“This wasn't a decision that I took lightly," Austin told reporters at an event with Australian officials in Annapolis, Maryland.

“But I have long believed that the families of the victims, our service members, and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commissions, commission trials carried out" in the 9/11 case, he said.

At the U.S. military commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, meanwhile, lawyers and the judge in the case of accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two other defendants who had also taken plea deals were still coming to terms with Austin’s surprise order and its effect on efforts to resolve the more than 20-year-old case.

Mohammed and a total of four other defendants at Guantanamo are accused in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, using hijacked passenger jets, that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. A fourth defendant did not agree to the plea agreement, and a fifth defendant last year was ruled mentally unfit to continue facing trial.

Legal complications, including profound questions over how much the men’s torture while in CIA custody in the first years after their capture has tainted the evidence and the case itself, have helped drag out proceedings. The case remains in pretrial hearings after more than a decade.

After about two years of plea negotiations, the Pentagon-appointed retired general overseeing the military commission last week approved a plea bargain struck by prosecutors and defense attorneys that would have spared Mohammed and the two others the risk of the death penalty, in return for their guilty pleas.

Families of 9/11 victims offered differing opinions, with some welcoming the resolution and others saying they wanted to see capital trials. Senior Republicans in Congress publicly lambasted the Biden administration for the plea bargain.

An order from Austin made public late Friday, in which he said he was revoking approval of the plea bargain and personally assuming that decision-making authority in the 9/11 case, upended the deal.

“There's not a day that goes by when I don't think of 9/11 and the Americans that were murdered that day. Also those who died trying to save lives, and the troops and their families who gave so much for this country,” said Austin, who commanded troops in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, and was awarded a Silver Star for his service as a commander during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Some of the lawyers and civil-rights organizations involved in the Guantanamo Bay cases accuse Austin of bowing to political pressure in overturning the plea deal, and are challenging the legality of Austin's action.

Open hearings are scheduled to resume Wednesday for the first time since Austin’s order, and may reveal the defense’s response to the overriding of the plea bargain.

“A key part of success is just showing up.”

They have numbers to back it up. When Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin heads to the Indo-Pacific on Friday, he will be on his 11th trip to the strategically vital region — the second-most of any secretary this century.

But the trip will also test the endurance of that presence.

‘All in’: Austin defends US focus on Indo-Pacific amid global upheaval

President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for reelection has scrambled the 2024 race, making it harder for America’s allies to predict who they will be working with come January. It also marks a new era for officials in the Pentagon, who are trying to secure their work with partners around the region.

Nowhere is this more true than in Japan and the Philippines, where Austin will join Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a week of meetings. These two countries are part of a renaissance in Indo-Pacific security, in which states are hedging against Beijing and working with each other more often.

The summit is about making this progress last, multiple analysts said, even if America’s next president remains uncertain.

Much of American’s success in shoring up its network of Indo-Pacific allies comes down to a rare alignment of America-friendly leaders in the region and a focused White House, said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who focuses on U.S. strategy in Asia.

“They want to take as much advantage of that [alignment] as possible,” Cooper said.

10 days

In a briefing just before the trip, senior defense officials outlined the meetings planned for the next two weeks and what they hope to get out of them.

“We’re about to kick off the 10 most consequential days for U.S. defense ties in the Indo-Pacific since the start of the administration,” a senior Pentagon official said.

Austin will meet with his Japanese and Philippine counterparts, along with those from India and Australia — some one-on-one and some in groups. In addition, defense officials from Japan, South Korea and the U.S. will meet in Tokyo. It’s the first time such a forum has occurred in either Japan or South Korea, which until recently were feuding over the legacy of Japan’s colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula.

In those meetings, the Pentagon plans to announce a variety of new ways that each military will work together.

Japan is doubling its defense budget and growing the narrow role of its Self Defense Forces. As Tokyo’s military prepares to take on larger roles, the U.S. is restructuring its command in Japan so that the two can coordinate better.

The two countries will agree to build or repair more weapons together, including planes, ships and missiles — particularly those for Patriot, an air defense system that has proven crucial to Ukraine’s self-defense.

US, Japan, S Korea hold drills in disputed sea as Biden hosts leaders

And lastly, the U.S. and Japan will discuss military operations in the southwest Japanese islands, where Tokyo is permanently basing soldiers for the first time. The U.S. would like to eventually send troops of its own there as it tries to spread its forces around the region, but such efforts have been met with local reluctance.

In the Philippines, the U.S. will announce $500 million in long-term security aid, meant to help Manila defend against China in the South China Sea. The two countries will also agree on a “road map” of military spending over the next five to 10 years, work on a plan to securely share information and discuss new military sites where the U.S. can operate.

Institutionalizing

While addressing logistical issues involving basing and partnerships, Austin’s trip will also seek to buttress the work America has done in Asia over the last four years, according to Victor Cha, a former Asia official for the National Security Council during the George W. Bush presidency.

“What the administration has been good at is to try to institutionalize these things so they can outlast this administration,” Cha said.

Much of that work, he said, has involved gathering together small groups of countries in the region. Another defense official speaking before the trip said to expect even more of that, with the U.S. seeking to set a tempo for how often these countries — such as Japan and South Korea — will meet.

The first official argued that, while U.S. policy on China is not uniform, it has become much more bipartisan on Capitol Hill as the threat from Beijing becomes clearer.

If there’s one area that the Donald Trump and Biden administrations have mostly agreed on, it’s been a strong stance against Beijing. Trump was close to the leaders of Japan and Australia, and helped push the increased China focus.

How Trump’s attacks on the US-Japan security alliance could affect readiness

It’s not clear whether future leaders in the region will show the same patience — particularly in Japan, where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe famously never responded when criticized by Trump.

But the forces motivating their cooperation aren’t likely to change. China has become more aggressive around the Philippines and Taiwan. And North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons, spooking Japan and South Korea.

On the eve of what could be Austin’s last official trip to the region, the secretary noted the Pentagon’s wins in Asia during his tenure at a press conference this week, even China itself played a role in those as well.

“They’ve achieved more in three-and-a-half years than Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump did,” said Michael Green, a former National Security Council member. “A lot of that is thanks to Xi Jinping.”

