Yet another step the Pentagon is taking… maybe a step too far?
Leaders at the Pentagon have significantly altered how military officials will speak with Congress after a pair of new memos issued last week.
In an Oct. 15 memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, ordered Pentagon officials — including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — to obtain permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before they have any communication with Capitol Hill.
Full article, HERE from Military Times.
The Pentagon is notorious for leaks… Going back further than the Pentagon Papers, but the leaks have been there. The number of classified programs that have been ‘leaked’ either intentionally or unintentionally is horrific.
Some of those leaks ‘might’ have been done to salvage other programs that sponsors didn’t want to lose, but I don’t know.
Last week the Pentagon limited the media’s ability to wonder around at will, which is a good start as far as I’m concerned. I personally saw them sniffing around areas I knew they didn’t have access to, trying to get a ‘quote’ from an ‘unnamed source’… sigh
Maybe they can also take a look at acquisition, and fix that CF while they are at it. THAT alone would save billions!!! Teaming ‘requirements’, coddling congresscritters programs, etc. etc…
But I do hope they get the military paid the end of the month. What is being done to them in unconscionable, and the blame falls squarely on the Dems for playing political games with the CR.
If the Food Stamp cards don’t reload on the first, things may get sporty by the 5th.
Yep..unless the government somehow throws the USDA some money right quick . Hungry people get pissed off and desperate . Especially those in states who have complied with newly passed work requirements , and those who have had benefits reduced to pay back overpayments . I was discussing just this morning with my wife . If those EBT/SNAP cards quit working could be more chaos (hate that word) that would fall in line with the rest of the crazy shit going on right now. Those affected would mostly, not all , be part of the Democrat party’s base.
How do military “think tanks” work and come up with conclusions on military/strategic policy if they are indeed out of the info loop ? Are they included in the sharing of info ? I don’t know . How do former retired military , get on news channels and speculate on military issues whilst not having attended a military briefing in years? And lastly how many “anonymous sources” and “former officials familiar with the matter” are dispersing info that may or may not be true , and if true how did they get it .
Yep, damn right there are leaks . Please correct me if I am wrong , as I often am , I’ll admit that . Just some thoughts.
Military Think Tanks (ex. RAND) and Federally Funded Research and Development teams (FFRDC) (ex. MITRE) all work as part of federal funding with associated clearances and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). They are line-items in the budget and operate independently but closely with the associated agencies. Their independence allows them lots of freedom to adjudicate and investigate contracts. When I was with MITRE, one job entailed Supply Chain Analysis for a Nuclear Command and Control project. Another job with them was to build a system that integrated various competitive (big-name) contractors into a final product that would be deployed world-wide.
Was interesting work and neat to do. Some VERY smart people in MITRE. One of directors in my first office went on to become a JASON.
(https://irp.fas.org/agency/dod/jason/)
Good question though!
WN is correct. And they do have clearances. How much is going out the back door? I don’t think much, since they value their jobs and income too much.
It is my understanding that the R’s put forward a standalone bill to pay the military at the end of this month. It was rejected by the D’s, but I don’t know if any votes were taken.
Hey Old NFO,
They need to stop the leaks, how much stuff that gets passed off to our enemies is incredible, I remember the information that got “release when we bagged that Iranian General in 2019? the head of the QUD forces and all around dick. The newspapers had means and methods of intel and told exactly how the operation went
https://mydailykona.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-blue-falcon-award-for-endangering.html
I still remember how the media distorted the Vietnam war and nothing has changed since.
“Previously, individual agencies and military branches within the Pentagon were able to manage their own communications with Congress.”
How many of those agencies had superfluous staff to handle that?
“This challenge falls to a network of approximately 3,800 military and civilian communications professionals who serve as the official voice of America’s armed forces.”
So much waste
That’s a lot of PR folks, but bear in mind even the little base I work on (home of Top Gun) has at least one person on staff and possibly more to deal with the Public.
No, I didn’t see Secretary of War Hegseth this last weekend. He popped in and out, not a lot of public fanfare. I did talk to a few folks who were aware and involved though.
It will never stop, but become smaller when court martials lead to long periods of time in prison, or the guaranteed hanging at sunrise.
In completely unrelated news, Army Counterintelligence just gained some new powers (sort of) to deal with people off post.
Just saying.
I’m all in favor of the 1st Amendment for individuals who attach their names to their free speech. Otherwise, keep it in the family.
Along with individual liberties come individual risks.
Whistle-blowers are a separate category. Leakers are not whistle-blowers, IMO.
Why do we need a Pentagon?
no Pentagon, no leaks, amirite
I have an elaborate scheme to disperse the Pentagon into sixty underground buildings.
Obviously, the communication links would be a security risk, and there is a risk of complete paralysis of the general staff.
But there is an argument that some measures which might result in a untrustworthy and non-functional military would not be an opportunity cost.
Anyhows, I figure Hegseth wants to make his reforms stick, and is not going to commit everything on gambles that will take too long. Also, he is clearly not taking the suggestions of crazy online randos who are mainly after trolling.
All- you do raise some interesting points/ideas… Thanks!
When the EBT cards stop working the rioting and looting will likely be epic…
Late on the comments , just talked to a shipmate who landed on his feet quite well post military as a hazmat hmfic at a joint base in NJ . Said several GS-8,9,10’s were furloughed on very short notice the past week and more sadly the enlisted guys working for him are not being paid , I have little reason to believe he was lying , he was a good shipmate , said navy fcu , was giving out loans to enlisted guys . He was sober , LOL ! Hope that ain’t true . Fuck if I know .We’ll see soon if this is going on .
Dan- No question. The big cities will be the first to go…
Boats- I’m hearing the same thing. Dammit…