Dept of Defense

Pentagon launches task force to investigate ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’

The Pentagon has created a task force to investigate UFOs following several unexplained incidents that have been observed by the U.S. military. The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force was launched earlier this month by Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist, boosting an effort by the Office of Naval Intelligence, officials said. The Defense Department said Friday that it hopes to “improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs. The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security.” “The safety of our personnel and the security of our operations are of paramount concern. The Department of Defense and the military departments take any incursions by unauthorized aircraft into our training ranges or designated airspace very seriously and examine each report,” the department said. “This includes examinations of incursions that are initially reported as UAP when the observer cannot immediately identify what he or she is observing.” The plans for the task force, which is expected to be officially unveiled in the next few days, were first reported by CNN on Thursday. The move marks an extension of previous efforts to look into UFOs — but stops well short of trying to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. Since 2018, a Navy task force has been informally investigating such incidents and has coordinated information with U.S. intelligence agencies. In April, the Defense Department released and declassified three videos of Navy pilots encountering UFOs in 2004 and 2015. In 2017, The New York Times reported on the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, which had previously been disbanded, according to the Pentagon. While the new task force’s work will remain classified, that status could change if the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s proposal for an unclassified report on UFOs is adopted by the full Senate and House.

Things that make ya go, “hmm…”       🙂

One giant leap for Space Force: Pentagon seeks ‘orbital outpost’

The Defense Department is seeking a “self-contained and free flying orbital outpost” to serve as a hub for experimentation and testing for the military’s 21st-century space program. In a request for proposals, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) laid out its requirements for the outpost and suggested that the project could be a first step toward ultimately having military personnel on board. “The solution must be capable of supporting space assembly, microgravity experimentation, logistics and storage, manufacturing, training, test and evaluation, hosting payloads, and other functions,” the DIU said. Moving forward, the Pentagon said “desired future capabilities” of the project include attachment with other outposts in space, orbit transfer, and even “human-rating,” suggesting that the unit should be able to safely house humans. The solicitation for proposals comes as the Pentagon moves forward in establishing U.S. Space Command, a key component of President Trump’s desired Space Force. The Senate last week confirmed Gen. John Raymond to lead Space Command.

Federal appeals court gives Trump a win on transgender military service

A federal appeals court gave President Trump a win Friday in a case defending the administration’s policy limiting certain transgender people from serving in the military. The federal circuit court in D.C. ruled the lower court erred in issuing an injunction against the president’s policy, saying the plan wasn’t a “blanket transgender ban.” The court said former Security of Defense James Mattis’ plan had been developed with the help from military officials and medical professionals. It focused on limiting the service of transgender people who suffer from gender dysphoria and refuse to serve under their biological sex. “Although today’s decision is not a final determination on the merits, we must recognize that the Mattis Plan plausibly relies upon the ‘considered professional judgment’ of ‘appropriate military officials,’” the court ruled in an unsigned opinion. There are still other injunctions in place that had been issued by lower courts against the administration’s policy, so the Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to step in. Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter formally lifted the ban on transgendered citizens serving openly in the U.S. military last year. Under that policy initiated by Mr. Carter, transgendered individuals would have been able to enlist into the services by July. Those plans came to a halt when Mr. Trump announced plans to ban all transgender citizens from enlisting and separating all transgender troops currently in uniform. The announcement came as Mr. Mattis was in the midst of a six-month review of the Obama-era policy. Since the August announcement, federal courts have ruled the White House’s ban as unconstitutional while the transgender ban policy continues to face other challenges in the judiciary. Transgendered recruits were allowed to enlist beginning Jan. 1 after being subjected to a slew of physical, psychological and medical requirements before being considered for military service, pending the release of the military’s recommendations to the White House. The new standards for transgendered enlistment include certification that a recruit has been deemed “clinically stable” in their preferred sex for 18 months, and do not suffer from marked stress or impairment tied to their selected gender during certain scenarios tied to military service. The first transgender recruit officially signed up for the U.S. military last February, little over a month since the White House’s call for a ban on service for those citizens. The issue has become a cultural touchstone between proponents of the ban who argue the military has been repeatedly subjected to progressive social engineering efforts.

Which is exactly what has been happening ever since then-President Bill Clinton issued his “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the mid-’90s.  I was in the military then, and vividly remember the s_it storm that started…and it went downhill from there, especially under Obama.  What so many liberal Dems (who have never served in the military), and their equally ignorant accomplices in the dominantly liberal mainstream media down want to accept is…that nobody has a right to serve in the military.  There is no constitutional right to serve.  It’s a privilege.  Secondly..  The military discriminates all the time, and has been doing so for generations.  If you’re too tall, you can’t fly fighter jets.  If you’re too fat, you can’t join.  If you’re disabled and/or in a wheelchair, you can’t join.  And, on and on..  The mission of the U.S. military is to WIN wars.  Period!  Anything that undermines that mission, including all of the politically correct social engineering bs imposed on it by Democrat presidents and lawmakers, puts our troops’ lives in jeopardy, and undermines our ability to WIN.

U.S. troops told not to eat, drink in front of Muslims during Ramadan

U.S. troops told not to eat, drink in front of Muslims during Ramadan

This is so outrageous and offensive, its hard to put into words.  Its one thing to get your cultural training, pamphlets and so on when you go to another country.  Those of us who have been there, and done that, have gone through that.  No big deal.  We endeavor to build bridges, and be respectful of our hosts, when in their country.  But, for a Brigade Commander (full colonel) to tell his troops that are here “stateside” to be culturally sensitive to Muslims in AMERICA and not eat in their presence?  Huh?  Are you kidding me?!  When was the last time a commander admonished troops to learn about, and be more tolerant of, Christians?  I’ve never heard such a thing.  This is just more political correctness being forced upon the military.  COL Glasz should be relieved of his command for this embarrassingly poor judgment call on his part.  Unreal..

DoD fires 9 active-duty company commanders serving in Afghanistan

DoD fires 9 active-duty company commanders serving in Afghanistan

Outrageous!!  Not only is this stupid strategically, its abhorrent and disgraceful.  Shame on the DoD!  Hopefully Congress will intervene NOW and stop this cold.  Call your member of Congress and both U.S. Senators and tell them NOW is NOT the time to be laying off soldiers and other members of the armed forces.