Austin ordered the creation of a special panel to determine whether to retain or rescind the medals, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday. In a July 19 memorandum ordering the review, Austin said the panel would investigate “each awardee’s individual actions” and also “consider the context of the overall engagement.”

“It’s never too late to do what’s right,” an unnamed senior defense official said in a statement Wednesday. “And that’s what is intended by the review that the secretary directed, which is to ensure that we go back and review each of these medals in a rigorous and individualized manner.”

The killings, referred to as the Wounded Knee Massacre, occurred Dec. 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. It was part of a larger effort by the U.S. government to repress Native American tribes of the Great Plains and eradicate a religious movement known as Ghost Dance.

Reports about the Ghost Dance movement prompted the U.S. Army to guard reservations. On Dec. 29, 1890, troops from the 7th Cavalry were confiscating weapons from Lakota people when a struggle with a reportedly deaf man sparked a chaotic one-sided firefight. When the smoke cleared, dozens of cavalry troopers were wounded or killed by friendly fire — likely from their artillery — and hundreds of Lakota were dead.

For their actions that day, 20 cavalrymen were awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor. Austin’s memorandum lists the recipients, along with short descriptions of why each man received a medal.

One citation says a recipient showed distinguished conduct “in a battle with hostile Indians.” Another says one man “voluntarily led a party into a ravine to dislodge Sioux Indians concealed therein.”

A few citations said troops had rescued their fellow soldiers, and some said only that the men exhibited “extraordinary gallantry.”

Congress officially apologized for the massacre around its 100th anniversary in 1990, but it did not rescind the medals then. In 2022, Congress approved a measure encouraging the Pentagon to review the awards.

Medals of Honor for soldiers who perpetrated Wounded Knee massacre may be rescinded

The panel reviewing the Medals of Honor will comprise five experts, including two from the Department of the Interior, Austin’s memo states. The panel is expected to submit a report to Austin by Oct. 15 with recommendations for each recipient, and then Austin will take those recommendations to President Joe Biden.

When reviewing the awards, panelists will consider the context at the time and use the military’s 1890 standards for awarding the Medal of Honor, rather than today’s standards.

Panelists will determine whether any of the soldiers did anything disqualifying them from the award, which includes intentionally directing an attack against someone who surrendered in good faith, murdering or raping a prisoner or engaging in any other act “demonstrating immorality,” Austin’s memo reads.

The U.S. Army was ordered to hand over all historical documentation about the massacre, including personnel files for the awardees, by Friday.

The Pentagon noted that this isn’t the first time Medals of Honor have come under scrutiny. In 1916, Congress ordered the Army to review all Medals of Honor awarded since the Civil War. At that time, a panel of five retired generals decided to rescind 911 of the awards. Six of those medals were later reinstated.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.

Saying that now is “a critical time” for the Arctic, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told reporters Monday that climate change, increased activity by adversaries and degrading U.S. infrastructure are forcing the department to rethink how to keep the Arctic secure and ensure troops are well-equipped and protected.

8,000+ soldiers tested in large-scale combat in the Arctic

The Arctic strategy is short on specifics, but broadly pushes for greater spending on high-tech sensor and radar systems, a range of military equipment, and continued investment in Pituffik Space Base, the U.S. Space Force base in the northwest corner of Greenland. And it relies on growing partnerships with Canada and a number of NATO allies in the north.

Defense Department leaders have, for more than the past decade, warned that the U.S. needs to step up its activities in the Arctic to better compete with China and Russia as climate change makes the frigid region more accessible.

But the remote northern expanse presents an array of challenges, including demands for deep-water ports, weapons, drones and equipment that can withstand the climate, and additional ships that can handle the cold waters and break through the ice.

The U.S. has also struggled with Cold War-era Defense and State Department infrastructure that is degrading in the frigid weather, and erosion on the coasts.

The cold and increasingly unpredictable weather also restricts military training and affects equipment. And the region, which has limited satellite coverage, requires a far more expansive array of sensors for communications and military awareness.

“Slowly over time, there’s been a bit of a greater awakening in the department,” said Iris Ferguson, the deputy assistant defense secretary for the Arctic. “Now we’re getting into the nitty gritty of how you implement a strategy.”

The report notes that the Arctic is warming “more than three times faster than the rest of the world" and could see its first “practically ice-free summer” by 2030. As the ice melts, the increased traffic, it said, will boost the risks of accidents, miscalculation and environmental degradation.

US doesn’t want to make Arctic contested battlespace, admiral says

Hicks couldn't quantify the increased activity by Russia and China in the region, but she called the growing cooperation between the two troubling. In 2022 and 2023, they conducted joint military exercises off the coast of Alaska.

Meanwhile, the melting ice caps are opening sea lanes for longer periods of time each year, making lucrative oil and gas deposits more accessible. And China has provided critical funding to Russia for energy exploration.

China has also increased its own activity in the region, including by its three icebreaker ships that do civil-military research in the region. According to the report, Chinese vessels have tested underwater drones and polar-capable aircraft there.

Russia, which has the largest amount of Arctic territory and has the most developed military presence there, including important strategic nuclear capabilities, such as its submarine-launched ballistic missile force.

Going forward, the strategy says the department will review options for better sensors, and new space-based missile-warning and observational systems with greater polar coverage. Insufficient investments in early warning and air defense sensors in the Arctic will increase risks to the U.S. homeland, the report warns.

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the Guard Bureau, will retire at the beginning of August and Lt. Gen. Marc Sasseville, who was the vice chief, has already retired. Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, who is chief of the Army Guard but has been serving as acting vice chief, will also retire in early August.

Southern border mission has no military value, Guard chief warns

The lack of progress on the nominations has become a source of concern to the bureau, which oversees the training and oversight of the Guard and Reserve forces who deploy on federal duty for overseas combat and to protect the homeland. The Guard chief is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and serves as a key link to the adjutant generals who command the state Guard units across the country and its territories.

As an example, Guard troops from a number of states were called to Washington, D.C. to help secure the city after rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020. They also, in their state active-duty status, routinely respond to hurricanes, fires and other disasters, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the retirements loom, the National Guard Association of the United States sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, president of the association, said Friday that they are “shocked and disappointed in the process" and the fact that the White House hasn't gotten nominations to the Senate.

