Feb 06 Watch 6:33 Are vaccines reaching communities in need? We don't have enough data By PBS NewsHour The Pentagon committed to sending around 1,000 active duty troops to help vaccinate people across the nation after the White House promised to open community vaccination centers, increasing availability to those in need. Dr. Julie Morita, Executive Vice President of… Continue watching
Feb 05 WATCH: Pentagon holds briefing as White House plans troop assistance with COVID-19 vaccines By Associated Press Currently about 6.9 million Americans have received the full two-dose regimen required to get maximum protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. That translates to about 2 percent of the U.S. population. Continue reading
Feb 02 Pentagon chief purges defense boards of Trump appointees By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered hundreds of Pentagon advisory board members to resign this month as part of a broad review of the panels, essentially purging several dozen last-minute appointments under the Trump administration. Continue reading
Jan 22 WATCH: Lloyd Austin wins Senate confirmation as first Black Pentagon chief By Robert Burns, Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Lloyd J. Austin, a West Point graduate who rose to the Army's elite ranks and marched through racial barriers in a 41-year career, won Senate confirmation Friday to become the nation's first Black secretary of defense. Continue reading
Jan 19 WATCH: Gen. Lloyd Austin's full opening statement in Senate confirmation hearing By Associated Press Addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee, Austin, who served 41 years in the Army, vowed to surround himself with qualified civilians and include them in policy decisions. Continue reading
Dec 18 AP report: Pentagon memo maps out plan to expand diversity in the force By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press The plan, however, skirts the more politically sensitive issues that have roiled the nation and the Trump administration this year, such as the renaming of bases that honor Confederate leaders or removing Confederate statues. Continue reading
Dec 08 WATCH: Pentagon set to begin COVID-19 vaccinations on small scale By Robert Burns, Associated Press Pentagon officials say that once the Food and Drug Administration gives its “emergency use authorization,” the military will start giving shots within a day or two. Continue reading
Nov 24 WATCH: Pentagon officials give COVID-19 update By Associated Press The nation is averaging 172,000 new virus cases per day, nearly double since the end of October, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Continue reading
Nov 18 Acting defense secretary cites risks during troop reductions By Robert Burns, Associated Press The acting defense secretary says the period of U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq in the coming weeks is "fraught with risk."… Continue reading
Nov 17 Pentagon to cut troop levels to 2,500 in Iraq, Afghanistan By Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press The new plan will accelerate troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan in Trump's final days in office, despite arguments from senior military officials in favor of a more methodical pullout. Continue reading