesn’t end the controversy; it starts the controversy.

Now that this plan is moving forward, the president and his White House team should prepare for a series of questions for which there are no easy answers. Where will Trump find the money to pay for this “free” plane? Why does he keep pretending that this “gift” isn’t for him personally, even after he’s publicly suggested otherwise? How does Trump intend to overcome the seemingly obvious fact that the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause still exists, and it appears to prohibit exactly this kind of arrangement?

Why was Attorney General Pam Bondi involved in approving this process after having served as a paid registered lobbyist for Qatar? How does Trump plan to explain away his earlier condemnations of presidents accepting foreign gifts? Why is the president apparently indifferent to the fact that even many of his Republican allies have expressed opposition to this idea? Will Congress have any role in approving the transfer, as is required for such gestures of international generosity?

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-admin-accepts-jet-qatar-ignoring-legal-restrictions-bipartisan-p-rcna208306

Daily Beast: Trump’s Joint Chiefs Pick Throws Prez Under the Bus in Confirmation Hearing

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President Donald Trump’s pick to be chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff refused to lie for the president and instead threw his prospective boss under the bus at a confirmation hearing.

Retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine told a Senate committee on Tuesday morning that he was not wearing a red MAGA hat when he first met Trump in Iraq in 2018—after the president claimed he was.

“For 34 years, I’ve upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission,” Caine told Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, according to Politico. “And I have never worn any political merchandise.”

Trump’s Joint Chiefs Pick Throws Prez Under the Bus in Confirmation Hearing

Trump’s Joint Chiefs Pick Throws Prez Under the Bus in Confirmation Hearing

Defense One: Space Force may use SpaceX satellites instead of developing its own, senator says

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The satellites in question are part of the data transport layer of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

More shameless corruption benefitting Musk:

The Air Force may cancel the development of hundreds of Space Development Agency satellites and give the work to SpaceX, one senator said Thursday—a move that would shut out other companies hoping to bid. 

The satellites in question are part of the data transport layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a planned network of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit.

…

Cutting these bids “means maybe eight, or more, small-, mid-sized companies would not be allowed to bid,” Cramer said.

Space Force may use SpaceX satellites instead of developing its own, senator says
The satellites in question are part of the data transport layer of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Space Force may use SpaceX satellites instead of developing its own, senator says – Defense One

The Hill: House Republican on war plans chat: ‘There’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff’

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Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said there’s “no doubt” that Russia and China were monitoring the U.S. officials’ devices used for a war plan text chat.

“I will guarantee you, 99.99 percent with confidence, Russia and China are monitoring those two phones,” Bacon told CNN’s Manu Raju. “So I just think it’s a security violation, and there’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff within hours of the actual attacks on Yemen or the Houthis.”

National security adviser Mike Waltz reportedly invited The Atlantic’s top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, into the Signal group, in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared secret war plans.

Bacon, a former Air Force brigadier general and a member of the House Armed Services committee, said he always was concerned about Hegseth, an Army veteran who was a longtime Fox News host.

Bacon called the group chat, which also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President Vance, among others, a “gross error.”

“They intentionally put highly classified information on an unclassified device,” he told CNN. “I would have lost my security clearance in the Air Force for this and for a lot less.”

House Republican on war plans chat: ‘There’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff’
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said there’s “no doubt” that Russia and China were monitoring the U.S. officials’ devices used for a war plan text chat. “I will guarantee you, 99.99 percent with conf…

Don Bacon says Russia, China likely saw war plans group chat