He said that with the busy months ahead, having other officers serving temporarily in acting positions isn't as effective as having a confirmed leaders in the job. In some cases, he said, they don't have all the same authorities as those who are confirmed.

“A key part of having our chief on the Joint Chiefs is that direct line right to the secretary of defense. And that’s one of the benefits of having him in that room and in those discussions,” said McGinn.

The administration, he said, has known for several years that all four leaders — the chief, vice chief, Air Guard director and Army Guard director — would all be retiring this summer. The prospect has forced the bureau to juggle people around to cover the jobs, while nominations languish.

In March, the nomination of Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak to become the next Air Guard director was sent to the Senate to replace Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh. Early last month, Loh retired, and Pirak has been serving as the acting director.

Just last week, the Senate received the nomination of Maj. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, currently the adjutant general in Arkansas, to be the next director of the Army Guard, to replace Jensen.

No hearings or votes have been scheduled for either Stubbs or Pirak.

Meanwhile, the nominations for the top two slots — the chief and vice chief of the Guard — have not yet left the White House.

“Delays in the confirmation process can lead to gaps in leadership, disrupting operational continuity and potentially compromising our military’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to emerging threats,” wrote McGinn in the letter to the committee’s chairman, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, and the ranking Republican, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

According to officials, the Pentagon has recommended Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus as the next chief, and Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Jarrard as the vice chief. But their names haven't been sent to the Senate. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel movements.

Nordhaus is currently the commander of 1st Air Force and the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) continental U.S. region, which provides and controls airspace surveillance and activities for the U.S.

Jarrard has been serving as the director of operations for the Guard bureau.

Officials said that if Pirak is confirmed in the next week or two, he would likely serve as acting chief.

During a five-decade career in politics, Biden developed extensive personal relationships with multiple foreign leaders that none of the potential replacements on the Democratic ticket can match. After his announcement, messages of support and gratitude for his years of service poured in from near and far.

The scope of foreign policy challenges facing the next U.S. president makes clear how consequential what happens in Washington is for the rest of the planet. Here’s a look at some of them.

Israel

With Vice President Kamala Harris being eyed as a potential replacement for Biden, Israelis on Sunday scrambled to understand what her candidacy would mean for their country as it confronts increasing global isolation over its military campaign against Hamas.

Israel’s left-wing Haaretz daily newspaper ran a story scrutinizing Harris’ record of support for Israel, pointing to her reputation as Biden’s “bad cop” who has vocally admonished Israel for its offensive in Gaza. In recent months, she has gone further than Biden in calling for a cease-fire, denouncing Israel’s invasion of Rafah and expressing horror over the civilian death toll in Gaza.

“With Biden leaving, Israel has lost perhaps the last Zionist president,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. “A new Democratic candidate will upend the dynamic.”

Biden’s staunch defense of Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has its roots in his half-century of support for the country as a senator, vice president and then president. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked Biden for his “unwavering support of Israel over the years.”

“Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable,” Gallant wrote on social media platform X.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised Biden as a “symbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoples” and a “true ally of the Jewish people.” There was no immediate reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of former President Donald Trump whose history of cordial relations with Biden has come under strain during the Israel-Hamas war.

Ukraine

Any Democratic candidate would likely continue Biden’s legacy of staunch military support for Ukraine. But frustration with the Biden administration has grown in Ukraine and Europe over the slow pace of U.S. aid and restrictions on the use of Western weapons.

“Most Europeans realize that Ukraine is increasingly going to be their burden,” said Sudha David-Wilp, director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund, a research institute. “Everyone is trying to get ready for all the possible outcomes.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that he respected the “tough but strong decision” by Biden to drop out of the campaign, and he thanked Biden for his help “in preventing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin from occupying our country.”

Trump has promised to end Russia’s war on Ukraine in one day if he is elected — a prospect that has raised fears in Ukraine that Russia might be allowed to keep the territory it occupies.

Trump’s vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is among Congress’ most vocal opponents of U.S. aid for Ukraine and has further raised the stakes for Kyiv.

Russia, meanwhile, dismissed the importance of the race, insisting that no matter what happened, Moscow would press on in Ukraine.

“That’s it for Biden,” Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security council, said on the Telegram messaging app. “The goals of the special military operation will be achieved,” he added, using the Kremlin’s term for the war in Ukraine.

China

In recent months, both Biden and Trump have tried to show voters who can best stand up to Beijing’s growing military strength and belligerence and protect U.S. businesses and workers from low-priced Chinese imports. Biden has hiked tariffs on electric vehicles from China, and Trump has promised to implement tariffs of 60% on all Chinese products.

Trump’s “America First” doctrine exacerbated tensions with Beijing. But disputes with the geopolitical rival and economic colossus over wars, trade, technology and security continued into Biden’s term.

China’s official reaction to the U.S. presidential race has been careful.

“The U.S. elections are U.S. internal politics. I have no comment on this,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

The editor of the Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper, Hu Xijin, downplayed the impact of Biden’s withdrawal.

“Whoever becomes the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party may be the same,” he wrote on X.

Iran

With Iran’s proxies across the Middle East increasingly entangled in the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. confronts a region in disarray.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis struck Tel Aviv for the first time last week, prompting retaliatory Israeli strikes inside war-torn Yemen. Simmering tensions and cross-border attacks between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group and the Israeli military have raised fears of an all-out regional conflagration.

Hamas, which also receives support from Iran, continues to fight Israel even nine months into a war that has killed 38,000 Palestinians and displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population.

The U.S. and its allies have accused Iran of expanding its nuclear program and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60%, near-weapons-grade levels.

After then-President Trump in 2018 withdrew from Tehran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers, Biden said he wanted to reverse his predecessor’s hawkish stance. But the Biden administration has maintained severe economic sanctions and overseen failed attempts to renegotiate the agreement.

The sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi — the supreme leader’s hard-line protege — in a helicopter crash vaulted a new reformist to the presidency in Iran, generating new opportunities and risks. Masoud Pezeshkian has said he wants to help Iran open up to the world but has maintained a defiant tone against the U.S.

During a briefing Monday, Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, brushed off Biden’s withdrawal.

