Trump’s suggestion of military action in Nigeria met reality with AFRICOM, which expressed doubts that a military response to violence would do anything. Free to read: wapo.st/3JECubO

National Guard personnel focused on nuclear disasters and terrorist attacks will instead be given riot-control gear and sent into cities, a sign that Trump military deployments into urban centers "could become the norm" wapo.st/433N9Dk @alexhorton.bsky.social @davidovalle.bsky.social

Q: What are the Pentagon’s military objectives in the Western Hemisphere, and how do the strikes help reach that outcome? A: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pleased to speak to @alexhorton.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com about the disposition of the survivors from the latest U.S. strike in the Caribbean. Repatriating them appears to have been the least worst option from the administration’s standpoint. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Correct. This story would have violated the Pentagon’s new restrictions had we signed it.

Exclusive: Special Operations helos, flying in a configuration best suited for ground assaults, were less than 90 miles from Venezuela last week. Official says they were training. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

JUST IN via @washingtonpost.com's Noah Robertson, @taracopp.bsky.social, @alexhorton.bsky.social & @danlamothe.bsky.social: "Military leaders voice concern over #Hegseth's new Pentagon strategy" www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

If you’re attending this event or have insight to share, I’d like to hear from you. Get in touch on Signal at alexhorton.85 or click here signal.me#eu/ES70l_cAl...

Do you know what this meeting is about? Get in touch on Signal: signal.me#eu/ES70l_cAl...

Do you know what this meeting is about? Get in touch on Signal: signal.me#eu/ES70l_cAl...

Former Army officer Jason Dempsey: “That is such a suboptimal use of military training that we should all be asking, ‘Why are they here?’ If they’re picking up trash, they’re not here for a security emergency. There’s no clearer metric than that.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Great story by @alexhorton.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com . www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec... Read the whole thing but here's a sample.

NEW: Trump’s ‘Law and Order’ Push in D.C. Looks a Lot Like an Immigration Raid www.wsj.com/us-news/trum...

Shout out to the OG posters at the Rotten Tomatoes message boards, my primary source of news when I was skipping school on 9/11

I joined @longlead.com @vermontgmg.bsky.social to discuss blogging the Iraq war while fighting it, DoD sanitizing combat and anemic lawmakers failing oversight of Middle East operations. Good thing those days are over! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

A Washington Post review found that in at least seven major departments or agencies, DOGE secured the power to view records that experts say could benefit Elon Musk’s businesses for years.

The case of the disappearing SECDEF www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

1/ NEW: As the U.S. appears on the brink of another war, Airwars reveals dangerous precedent for civilians set by Trump’s Yemen campaign trump-yemen.airwars.org/operation-ro...

SCOOP: Guardsmen deployed to LA aren't on formal orders, thus aren't set up to be paid or get healthcare yet www.military.com/daily-news/2...

One thing worth pointing out, the real war is less about the reality of it, and more of an aesthetic palate of which these participants pick from. Whether that’s the type of uniforms, body armor etc.

Americans cosplaying as Russian soldiers in the middle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a strange sight to behold, but checks out. Many Americans were disconnected from their own 20 year war. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...

Sgt. Quandarius Stanley suffered a brain injury in last year’s Gaza pier mission. His recovery was cut short by his unexpected and mysterious death.

For Memorial Day, with thanks to Karl Marlantes, Jan Scruggs, Dave Walden, Kate Tealdi, the volunteer guides and everyone elese who shared their story about The Wall. Photos by Rod Lamkey, Jr. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/26/u...

Injured near Gaza, dead at VA: A soldier’s mother searches for answers. A shocking story from @alexhorton.bsky.social about a soldier who slipped through the cracks, and whose death remains unresolved. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Quandarius Stanley was injured during the temporary pier operation in Gaza. He later died in a South Carolina VA hospital when his condition was improving. @alexhorton.bsky.social via WaPo 🎁 link wapo.st/3SlTnZy

Sgt. Quandarius Stanley wanted to make the Army a lifelong career. The failed Gaza pier mission cut that short, and his mysterious death at VA sent his mother on a quest for answers. Free to read: wapo.st/3SlTnZy

A soldier was killed and dozens injured in Biden’s failed pier mission, which is worse than previously known. The least anyone could do in the Defense Department is try to answer questions. But even then. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

The mission to recover 4 U.S. soldiers from a Lithuanian bog was more complex and dangerous that you know. Navy divers could barely breathe in the thick mud, struggling to move as if it were drying concrete. They couldn't see anything and did their work entirely by touch.

