Personnel
Why the US went to war without a plan to evacuate DOD civilians, contractors, and others
A diplomatic veteran cites operational secrecy—and describes how things might have gone better.
Exclusive
CISA nominee: I left Coast Guard to address GOP hold
Sean Plankey told Nextgov he was reacting to lawmakers' concerns about his shipbuilding ties.
Move over, Best Ranger; the Army’s looking for the best drone pilots
The Huntsville competition is also meant to shape the selection and training of unmanned systems operators.
CISA to furlough most of its workforce under impending DHS shutdown
The shutdown would also slow ongoing revamps of a major cyber incident reporting rule that was signed into law in 2022, acting director Madhu Gottumukkala said this week.
Exclusive
Some Army civilians worked during the shutdown—and were told to say they didn’t
What started as confusion became a coverup, employees and emails say.
White House initiates shutdown process as Congress hopes to keep duration minimal
Impacted employees will soon receive furlough notices, though they could still avoid missing any time.
JAGs are becoming federal prosecutors in Minneapolis. Experts warn it’s new territory
Military lawyers have served as special assistant U.S. attorneys before, but never like this.
Sen. Kelly’s lawyers say Pentagon is attempting to violate his constitutional rights
In a court filing, they say that DOJ erred in asserting that retired military officers can be punished for speaking out against DOD policies.
Air Force revives a deployment concept used for the GWOT—with a few twists
Air Expeditionary Wing 2.0 is the latest move away from Biden-era attempts to orient the force toward China.
Space Force probably needs twice as many guardians, vice chief says
The service’s budget and constellation have doubled since its founding, Gen. Shawn Bratton noted.
As combat evolves, leaders seek not ‘super-athletes’ but ‘human weapon systems’
The military wants to measure and build the ability to perform missions, not just do pushups.
Sen. Kelly sues Hegseth over penalties for 'illegal orders' video
The combat veteran's 46-page suit says Trump administration attempts to punish him violate the First Amendment, separation of powers, due process, and more.
Hegseth aims to dock Sen. Kelly's pension for illegal-orders video
The defense secretary, who originally threatened to court-martial the senator, said on Monday said that he would instead try to reduce his rank and retirement pay.
2025 in review: policy
A turbulent first year of the second Trump administration brought precedent-breaking security strategy and hasty cuts to the DOD workforce.
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Leaders tapped to fill months-long vacancies atop NSA, Cyber Command
The signals-intelligence titan and the combatant command have been without a permanent leader since April.
Trump rebrands Congressionally-approved troop housing subsidy as ‘warrior dividend’ bonus
More than $2.9 billion in reconciliation funds was allocated to beef up troop housing allowances. Now it’s being used for $1,776 checks.
