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03 Dec 25. War Department Welcomes New Pentagon Press Corps. Nearly 20 War Department officials, both civilian and military, met today with more than two dozen members of the newly appointed Pentagon Press Corps during a series of more than 150 round-robin style one-on-one interviews. The event capped off three days of onboarding for new members of the Pentagon Press Corps, which includes more than 70 independent journalists, bloggers and social media influencers who entered the Pentagon for the first time this week to start their reporting on the War Department. Most of the newly appointed members of the Pentagon Press Corps are not associated with legacy media outlets, including print media such as newspapers and magazines, and broadcast media, such as cable television news. This “new media” operates differently than traditional media, and Pentagon leadership believes it is better equipped to inform a broader swath of the American public about what goes on inside the department, said Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson.
“We really have seen a shift in the way people consume media,” Wilson said. “It’s not always through the mainstream outlets anymore. A lot of people are cutting the cord, and they don’t have cable news subscriptions. And a lot of young people are increasingly using social media and following their favorite influencers on YouTube, X and Instagram. It’s important for us to reach them too — to let them know about all the incredible things our warfighters are doing.”
Independent media outlets, such as those represented in this new Pentagon Press Corps, Wilson said, are growing in influence and reach.
“We want to make sure that we’re reaching as many Americans as possible,” she said.
Unlike other federal agencies, the War Department has had members of the press “resident” in its headquarters — the Pentagon — for decades. Credentialed members of the press corps have badges that allow them unescorted access to the building at any time of day. And some members choose to take up residence with a desk space.
In October, Pentagon leadership asked members of the press corps to sign an agreement, which Wilson said was both “common sense [and] very standard.” Most press corps members at the time chose not to sign the agreement, so they lost access to the building. In their place now is a new press corps that signed the new agreement. It is this new press corps that will now be responsible for the important job of learning what is happening within the War Department and reporting on that to the American people.
“We are excited to welcome people who were willing to sign the agreement here so we can continue that tradition of having resident media here in the building to hold us accountable and to help with our commitment to transparency,” Wilson said.
New members of the Pentagon Press Corps entered the building for the first time Dec. 1, kicking off a whirlwind of activity for Pentagon public affairs staff.
“A lot of planning went into these three days,” Wilson said.
Press corps members were issued building passes and press passes and given a tour of the building. And for those who will operate out of the building full time, they also got to see their new office space, Wilson said. The following day, the press corps attended its first press briefing, during which Wilson provided an update on War Department activities. Public affairs staff also provided press corps members with an unclassified briefing on U.S. Southern Command and a primer on combatant commands. Today, the press filled the Pentagon Briefing Room to meet with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Based on the questions she heard during the Dec. 2 press briefing, Wilson said she believes this new press corps is the right one to keep the American people informed about what its military is doing and to keep the department honest about its operations.
“I think great questions were asked yesterday in the briefing, a lot of tough questions; they definitely didn’t hold back,” Wilson said. “We’re going to continue to make sure that we’re transparent with them, and I know in turn, they will hold us accountable. They absolutely have said as much to me many times, and I’m glad to hear it, because our job in government is to be transparent and to make sure that we’re keeping everybody up to date on all the incredible things that this department and our warfighters are doing across the world.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
03 Dec 25. Hegseth put US troops, mission at risk with Signal use, AP sources say. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House, Oct. 23, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP) The Pentagon’s watchdog found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. personnel and their mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen, two people familiar with the findings said Wednesday. Hegseth, however, has the ability to declassify material and the report did not find he did so improperly, according to one of the people familiar with the report’s findings who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the information. CNN first reported the initial findings. The review by the Pentagon inspector general’s office was delivered to lawmakers, who were able to review the report in a classified facility at the Capitol. A partially redacted version of the report was expected to be released publicly later this week. The findings ramp up the pressure on the former Fox News Channel host after lawmakers had called for the independent inquiry into his use of the commercially available app. Lawmakers also just opened investigations into a news report that a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Ocean in September killed survivors after Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody.” Hegseth defended the strike as emerging in the “fog of war,” saying he didn’t see any survivors but also “didn’t stick around” for the rest of the mission and that the admiral in charge “made the right call” in ordering the second strike. He also did not admit fault following the revelations that he discussed sensitive military plans on Signal, asserting that the information was unclassified. Journalist was added to a chat where sensitive plans were shared In at least two separate Signal chats, Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women carrying out those attacks on behalf of the United States were airborne. Hegseth’s use of the app came to light when a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to a Signal text chain by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. It included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and others, brought together to discuss March 15 military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis. Hegseth had created another Signal chat with 13 people that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of the same strike, The Associated Press reported. Signal is encrypted but is not authorized for carrying classified information and is not part of the Defense Department’s secure communications network. Hegseth has said none of the information shared in the chats was classified. Multiple current and former military officials told the AP there was no way details with that specificity, especially before a strike took place, would have been OK to share on an unsecured device.
