MONDAY PDB – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized Sunday. A senior defense official said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was not notified until Thursday that Austin had been hospitalized since Jan. 1.
Why was Defense Secretary Austin's hospital stay kept secret for days? Members of Congress and Pentagon leaders were unaware for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized since Monday.
Pence calls defense secretary's undisclosed hospitalization a ‘dereliction of duty.' Former Vice President Mike Pence (R) called Austin's undisclosed hospitalization this week a “dereliction of duty.”
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERROR
NO, BIDEN WEAKNESS IS INCHING US CLOSER TO WIDER WAR – With every strike and counterstrike, Israel, the US and Iran's proxies inch closer to all-out war. In the last week alone, Israel has killed a senior Hamas militant in an airstrike in Beirut, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel, the U.S. has killed a militia commander in Baghdad and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have traded fire with the US Navy.
Israel's talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms US. An American intelligence assessment found that it would be difficult for Israel to succeed in a war against Hezbollah amid ongoing fighting in Gaza.
Israeli Defense Forces say they have discovered the location of the most-wanted Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, but they believe he is using hostages as human shields.
USS Gerald R. Ford transits Strait of Gibraltar on way home from long deployment. The Navy's largest and most modern aircraft carrier departed the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, after more than eight months on deployment to help contain the Israel-Hamas war.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Why Congress told USAF to spell out its force design for 2050. Congress directed the Air Force and Space Force in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act to define their future force and fully articulate their long-term vision and needs—perhaps justifying increased funding.
Alabama National Guard leader says world more dangerous than any time since World War II. Brigadier General David Pritchett, an Auburn University graduate, became the new adjutant general of the Alabama National Guard on Friday, Jan. 5.
HOMELAND SECURITY
National Guard drug task force member arrested, accused of leaking info to drug dealer. An Army reservist assigned to the California National Guard's headquarters in Sacramento has been arrested by the FBI on a weapons charge and is believed to have leaked sensitive information on drug raids to a drug cartel asset.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
West Point and the Naval Academy can keep affirmative action — for now. Two federal judges recently rejected legal attempts to halt affirmative action in the military's service academies, at least for now.
NO, WE DON'T – THAT LOGIC DOESN'T PASS THE SMELL TEST – BUT KEEP TRYING TO SPIN AND SMEAR – Troops do not have an extremism problem, but veterans do, study finds. Even a single incident of violent extremism by a service member can lead to significant negative repercussions for the nation as a whole, says the study. IF THAT WERE TRUE, A SINGLE CASE OF MEASLES WOULD BE AN EPIDEMIC.
CHINA THREAT
Chinese warships eavesdrop on joint US, Philippine naval drills in South China Sea. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and Philippine Navy were trailed by a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) frigate, which claimed, despite being inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ), that it was conducting lawful activities in its own “territorial sea.”
US intelligence shows flawed China missiles led Xi to purge army. Xi Jinping's recent sweeping military purge came after it emerged that widespread corruption undermined his efforts to modernize the armed forces and raised questions about China's ability to fight a war.
US Navy, Coast Guard team up to rescue Chinese boaters in distress near Guam. They and Guam first responders worked together over the weekend to rescue the boaters off Guam's coast.
China sanctions 5 US defense companies in response to US sanctions and arms sales to Taiwan.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 684. Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 21 out of 28 Russian drones aimed at the south and east of the country. Russia also launched three cruise missiles.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
Stryker brigade goes out with a bang during live-fire drills near North Korean border. The brigade from Fort Carson, Colo., finished a seven-month rotation with live-fire drills in the snowy hills of Nightmare Range, just 22 miles from the border with North Korea.
IRAN THREAT
USS Laboon downs Houthi attack drone over Red Sea. The DDG-58 shot down the drone over the Red Sea Saturday morning local time.
SPACE THREAT
Take down: Space Force targeting unit develops strike options for Joint Force. The Space Force's 75th ISR Squadron is looking at not just how to take out enemy satellites on orbit, but also the other space systems including ground facilities and the command-and-control data links in between.
ULA is ready to launch its new rocket. But will it be able to challenge SpaceX? Vulcan Centaur rocket is on track to blast off Monday.
US POWER OVERSEAS
After Niger coup, US scrambles to keep a vital air base. After the generals took charge, the U.S. was forced to suspend operations at its most strategic military asset in sub-Saharan Africa. Restarting them won't be easy.
Marine rotational force units expand Corps' Pacific footprint. A pair of Marine Corps rotational force units, one new and the other more than a decade old, are expanding the Marine footprint in the Pacific.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Indian navy retakes merchant ship from armed hijackers in the Arabian Sea. Indian commandos secured the hijacked Liberian-flagged vessel last week after a 24-hour confrontation off the Somali Coast in the Arabian Sea. This comes as New Delhi reinforces its presence in the area to deter attacks on international shipping in the Western Indian Ocean.
US MILITARY
US military searching for new long-range sniper rifle in bid to keep edge over Russia and China. The Pentagon wants to equip special operations forces with their longest-range sniper rifle ever fielded.
Marines using cheap commercial tech to hide command posts in plain sight. Command posts must be survivable to be effective, one commander says.
The ejection seats in a B-1B saved a crew of four this week. They haven't always worked. Three crew members were treated for minor injuries and released. One airman is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Boeing aims for annual output of 6 E-7 Wedgetail radar planes to fill global early warning ‘gap.' Company officials talk about getting the bird in the air — and their vision for what it can do.
DEAL WITH ROOT CAUSES, NOT STORAGE – Firearm-related suicides among women veterans are rising. We must do more on secure gun storage.
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 Leader Ousted Following Threesome Sex Scandal