“More than a quarter-million rifles were left behind, SIGAR estimated…as well as nearly 18,000 night-vision goggles.” “Around August 2021, the [NVGs], which retail for about $2,000, were being sold for less than $300.”

We traced weapons used in last month's deadly train hijacking in Pakistan to U.S. stocks provided to Afghan forces. It's another chapter of how U.S. failures in Afghanistan keep killing civilians www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Our story reconstructs the moments before and after the killing and mass burial of health workers in Gaza. The initial Israeli gunshots that targeted Palestinian paramedics were fired from 150 feet or less, audio suggests. Gift link: wapo.st/4cowWMq

Secret 9 page Pentagon memo identifies China's invasion of Taiwan as the "sole pacing threat," calls for larger domestic role (and a return to CT missions) while downplaying threat posed by Russia (to be handled by Europe). Several passages are identical to Heritage Foundation/Project 2025 docs

The Pentagon purge of media it considers 'DEI' has expanded to stories about Navajo code talkers and Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who helped raise the US flag over Iwo Jima. w/ @jonswaine.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

DOD has restored this page after it was “removed during auto removal process,” an unnamed Pentagon official tells me. Nothing yet on how this system works and how haphazard it may be

Its March 14 and April 8 and May 6 today, all the time, all at once wapo.st/3FwqDKn

A defeat for DOGE and Musk. Who overruled the attempt to end phone services for Americans filing retirement and disability claims? Not the acting Social Security head? Must have been the White House. A big win for the Wiles-Vought-Miller faction against Musk. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

“The suspension was immediately felt by soldiers in the Ukrainian military, some of whom described the decision as treachery, not politics.” By @alexhorton.bsky.social & @siobhanogrady.bsky.social wapo.st/3QUjgyE

“We’re shooting ourselves in the head, not the foot,” said a former senior intelligence official who mentors young and aspiring intelligence officers. “We’re mortgaging our future.” wapo.st/3Du3Tde

NEW: The Defense Department is moving to dismantle efforts focused on reducing civilian harm in U.S. military operations from @alexhorton.bsky.social, me and @danlamothe.bsky.social 🎁 wapo.st/4h6jH3M

NEW: Pentagon moves to gut operations focused on reducing civilian harm. Some expect to fired. Others will be reassigned, per a memo obtained by The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Gift link! Pentagon Moves to Gut Operations Focused on Reducing Civilian Harm

The Pentagon is scuttling its work to mitigate civilian harm in military operations www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

SATIRE: Leidos wins $10 billion contract to write 5 bullets on what fed employees did last week www.duffelblog.com/p/leidos-win...

The new American gun store is accessory focused and caters to customers obsessed with customizing AR-15s www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...

SecDef has ordered a pause on offensive cyber and info operations while the US & Moscow are in talks, though planning for operations continues, according to sources. While such a pause is not unusual, the move comes as Trump accommodates Putin in his designs on Ukraine. wapo.st/4kjGtrI

“Accessories are where we make our money" www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...

SCOOP: USAID's watchdog has yet to release two scathing reports on the consequences of Trump’s dismantling of USAID amid fears of retaliation from the White House, per interviews and documents, my colleagues John Hudson & Lisa Rein report. wapo.st/4h3WxLc

Every news outlet reporting Elon Musk's comment about accidentally canceling Ebola prevention efforts and quickly restoring them should also say they haven't been restored, they're still canceled, the outbreak-fighting teams are dismantled, the money is gone www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Using my “personal liberties” to repost this

This is on the opinion side. On the news side, we will continue rigorous reporting. Send secure tips on Pentagon contracting — including Blue Origin, AWS, SpaceX and others — on Signal at alexhorton.85 or [email protected]