“To us, the coming and going of governments and persons on top of the U.S administration is not important on its own,” he said. “What can change the atmosphere of relations is a fundamental change in this (U.S.) hostile policy against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Europe and NATO

Many Europeans were happy to see Trump go after his years of disparaging the European Union and undermining NATO. Trump’s seemingly dismissive attitude toward European allies in last month’s presidential debate did nothing to assuage those concerns.

Biden, on the other hand, has supported close American relations with bloc leaders.

That closeness was on stark display after Biden’s decision to bow out of the race. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called his choice “probably the most difficult one in your life.” The newly installed British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he respected Biden’s “decision based on what he believes is in the best interests of the American people.”

There was also an outpouring of affection from Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who called Biden a “proud American with an Irish soul.”

The question of whether NATO can maintain its momentum in supporting Ukraine and checking the ambitions of other authoritarian states hangs in the balance of this presidential election, analysts say.

“They don’t want to see Donald Trump as president. So there’s quite a bit of relief but also quite a bit of nervousness” about Biden’s decision to drop out, said Jeremy Shapiro, research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Like many in the United States, but perhaps more so, they are really quite confused.”

Mexico

The close relationship between Mexico and the U.S. has been marked in recent years by disagreements over trade, energy and climate change. Since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took power in 2018, both countries have found common ground on issue of migration — with Mexico making it more difficult for migrants to cross its country to the U.S. border and the U.S. not pressing on other issues.

The López Obrador administration kept that policy while Trump was president and continued it into Biden’s term.

On Friday, Mexico’s president called Trump “a friend” and said he would write to him to warn him against pledging to close the border or blaming migrants for bringing drugs into the United States.

“I am going to prove to him that migrants don’t carry drugs to the United States,” he said, adding that “closing the border won’t solve anything, and anyway, it can’t be done.”

Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Daria Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Josh Goodman in Miami contributed to this report.

“It’s just been an absolute nightmare. There’s no aspect of our lives that are the same,” said Jessica Swan.

Swan’s daughter, Mackenzie Wilson, 19, a student at Oregon State University and an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet, died in a vehicle accident in June 2022, while at an Air Force base in Idaho for a development program.

Family members of active duty troops can collect financial compensation from the military after a service member dies. But Swan received nothing after her child’s death. Loved ones of those in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, as well as those in a pre-basic training program, are largely ineligible for such payments.

“There’s nothing, which was just astonishing,” said Swan. “How can you be doing the same thing as someone else, but they have a different title under a different program, and they have a safety net, but my daughter didn’t.”

Now, lawmakers are working across the aisle to remedy that.

A pair of provisions in the recently passed House version of the annual defense policy bill seek to expand eligibility of death benefits to ROTC members as well as life insurance access to the college-enrolled cadets and members of the military’s Delayed Entry Program, which allows time to complete school or meet other requirements before recruit training.

While House lawmakers included the provisions in their defense bill that passed in June, the current Senate version of the bill so far does not have them, and it remains to be seen whether the changes will make it into the final version of the bill signed by the president.

If eventually signed into law, the moves, which come amid a push to recruit more talent into the services, would close a gap in coverage that grieving parents say could offer much-needed relief from financial hardship and provide recognition of loss similar to what others in the military community receive.

“You’re already living every parent’s worst nightmare, and then you add the financial on top of it,” Swan said, noting how the lack of monetary assistance compounded her situation and snowballed into her losing her home.

The measures, included in the House’s fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, would allow families of ROTC cadets who die at training on a DOD installation to be eligible for a special tax-free death gratuity payment of $100,000 as well as the aid of a casualty assistance officer, who can help with counseling, burial and next of kin services.

It also includes language to make third and fourth year ROTC cadets and members of the Delayed Entry Program eligible to enroll in Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, SGLI, which can provide up to $500,000 in coverage.

Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., who enrolled in the Delayed Entry Program a few months prior to officially joining the Marine Corps Reserve and attending boot camp, helped include those provisions in the House bill.

“In Congress, sometimes you are working on a policy change that will affect a lot of families in small or imperceptible ways,” he told Military Times in a statement. “Other times, you’re working on something that will only affect a few families, but in meaningful and noticeable ways. In this case, we are talking about changes that are much more the latter.”

Enrollees in the Delayed Entry Program are currently eligible to get very limited coverage through the SGLI for exercises that they are completing on a DOD facility, according to Carbajal.

But many in that program, like Jose Rodriguez, end up not being qualified. He died after participating in a fitness test with the Marine Corps’ Delayed Entry Program, and his family said they got no financial support.

“He was nothing for them,” his mother Rosario said.

As the armed forces actively work to attract talent following past difficulties in meeting recruitment targets, Manny Vega, the leader of the advocacy group who helped push the legislation forward in Congress, emphasized the coverage changes in question will offer peace of mind to families with loved ones in these programs, which serve as major gateways for the services to bring in new troops.

And if, or when, an incident results in a death, they would have help with navigating the path forward.

“That extra money would be a buffer,” said Vega, president of Save Our Servicemembers.

Vega admitted there’s been some pushback to the endeavor, including comments about how since those in question have not yet attended boot camp they should not qualify for the death benefits.

“Those who are opposed to this bill because these members have not attended boot camp are wrong,” he said, emphasizing that the young volunteers equally understand the sense of commitment that others in the military hold, and are already engaging in service-connected physical activities.

It’s unclear as to whether the legislation will be updated to make money retroactively available for families like Wilson’s or Rodriguez’s, but for now those leading the charge are aiming to get at least something on the table to keep others who experience such a tragedy from facing the same financial burdens.

“While thankfully, the number of families that will be impacted by this legislation is small, the stories of service members like Mackenzie Wilson and Jose Rodriguez are impactful on the families of individuals considering entering ROTC and DEP,” Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who also helped get the language included in the House bill, told Military Times in a statement.

“Ensuring that service members in those programs receive these benefits is critical to strengthening the family support systems that are the foundation of our modern, volunteer military,” added Waltz, who commissioned through the Virginia Military Institute’s ROTC program.

Speaking at Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., the site where the original members of the alliance signed the North Atlantic Treaty, Biden framed it as “a historic donation of air defense equipment for Ukraine.”

“The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy will provide Ukraine with equipment for five additional strategic air defense systems in the coming months,” he said. “The United States and our partners intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of additional tactical air defense systems.”

