The arrival of the aircraft carrier Ford and three other warships in the Caribbean region, and closer to Venezuela, raises the total U.S. force in the region to more than 15,000 troops, the largest military buildup in the area in decades www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/u...

The utter unpredictability of Hegseth’s purge of top generals and admirals has created an atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust that has forced senior officers to take sides and, at times, pitted them against one another www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...

Hegseth has purged more than two dozen top generals and admirals, in many cases counter to the advice of senior military leaders who fought alongside the officers in combat www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...

U.S. Sends Attack Aircraft to El Salvador Amid Regional Troop Buildup www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/w...

🎙️ON AIR: We're talking with NYT senior national security correspondent @erschm.bsky.social, associate editor for The Atlantic Gisela Salim-Peyer and professor Harold Hongju Koh about Trump's show of force against Venezuela. 📻 Listen:

Trump expands U.S. military strikes against suspected drug boats into the eastern Pacific, beyond just the Caribbean www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/u...

U.S. to repatriate the two survivors of air strike on suspected drug vessel in Caribbean rather than detain them or prosecute them www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/u...

Two survivors of the latest U.S. strike in Caribbean present a dilemma for the White House: release them, claim it can hold them as indefinite wartime detainees, or transfer them to civilian law enforcement officials for prosecution www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/u...

After covering the Pentagon for 35 years, I’m turning in my building badge today rather than submit to DoD’s vague new policies that restrict my right to engage in ordinary and legal news gathering. My Pentagon press corps colleagues and I will continue to inform the public

C.I.A.'s deputy director demotes the agency's senior lawyer and then takes on that top legal job, too, but it's not clear why www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

The Pentagon adds new detail to the administration’s thinly articulated legal rationale for why 3 U.S. military strikes Trump ordered on boats in the Caribbean, killing 17 people aboard them, should be seen as lawful rather than murder www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

The Pentagon adds new detail to the administration’s thinly articulated legal rationale for why 3 U.S. military strikes Trump ordered on boats in the Caribbean, killing 17 people aboard them, should be seen as lawful rather than murder www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Trump ‘determined’ the U.S. is now in a war with drug cartels, Pentagon tells Congress, as legal experts challenge rationale for military strikes against boats in the Caribbean www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

In a rambling and sometimes incoherent speech in which he praised his own tariffs and insulted former President Biden, Trump said he told Defense Secretary Hegseth to use U.S. cities as “training grounds” for the military www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

Are You Quitting the Military? We Want to Hear From You. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

Trump set to attend large gathering of U.S. generals and admirals on Tuesday, overshadowing Hegseth's speech to the officers on "warrior ethos" www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/u...

U.S. military buildup in Caribbean signals a broader air, naval and Special Operations campaign against Venezuela www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

The clandestine deployment of elite U.S. Special Operations forces to the Caribbean suggests that strikes or commando raids inside Venezuela itself may be in the works www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

Upgrades to the Qatari 747 that Trump wants as Air Force One have started but many experts worry he will pressure the Air Force to do the work so fast that sufficient security measures will not be built into the plane www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...

Upgrades begin on Boeing 747 donated by Qatar to serve as Trump's Air Force One www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...

U.S. strikes a second Venezuela boat, killing 3, but Trump aides have not offered a detailed legal theory about why it is lawful — and not murder or a war crime — to summarily kill people who are suspected of a crime www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/u...

For the 2,300 National Guard troops in D.C., it's a lot picking up trash and spreading mulch, costing taxpayers more than $1 million a day www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...

Is the U.S. going to war with Venezuela? What to know about the rapid U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...

Venezuelan fighter jets buzzed a U.S. Navy ship in the Caribbean in a show of force, prompting the Pentagon to order several Air Force F-35's fighters to Puerto Rico as part of the military's counter-narcotics mission www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...

