Ideas
Propaganda, the President, and the ‘Reopen’ Protesters
The military’s nostalgic WWII-style posters urge face masks and national unity, but they’re not reaching Trump and his disbelieving followers.
Science & Tech
Artificial Intelligence Outperforms Human Intel Analysts In a Key Area
A Defense Intelligence Agency experiment shows AI and humans have different risk tolerances when data is scarce.
Policy
Pentagon’s ‘Willingness to Kiss the President’s Ass’ Worries Top Lawmaker
‘I am worried about a culture developing,’ says House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., after the latest delay in Navy captain’s fate.
Policy
Pentagon Blasts Lawmakers’ Critique Of COVID-19 Response
Democratic lawmakers accused SecDef of leading a “disjointed and slow” response to the pandemic.
Science & Tech
Zoom or Not? NSA Offers Guidance for Choosing a Videochat App
The crypto agency has a list of questions for federal employees and contractors to ask as they choose a collaboration tool.
Ideas
Do You Miss Baseball? Here’s How the Pentagon Might Have Predicted the Nationals’ World Series Upset
Red teaming can help spot flawed assumptions, root out dangerous biases—and explain how oddsmakers got the Nats-Astros matchup so wrong.
Policy
Reinstate Capt. Crozier to USS Roosevelt, Navy Tells Esper
The decision now rests with Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Ideas
The Defense Department Needs a Real Technology Strategy
To succeed in a long-term competition with China, the Department needs a transparent process to set spending priorities — not conflicting guidance and a shifting range of interests.
Business
Pentagon Urges Mexico to Reopen COVID-Closed Factories That Supply US Weapon Makers
A surprising number of America’s defense manufacturers rely on parts made south of the border.
Threats
Inside the Wild Final Week of the Acting Navy Secretary
How it all fell apart for Thomas Modly in seven days that included a two-plane, 50-hour trip to chastise a fired skipper to his sailors aboard a COVID-stricken aircraft carrier.
Ideas
Haircuts in a Time of Coronavirus?
There have been too many confusing messages during this crisis. Senior military and civilian leaders should be enforcing social distancing as much as discipline, and with one voice.
Policy
Pentagon IG: We Can’t Rule Out White House Influence on JEDI Award
A 300-page investigation reveals multiple ethics violations and a refusal by Defense Department General Counsel to let senior officials comment on communications with the White House.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Isn't Following the Cyber Steps It Asks from Suppliers, GAO Says
The Defense Department has yet to fully implement multiple initiatives to track and improve cyber defenses.
Threats
Did the Coronavirus Escape from a Chinese Lab? Here’s What the Pentagon Says
Gen. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, directly addressed ‘rumor and speculation’ that COVID-19 is a made-in-China weapon of war.
Business
Pentagon Orders 60 Machines that Disinfect Desperately Needed N95 Masks
Each Battelle-made machine can clean up to 80,000 masks per day, allowing healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients to reuse them up to 20 times.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Supercomputers Puzzle Out How to Safely Airlift Coronavirus Patients
And that's just one of the various pandemic-related problems that Defense Department supercomputers are chewing on.
Threats
Wear Homemade Masks If You Can't Get Real Ones, Pentagon Tells Its People
N95 respirators and surgical masks will be reserved for health care workers and patients, the Defense Department said in a series of memos this week.
Policy
US Military Can Do More to Help with Coronavirus, House Armed Services Chief Says
The House Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat says the Pentagon needs to “get creative” in its response.
Policy
Trump Removes Acting Pentagon IG Slated to Lead Pandemic Oversight
Glenn Fine was ousted from the Defense Department’s acting IG position on Monday.
Policy