The United States, Germany and Romania will donate additional Patriot batteries while the Netherlands donates Patriot components. Additionally, Italy will donate a SAMP-T system.

The five countries noted in a statement that they are working on a “further announcement this year of additional strategic air defense systems for Ukraine.”

The U.S. and various allies also “intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of tactical air defense systems, including NASAMS, HAWKs, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepard systems,” according to the joint statement.

Biden’s announcement comes weeks after the U.S. moved Ukraine up to the front of the queue for Patriot and NASAM interceptors.

“Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missiles and Ukrainian troops facing their attacks on the frontlines,” he said.

The White House has said that Ukraine will receive many of these interceptors by the end of the summer. Over the next 15 months, Kyiv will take precedence over several other countries seeking to buy U.S. air defense systems. The administration has not divulged which countries will face delays in acquiring interceptors as a result of the decision, except to note that the decision will not impact Taiwan or Israel.

Biden’s announcement comes one day after a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, killing at least 31 people. The barrage targeted five Ukrainian cities with 40 missiles, wounding more than 150 people, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Washington this week for the summit.

Other NATO member countries are expected to announce additional security packages for Ukraine at the summit this week.

“Together we’ve built a global coalition to stand with Ukraine,” said Biden. “Together we’ve provided significant economic and humanitarian assistance. And together we’ve supplied Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself: tanks, armored vehicles, air defense systems, long-range missiles and millions of munitions.”

“The United States and nearly two dozen allied partners have signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine,” he said.

Inhofe, a powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for over six decades, died Tuesday morning after he had a stroke over the July Fourth holiday, his family said in a statement.

Inhofe, who was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020, stepped down in early 2023.

Inhofe frequently criticized the mainstream science that human activity contributed to changes in the Earth’s climate, once calling it “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”

In February 2015, with temperatures in the nation’s capital below freezing, Inhofe brought a snowball on to the Senate floor. He tossed it before claiming that environmentalists focus attention on global warming as it kept getting cold. “It’s very, very cold out. Very unseasonable,” Inhofe said.

As Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, Inhofe was a staunch supporter of the state’s five military installations and a vocal fan of congressional earmarks. The Army veteran and licensed pilot, who would fly himself to and from Washington, secured the federal money to fund local road and bridge projects, and criticized House Republicans who wanted a one-year moratorium on such pet projects in 2010.

“Defeating an earmark doesn’t save a nickel,” Inhofe told the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce that August. “It merely means that within the budget process, it goes right back to the bureaucracy.”

He was a strong backer of President Donald Trump, who praised him for his “incredible support of our #MAGA agenda” while endorsing the senator’s 2020 reelection bid. During the Trump administration, Inhofe served as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee following the death of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Inhofe caught national attention in March 2009 by introducing legislation that would have prevented detainees from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay from being relocated “anywhere on American soil.”

Closer to home, Inhofe helped secure millions of dollars to clean up a former mining hub in northeast Oklahoma that spent decades on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list. In a massive buyout program, the federal government purchased homes and businesses within the 40-square-mile region of Tar Creek, where children consistently tested for dangerous levels of lead in their blood.

“This is an example of a government program created for a specific purpose and then dissolves after the job is completed. This is how government should work,” Inhofe said in December 2010, when the project was nearly complete.

In 2021, Inhofe defied some in his party by voting to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, saying that to do otherwise would be a violation of his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. He voted against convicting Trump at both of his impeachment trials.

Born James Mountain Inhofe on Nov. 17, 1934, in Des Moines, Iowa, Inhofe grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Tulsa in 1959. He served in the Army between 1956 and 1958, and was a businessman for three decades, serving as president of Quaker Life Insurance Co.

His political career began in 1966, when he was elected to the state House. Two years later he won an Oklahoma Senate seat that he held during unsuccessful runs for governor in 1974 and for the U.S. House in 1976. He then won three terms at Tulsa mayor starting in 1978.

Inhofe went on to win two terms in the U.S. House in the 1980s, before throwing his hat into a bitter U.S. Senate race when longtime Sen. David Boren resigned in 1994 to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Inhofe beat then-U.S. Rep. Dave McCurdy in a special election that year to serve the final two years of Boren’s term and was reelected five times.

Inhofe lived up to his reputation as a tough campaigner in his 2008 reelection bid against Democrat Andrew Rice, a 35-year-old state senator and former missionary. Inhofe claimed Rice was “too liberal” for Oklahoma and ran television ads that critics said contained anti-gay overtones, including one that showed a wedding cake topped by two plastic grooms and a photo of Rice as a young man wearing a leather jacket.

Rice, who has two children with his wife and earned his master’s degree from Harvard University Divinity School, accused Inhofe of distorting his record and attacking his character.

Inhofe’s bullish personality also was apparent outside politics. He was a commercial-rated pilot and flight instructor with more than 50 years of flying experience.

He made an emergency landing in Claremore in 1999, after his plane lost a propeller, an incident later blamed on an installation error. In 2006, his plane spun out of control upon landing in Tulsa; he and an aide escaped injury, though the plane was severely damaged.

In 2010, Inhofe landed his small plane on a closed runway at a rural South Texas airport while flying himself and others to a home he owned in South Padre Island. Runway workers scrambled, and Inhofe agreed to complete a remedial training program rather than face possible legal action.

“I’m 75 years old, but I still fly airplanes upside down,” Inhofe said in August 2010. “I don’t know why it is, but I don’t hurt anywhere, and I don’t feel any differently than I felt five years ago.”

Inhofe is survived by his wife, Kay, three children and several grandchildren. A son, Dr. Perry Dyson Inhofe II, died in November 2013, at the age of 51, when the twin-engine aircraft he was flying crashed a few miles north of Tulsa International Airport.

The Russian state-sponsored hacker infiltrated a Microsoft platform called Microsoft Azure Government, which provides storage, databases and other services to the VA and other government agencies.

VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told Military Times in an email that the server was breached “for just one second, presumably to see if the credentials worked” by a group called Midnight Blizzard, or Nobelium, which has ties to the Russian government, according to Microsoft.