Law specialists question legality of Trump's order to blow up a boat carrying drugs, killing 11 people, in a dramatic escalation of U.S. military force against Venezuelan cartels www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

Russian drones are flying over U.S. weapons routes in Germany, collecting intelligence that could be used to bolster the Kremlin’s sabotage campaign in Europe and assist its troops in Ukraine www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/u...

Trump's order appears to carve out a much larger role for the National Guard in domestic law enforcement across the country www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/u...

Trump Orders Major Expansion of National Guard’s Role in Law Enforcement www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/u...

I'm interested in hearing from Defense Department civilians and service members about changes within the Pentagon and throughout the U.S. military. You can contact me by email at [email protected] or on Signal encrypted message at ericschmitt.37

A major buildup of U.S. naval forces is underway outside Venezuela’s waters raising questions whether the Trump administration is preparing for a military confrontation with Maduro's government www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...

Pentagon fires chief of defense intelligence agency whose initial findings on the U.S. strikes against Iran's nuclear sites contradicted Trump's www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...

Trump’s decision to send 800 National Guard troops into the streets of Washington to fight crime is the latest example of how he has used the military to advance domestic his policy priorities www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/u...

Trump Directs Military to Target Foreign Drug Cartels www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/u...

The Senate approved a former Green Beret and Jan. 6 conspiracy theorist to head the nation's top counterterrorism agency www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/u...

Even by Washington standards, where “black budgets” are often used as an excuse to avoid revealing the cost of outdated spy satellites & other programs, the means being used to hide the cost of Trump’s "free" Air Force One are inventive www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/u...

Hegseth’s actions could shape the military’s top ranks for years to come. His insistence on absolute loyalty creates uncertainty and mistrust that threaten to undermine the readiness and effectiveness of the force www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/u...

How the Air Force is paying to refurbish Trump's "free" Air Force One is tied up in a mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds from one of the Pentagon’s most over-budget, out-of-control projects www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/u...

A standoff over a senior officer's promotion reflects an ongoing clash between Pete Hegseth’s highly partisan worldview and the longstanding tradition of an apolitical military that pledges an oath to the Constitution www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/u...

The U.S. military has conducted at least two tests of the new counter-drone system, including one in the Middle East and one in the Pacific, setting the stage for a bigger Pentagon investment www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...

Shifting Views and Misdirection: How Trump Decided to Strike Iran www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/u...

In meetings at the White House, senior military officials have warned that Iran would mine the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. joined Israel’s attacks on Iran www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/u...

NEW: How the Trump Administration Banished Eight Men to Legal Limbo in Africa w/ @abbievansickle.bsky.social @haleaziz.bsky.social @erschm.bsky.social Free gift link >>> www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...

Trump's plan to accept a luxury 747 from Qatar has drawn concern from lawmakers who worry that he will pressure the Air Force to do more than $1 billion in work so fast that sufficient security measures are not built into the plane www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/u...

The story of how the Trump administration decided that it would accept a free luxury Boeing 747-8 from Qatar to serve as Air Force One involved weeks of secret coordination between Washington and Doha www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/u...

Trump’s growing military buildup on the U.S.-Mexico border provides evidence to both sides of a heated debate over the utility of sending frontline combat forces to the frontier www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/u...

Trump’s military buildup at the border continues to grow in size, scope and sophistication even as the debate over the benefits and drawbacks rages on, and the Pentagon expands its territorial authorities to help interdict migrants www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/u...

Trump wanted to see results within 30 days of the air campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. Instead, what emerged was another expensive but inconclusive American military engagement in the region www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/u...

Two additional Patriot air defense systems, including one from Israel, are soon heading to Ukraine as it tries to ward off Russian missile attacks www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/w...

One and perhaps two additional Patriot air defense systems are on the way to Ukraine as it tries to ward off Russian missile attacks www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/w...

U.S. military expanding "national defense areas" along the southwestern border as part of Trump's broader goal to stem the flow of migrants www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/u...