Lawmakers had called for inspector general to investigate
The revelations sparked intense scrutiny, with Democratic lawmakers and a small number of Republicans saying Hegseth posting the information to the Signal chats before the military jets had reached their targets potentially put those pilots’ lives at risk. They said lower-ranking members of the military would have been fired for such a lapse. The inspector general opened its investigation into Hegseth at the request of the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, left, and ranking member Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, March 7, 2023. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Some veterans and military families also raised concerns, citing the strict security protocols they must follow to protect sensitive information.
It all ties back to the campaign against Yemen’s Houthis
The Houthi rebels had started launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in late 2023 in what their leadership had described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Their campaign greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. The U.S.-led campaign against the Houthis in 2024 turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy had faced since World War II. A ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war had begun in January before falling apart in March. The U.S. then launched a broad assault against the Houthis that ended weeks later when Trump said they pledged to stop attacking ships. The latest Gaza ceasefire began in October. Following the disclosure of Hegseth’s Signal chat that included the Atlantic’s editor, the magazine released the entire thread in late March. Hegseth had posted multiple details about an impending strike, using military language and laying out when a “strike window” starts, where a “target terrorist” was located, the time elements around the attack and when various weapons and aircraft would be used in the strike. He mentioned that the U.S. was “currently clean” on operational security.
Hegseth told Fox News Channel in April that what he shared over Signal was “informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things.” During a congressional hearing in June, Hegseth was pressed multiple times by lawmakers over whether he shared classified information and if he should face accountability if he did. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Marine veteran, asked Hegseth whether he would hold himself accountable if the inspector general found that he placed classified information on Signal. Hegseth would not directly say, only noting that he serves “at the pleasure of the president.” (Source: Defense News)
02 Dec 25. Pentagon Provides Update on Operation Southern Spear, Reaffirms Socom Called for Second Strike on Drug Boat. The War Department provided an update today on the U.S. military’s counter-narco-terrorism campaign, Operation Southern Spear, including the casualties inflicted upon suspected narco-terrorists and a reemphasis on how the operation’s first kinetic boat strike unfolded. To date, a total of 21 kinetic strikes in U.S. Southern Command’s area of operations have taken place, resulting in 82 narco-terrorists having been killed, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told the media.
“Each strike conducted against these designated terror organizations is taken in defense of vital U.S. national interests and to protect the homeland,” Wilson said.
She added that the legality of the strikes has been thoroughly vetted by the proper authorities.
“Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command,” Wilson said.
Along the lines of legality, Wilson also underscored White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement yesterday that a “double tap” strike on an alleged Venezuelan narco-terrorism boat on Sept. 2 was ordered by U.S. Special Operations Command’s top leader, Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, and not Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
A recent article published late last week claiming that Hegseth ordered the second strike has been a source of contention between President Donald J. Trump’s administration, some members of Congress and the media.
“As the White House confirmed yesterday, the decision to restrike the narco-terrorists’ vessel was made by Adm. Bradley, operating under clear and long-standing authorities to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States was eliminated,” Wilson told the media.
“Let’s make one thing crystal clear: Adm. Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support,” Hegseth said via a social media post yesterday.
“I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since. America is fortunate to have such men protecting us,” he added.
Wilson ended the Operation Southern Spear portion of her briefing by reemphasizing the War Department’s commitment to protecting the American people.
“This department will defend our homeland. This is not a catchphrase; it’s a commitment,” she said. “And, as said: When it comes to killing narco-terrorists, we have only just begun.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
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