“After investigating the matter, we determined that no patient data was compromised,” Hayes told Military Times. “VA found that Midnight Blizzard used a single set of stolen credentials to access a Microsoft Cloud test environment around January. ... We are continuing to look into this matter with Microsoft to ensure that all veteran patient data remains protected and that we are not compromised in the future.”

Stars and Stripes previously reported the hack.

Microsoft said the attack originally targeted corporate email accounts within the company, including the company’s senior leadership, in an effort to find information related to the group Midnight Blizzard itself. The hacker used a spray attack, which involves using a variety of predictable, simple passwords to try and gain access to an account, according to Microsoft.

“The attack was not the result of a vulnerability in Microsoft products or services,” Microsoft officials said in a January statement. “To date, there is no evidence that the threat actor had any access to customer environments, production systems, source code or AI systems.”

Hayes told Stars and Stripes that the attack was unrelated to a Feb. 21 hack, which involved a private vendor, Change Healthcare, responsible for processing health care payments.

That attack included an expansive breach of the U.S. health care system, possibly including the VA. Fifteen million veterans were notified that their private health care information could have been compromised, Veterans Affairs Sec. Denis McDonough said in April.

The cybersecurity attack also included the Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent news group of the federal government that produces Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Free Asia, according to Stars and Stripes.

The first lady was to announce the formation of Veterans and Military Families for Biden-Harris during stops Monday in Wilmington, North Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Columbus, Georgia. The states have large populations of veterans and military families.

Her daylong tour is part of the Biden campaign’s broader effort to rebound from the president’s halting performance against Trump in last month’s debate, which led a handful of House Democrats and others to call on Biden to end his campaign because they no longer believe the 81-year-old president is mentally and physically capable of defeating Trump in November’s election.

Biden has insisted, during public appearances since the June 27 debate, that he is staying in the race.

His campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said the new group will work to engage and mobilize millions of veterans and military families in the U.S. to vote to reelect the president.

“Our veterans and military families are the brave and the bold, who step forward for all of us," she said. "They deserve a commander in chief who respects their bravery and understands personally their sacrifice, not one who denigrates them for being willing to put their lives on the line for our democracy.”

Rodriguez was referring to reports that Trump, during a 2018 trip to France, referred to service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice as “suckers” and “losers.” Trump denies making the comments.

Biden’s late son Beau served in Iraq as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard, and the first lady’s father was a Navy signalman during World War II.

Biden and Trump argued during the debate over who cares the most about veterans. Biden noted that he recently visited an American military cemetery in France, the final resting place for U.S. soldiers who fought in World War I, which Trump notably skipped on that 2018 trip.

Trump asserted during the debate that the Democratic president is coddling migrants while neglecting the needs of veterans and service members, and he faulted Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Biden’s campaign noted that the president had expanded benefits for veterans affected by toxic exposures, developed a strategy to reduce veteran suicide, increased support for caregivers and awarded more than $1 billion in 2023 to support homeless veterans.

Jill Biden separately leads a White House initiative named Joining Forces, which is working to help military spouses get and keep federal government jobs, make child care more affordable and accessible for military families and support those who care for veterans.

As ranking member, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., led 19 other senators who asked McDonough to ensure veterans’ right to community care — a program the VA utilizes to connect veterans to health care through local providers. The senators claim that a panel, dubbed the Red Team, meant to assess the reasoning behind community care’s increased spending, made recommendations that are negatively impacting veterans in need of care.

“VA leaders — including yourself — addressed the Red Team and provided it with select data and briefings that contributed to the conclusion that frames community care as a potential existential threat to VA’s direct care system, rather than the vital lifeline it is for veterans and for VA,” the senators wrote.

The letter states that the Red Team suggests the VA reduce community care referrals for veterans needing emergency, oncology or mental health care.

“It is unconscionable that VA would consider leaving them with fewer options to seek needed care,” the senators said in the letter.

Even as the Red Team’s recommendations have not formally been implemented yet, the senators write they noticed a steep uptick in reports from veterans and their families, saying the suggestions are being adhered to already. The VA already canceled, revoked or denied community care for a number of veterans, according to the letter.

VA issued a hiring pause in February and is striving to reduce staffing by 10,000 employees, which the letter argues will affect veterans’ welfare, especially for those in need of care.

The letter cites the VA’s 2018 MISSION Act, with the goal of giving veterans more options for health care access, that included the community care program, launched in 2019.

“VA must embrace both the spirit and letter of that transformational piece of legislation to ensure this does not continue,” the senators said. “Doing anything less is detrimental to the progress VA has made through the MISSION Act and a personal affront to veterans across the country.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated 5 a.m. ET on July 8.

Austin’s remarks came as Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with him at the Pentagon. And they mark a strong response to pleas from Kyiv for help in battling Russian forces in the Donetsk region.

‘We need to move fast’: Pentagon sends Ukraine $1 billion in new aid

Of that total, $150 million of the aid will come from presidential drawdown authority (PDA) and the remainder will be provided by Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). PDA allows the Pentagon to take the weapons from its stocks and send them more quickly to Ukraine; USAI puts weapons on longer-term contracts.

“Make no mistake, Ukraine is not alone, and the United States will never waver in our support,” Austin said as he opened the meeting with Umerov. “Alongside some 50 allies and partners, we’ll continue to provide critical capabilities that Ukraine needs to push back Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow.”

The announcement comes just days before the U.S. hosts the NATO summit in Washington and as Ukraine has continued to lobby for military support and acceptance into the alliance.

“We’ll take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine,” Austin told Umerov.

“Hopefully soon Ukraine will receive its invitation,” the Ukrainian minister responded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia had dropped more than 800 powerful glide bombs in Ukraine in the last week alone. And he urged national leaders to relax restrictions on the use of Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia. In particular, he said, Ukraine needs the “necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are.”

Austin did not refer to the restrictions in his opening comments, but he told Umerov that they would discuss “more ways to meet Ukraine’s immediate security needs and to build a future force to ward off more Russian aggression.”

Including the latest $2.3 billion, the U.S. has committed more than $53.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

That award — which recognizes service members who show heroism in the field — has been called into question after a CBS investigation reported Nehls had been touting military decorations that did not match his service record provided by the Pentagon. In campaign ads and in his House biography, Nehls, R-Richmond, has posted pictures of him in an Army uniform wearing two Bronze Star medals. He has also worn the Combat Infantryman Badge lapel pin, awarded to soldiers for service in combat.

