Pentagon Under Fire: Trump And Hegseth Double Down On ‘War On Woke’

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Dems are not happy. Trump on Friday evening fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jim Slife.

Trump’s pick to be the top US military officer, recently retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine endeared himself to the commander in chief through his military call sign, “Razin,” during a meeting in Iraq years ago. Caine is described as measured and apolitical.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is petitioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for more transparency in any future decisions involving the potential ‘political’ dismissal of senior uniformed leaders.

DOD advisory committees must prove ‘warrior ethos’ in new DOD directive.

The Justice Department filed a complaint Friday accusing an openly lesbian federal judge in Washington of misconduct during hearings over Trump’s executive order that calls for banning transgender troops from serving in the military.

About three weeks after it was removed, Air Force Handbook 1—a key document for Airmen preparing for promotion tests—reappeared on the Air Force enlisted promotion study guides website.  Here’s what’s changed.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

The selection of Gen. Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may signal a new emphasis on irregular warfare, covert and clandestine operations, enabling swifter action with fewer legal constraints and less congressional scrutiny.

Hesgeth defended looming staff cuts and budget reforms as necessary to refocus the military on its core missions, promising the efforts will produce “the biggest, most bad-ass military on the planet.”

A debate is brewing in Congress over the future of the defense budget as GOP look to add up to $150 billion more to the existing $850 billion budget at the same time the Pentagon is reportedly weighing a massive cut.

IRON DOME FOR AMERICA

Should space-based missile interceptors be part of a plan to protect the US homeland from incoming threats?

With a proposed $10 billion budget, what are the next steps in developing next-generation missile defense?

Is an ‘Iron Dome’ the future of strategic homeland missile defense?

HOMELAND SECURITY

Team Trump has begun dismantling the nation’s defenses against foreign interference in voting, a sweeping retreat that has alarmed state and local election officials.

Trump says Musk will be looking at Fort Knox, the legendary depository in Kentucky for American gold reserves, to make sure all the gold is still there.

A shooting at a US Air Force base in New Mexico early Saturday involving base security left one airman dead and another wounded but was labeled not an act of terrorism or an attack by an outsider.

POLITICS

Key US agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with Elon Musk’s latest demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week.

The Senate voted against a non-binding resolution calling for the protection of health care benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits during their service (PACT ACT), sending ‘signal’ that benefits could be cut.

‘Dark MAGA’ spreads as conservatives embrace Musk’s influence on Trump. At an annual gathering of conservative activists, a noticeable number of the black “Dark MAGA” hats made popular by Elon Musk were seen.

TRAITOR – Democrat congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has revealed she is “rooting” for Canada and Mexico over Trump in their attempts to stand up to him, saying it is “really wild” to find herself in that position given he is the president of the US.

US POWER OVERSEAS

About 40 drone-equipped US Marines have been sent to Finland to join NATO’s Baltic Sentry effort to protect undersea cables in the wake of several instances of suspected sabotage.

The Air Force is used to operating from large, fixed bases in the Middle East. But recently, Air Forces Central (AFCENT) tested its ability to disperse to smaller, unfamiliar locations with the exercise Agile Spartan.

IRAN THREAT/ISRAEL WARS

Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades, after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

Israel performed a very unconventional high-profile trolling today when it executed a gameday-like flyover of Hezbollah’s deceased leader Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Lebanon.

CHINA THREAT

A rare and provocative Chinese naval drill with a previously unannounced live-fire component has disrupted air traffic over and around the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand and rattled the two countries.

France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines on Sunday after holding combat drills with Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower aimed at China.

To China, DeepSeek is more than an AI search app—it’s a strategic turning point.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

The US has pressured Ukraine to withdraw its European-backed UN resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine in favor of an American proposal that does not mention Moscow’s invasion.

Wounded, recovered and back to war. Ukrainian soldiers are returning to battle after amputation.

SPACE THREAT

US military releases first photo of Earth from orbit from its mysterious X-37B space plane.

The Space Force’s multinational project to build a new global radar network for safeguarding satellites from “malign activity” is taking shape, with the first Deep Space Radar facility in Australia now complete and set to go live by 2027.

DOD to modernize the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site, a high-altitude facility that serves as a key node in the US military’s space surveillance network.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

The Marxist South African president is fighting to keep the G20 global forum intact as the US boycott threatens to derail it.

More than 150,000 Canadians sign petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship because of the tech billionaire’s alliance with Trump.

Germany’s conservatives celebrate, but far right enjoy record result.

New conservative German leader signals seismic shift in transatlantic relations.

Big challenges loom for Germany’s Merz in divided country.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

READ NEXT: GOP Reveals Strategy To Shield Schools From Foreign Communist Brainwashing