Hegseth

Reports say Texas recruits ill from outbreak, which comes weeks after defense secretary made flu vaccine optionalAn influenza outbreak has reportedly sickened more than 150 recruits in training at Lackland air force base in San Antonio, Texas.The outbreak comes just weeks after the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ended mandatory flu vaccination for the military, citing the need for bodily autonomy for servicemembers. Continue reading...

US defence secretary addresses allies in latest attempt to get Europe to raise military budgetsPete Hegseth has announced a review of US military presence across Europe, in a combative address to Nato allies where he threatened to cut force numbers in countries spending the least on defence.The US defence secretary, speaking at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, accused some countries of “free riding” and others of being shameful for not allowing their airbases to be used by US jets bombing Iran in the spring. Continue reading...

• US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of US military forces stationed in Europe on Thursday. • Hegseth criticized NATO allies for their limited involvement in the conflict with Iran, reinforcing the Trump administration's combative stance toward the alliance. • This move signals a potential shift in US strategic commitments and pressures allies to increase their contributions to regional security.

US defense secretary continues ramp-up of pressure against country including sanctions and devastating oil blockadePete Hegseth has warned Cuba against acquiring weapons that could threaten the United States, during a visit to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay.Washington has ramped up pressure against Cuba with sanctions and a devastating oil blockade, and Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be the next after Venezuela to fall to US pressure. Continue reading...

Nancy Lacore, ousted by Pete Hegseth last year, heads to a run-off in race for Nancy Mace’s seatUS politics live – latest updatesA three-star navy rear-admiral fired by Pete Hegseth last year in the defense secretary’s purge of senior US military officials advanced to a Democratic run-off in a closely-watched congressional race in South Carolina.Nancy Lacore, who served 35 years in the navy, was chief of the navy reserve when she was ousted by Hegseth in August. Continue reading...

Historians and campaigners accuse US defence secretary of desecrating memory of soldiers who fell in NormandyThe US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been accused by historians and rights campaigners of “grotesque stupidity” and desecrating the memory of the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy after he sought to link immigration to the D-day anniversary, saying that Europe was facing a different “invasion” of its shores.Speaking in north-west France on Saturday to mark the 82nd anniversary of the D-day landings, Hegseth seized on the moment marking the wartime liberation of Europe to reiterate the US administration’s longstanding attack on European immigration policies. Continue reading...

• U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Europe is being "invaded" by "dangerous ideologies" during a speech commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. • Hegseth specifically cited the arrival of boats and migrants on the beaches of Spain, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria as a modern threat to the continent. • The remarks highlight a shift in rhetoric, framing current migration patterns as a security crisis comparable in urgency to the historical military threats faced in 1944.