Texas Congressman defends military record amid combat badge scandal

The investigation found that the Pentagon reported Nehls only received one Bronze Star and that the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded in error and rescinded in 2023. Nehls, who has been publicly criticized by members of his own party amid the claims of stolen valor, said on social media that he did have two Bronze Stars. But he has since stopped wearing the CIB.

But Jason Burke, the Navy captain who led the 130-person joint task force Nehls served on during his tour, recalled awarding the medal to Nehls. Nehls received the medal at a ceremony with several other officers in the fall of 2008, shortly before Nehls finished his tour and returned to Texas, Burke told the Tribune.

“You’re getting that award if you’ve done a good job and met the criteria,” said the now-retired Burke, who is listed on the award certificate as Nehls’ commanding officer. “He earned it, and received it.”

Nehls, who represents a swath of Houston suburbs, served as Burke’s second-in-command under a joint effort called Task Force Currahee. Their unit, which included both Army and Navy officers, worked on provincial reconstruction, building roads, clinics and schools in eastern Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province. Burke said the team’s convoys regularly came under Taliban ambushes and guerilla attacks.

The Bronze Star award must be recommended by a commander, and any service member in any branch of the military working an operation involving a conflict with an opposing force of the U.S. is eligible. The CIB, by contrast, is only given to those in combat roles.

It was relatively standard during the U.S.’ war on terrorism, after the Sept. 11 attacks, for officers of certain ranks to receive some kind of award upon completing a tour, often a Bronze Star. Nehls’ first star was awarded for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, where he trained 13 staff members of an Iraqi government office to perform financial assessments, according to the certificate.

A spokesperson for Nehls declined to comment on this story, pointing to a post on X Nehls made last month defending his record and posting photos of the certificates of his two Bronze stars, and his copy of the underlying nomination forms. Burke’s sign-off can be seen on the 2008 documentation, known as Form 638, along with signatures from two higher-level officials.

Congressman accuses Army of political attacks over combat badge

CBS reported the Pentagon would conduct another review of Nehls’ record. The most recent summary of his service and awards, provided to the Tribune by a Pentagon spokesperson on Friday, lists only one Bronze Star and no CIB.

The systems for records keeping for military awards can be difficult to navigate. Soldiers often become responsible for making sure awards paperwork is turned over to a personnel officer.

That means documentation for awards sometimes slips through the cracks, according to retired Army sergeant Anthony Anderson, who has investigated numerous instances of stolen valor.

“I wouldn’t say it’s common, but it does happen,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he had previously spoken with Nehls’ chief of staff, encouraging them to submit documentation of the second Bronze Star to the Pentagon to be added to Nehls record.

He said he would be surprised if an officer in Nehls’ position hadn’t received a Bronze Star.

Nehls’ military record has become a thorn for him in recent months. He announced that he would stop wearing the Combat Infantryman Badge last week in response to reports that the badge had been revoked in 2023.

Nehls was found to be ineligible for that badge because he had served in Afghanistan in a civil role, not as a combatant infantryman. Nehls did serve as an infantryman during his time with the Wisconsin National Guard in the 1990s, completing a tour in Bosnia.

“Amid stolen valor accusations, ex-commanding officer confirms he issued Rep. Troy Nehls’ second Bronze Star” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Military Times has edited the original headline.

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The lawmakers are concerned that the Defense Health Agency has decided to retain Express Scripts as the sole pharmacy benefit manager for Tricare, the military insurance system serving 9.6 million troops, retirees and their families.

Military pharmacies resume regular operations after cyberattack

In a letter sent Wednesday to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Lester Martinez-Lopez and DHA director Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, the lawmakers questioned whether Express Scripts may be using anticompetitive tactics to overcharge Tricare.

Express Scripts is the second-largest pharmacy benefit manager in the country. PBMs act as middlemen for pharmacies, drug companies and insurers and play a key role in negotiating drug prices between the various players, as well as helping to decide which medicines an insurer will cover.

Critics argue PBMs’ often secretive work has forced scores of Americans to overspend on medication or kept them from being able to access the medicine they need. PBM proponents argue they ultimately drive down costs in the medical system and ensure the prescription drug enterprise runs smoothly.

The letter, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., demands answers by July 2 from defense officials on how they monitor the Express Scripts contract, how robust the pharmacy network is, and whether DHA tracks Express Scripts’ denials for expensive specialty drugs requested by Tricare beneficiaries. Twenty additional members of Congress signed onto the letter.

At issue is the narrow set of companies through which troops and their families receive medicine under Tricare health plans.

Tricare members can obtain prescription drugs through two entities: Express Scripts, which handles nonspecialty medication, or Accredo, which handles specialty drugs for conditions like cancer and multiple sclerosis. Accredo has served as Tricare’s primary in-network specialty pharmacy since the beginning of 2023, though patients can buy specialty drugs through other pharmacies as well.

Both companies are Cigna subsidiaries. Lawmakers worry the arrangement makes Tricare customers vulnerable to higher drug prices, and may ultimately drive up the cost to taxpayers who cover government-provided health insurance.

“Because Cigna also owns Accredo, it can effectively keep much of its business in-house, using its [pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts] to steer patients to its own pharmacy while disadvantaging competitors,” the lawmakers wrote.

Lawmakers want to know whether DHA has compared the prices Express Scripts charges for specialty drugs through Accredo versus what it charges for the same drugs at independent pharmacies. They also ask how much Express Scripts charges for each of the 10 most frequently prescribed products purchased through Accredo, and how much it charges for the same prescriptions when they are purchased through independent pharmacies.

In a statement provided to Military Times, Express Scripts officials said Tricare beneficiaries aren’t required to fill the majority of specialty prescriptions through Accredo, “though many choose to because of the highly personalized support they receive from their pharmacists, nurses, clinicians, dietitians and social workers.”

Company officials said they provide Tricare beneficiaries “with high quality, affordable health care while achieving billions of dollars in savings for the government and taxpayers. Tricare beneficiaries have access to the full range of generic, brand, and specialty medications on the market today through our robust network of chain, independent, military, specialty and home delivery pharmacies.”

Tricare members have fewer independent and retail pharmacies to rely on than they did a few years ago. In 2022, 15,000 pharmacies left the Tricare network while refusing to accept the contract’s terms for reimbursement from Express Scripts. After public pressure, Express Scripts reopened its network, but fewer than 5,000 pharmacies rejoined.

“This exodus of independent and retail pharmacies can be catastrophic for Tricare beneficiaries, especially for those with complex medical conditions who are ill-served by mail-order pharmacies,” the lawmakers wrote.

There are currently more than 42,000 pharmacies, including nearly 12,000 independent pharmacies in the Tricare network. Ninety-eight percent of beneficiaries have a Tricare retail pharmacy within a 15-minute drive.

Lawmakers ask how the Defense Health Agency verifies that Express Scripts obeys patient access requirements, including that at least one in-network pharmacy is located within a 15-minute drive of 90% of Tricare beneficiaries.

They noted that the Defense Health Agency can revise the terms of the contract or leave the exclusive agreement with Express Scripts each year until the contract ends in December 2029.

A DHA spokesperson on Friday declined to comment on the letter: “It isn’t appropriate for us to comment on questions until we have responded formally to the members of Congress.”

The agency has previously told Military Times that the contract allows Express Scripts to use its own discretion in contracting with pharmacies to establish a competitively priced network that meets contract access standards, directly passing savings to the government.

Nehls, R-Richmond, has been under intense scrutiny over his display of a combat service badge that the Army revoked and removed from his service record last year.

Congressman accuses Army of political attacks over combat badge

Nehls, who represents a large swath of suburbs southwest of Houston, released what he called a “final written comment” on the controversy Tuesday afternoon. Nehls did not dispute that his Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) had been revoked by the Army, but offered no explanation for why he continued to wear it until as recently as this month.

The congressman instead accused his critics of using the military to undermine him for his hardline conservative views. Nehls is a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus.

“Unfortunately for me, as an America First Patriot and an outspoken member of Congress, there are no lengths to which the establishment won’t go to discredit me, including my CIB, which I was awarded over 14 years ago,” Nehls said in his Tuesday statement. “Nothing more needs to be said.”

On Wednesday, Nehls had apparently stopped wearing the badge.

“Because you guys are vultures,” he told reporters, according to NOTUS, a nonprofit newsroom. “I know what I’ve done, and I certainly don’t have to justify myself to you guys. You were probably in middle school when I was over there. So I don’t have to justify myself to you in any form or fashion. But I know the truth. And now that I don’t wear that, what are you going to talk to me about?”

Nehls served in the Army from 1988 to 2008, first with the Wisconsin National Guard and then in the Army Reserve. During his two deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Nehls served in the civil affairs branch, the Army confirmed to the Washington outlet NOTUS. The Combat Infantryman Badge was apparently incorrectly awarded for his tour in Afghanistan in 2008.

Only infantrymen or Special Forces soldiers who engaged in active combat are eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge.

In his Tuesday statement, Nehls appeared incredulous over the Army’s move to rescind his badge, even as he acknowledged that it occurred. Nehls previously argued in a letter to the Army’s human resources command that the division he had been a part of was indeed a combat unit.

“In 2023, 14 years after my retirement, suddenly, the Department of the Army rescinded my CIB. According to my correspondence I received from the Department of the Army, 142,596 CIBs have been awarded over the past 20 years. Of these, only 47 CIBs have been rescinded. So, let me get this straight, the Department of the Army says that the 101st Airborne Division has been 99.968% correct in awarding the CIB over the past two decades?” he said.

The issue was brought to light in May after a CBS News investigation showed discrepancies between the congressman’s own representations of his military career and his records held by the Pentagon. Reviews of Nehls’ career conducted by the Army found two separate discrepancies.

In addition to the revoked Combat Infantryman Badge the Army also told CBS that Nehls’ records indicate he received only one Bronze Star medal, despite his claiming to have been awarded two. Nehls posted two certificates and two forms on social media earlier this month.

Bronze Stars are awarded to any individual based on any heroic achievement in a combat setting, whether they were serving in a combat or civilian role.

Some of Nehl’s House Republican colleagues have since criticized him for his continued display of the badge, with fellow Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston, a former Army officer, telling a NOTUS reporter: “That’s ridiculous. That’s stolen valor.”

Before being elected in 2020, Nehls was the sheriff of Fort Bend County. He is separately facing a probe by a House ethics panel into potential campaign finance violations.

“U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls defends military record amid badge scandal” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Military Times has edited the original headline.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

The Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General will coordinate with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s watchdog on two independent investigations, according to a statement from the Office of the Inspector General.

“The agreements between the [Pentagon] and USAID establish roles and responsibilities that help enable U.S. humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza through the maritime corridor,” Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch said in the statement. “Given this, the [Pentagon Inspector General] and USAID [Inspector General] are working together to address the challenges associated with this mission.”

The Gaza pier mission uses a lesser-known military capability called Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, that generally involves sailors and soldiers.

First anchored off the coast on May 16, the pier has delivered 15 million pounds of humanitarian aid to Gaza as of June 25, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Tuesday.

But the humanitarian mission has not been without problems.

On May 25, the pier broke apart after heavy winds and high seas pummeled it only a week after it became operational. It took until June 8 for the pier to be operational again.

Three U.S. service members have also sustained non-combat related injuries during the mission, with one in critical condition requiring a medical evacuation to an Israeli hospital.

The soldier was later sent to an Army hospital in Texas.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced the call in a briefing Tuesday, saying Austin initiated the discussion.

“The secretary emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” Ryder said.

Russia has blamed the U.S. for an attack on Crimea — a Ukrainian peninsula Moscow seized in 2014 — in which Ukraine used ATACMS missiles supplied by America. Still considered Ukrainian territory under international law, Crimea is an exception to a U.S. policy that bans Ukraine from shooting long-range weapons into Russia.

This week the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy for a scolding over the attack, which killed at least four and left more than 150 injured.

“Retaliatory measures are certain to follow,” the ministry said in a post on Telegram.

The last time Austin spoke with Russia’s defense minister — then Sergei Shoigu — was March 15, 2023. According to a Pentagon readout, the two discussed “unprofessional, dangerous, and reckless behavior by the Russian air force in international airspace over the Black Sea.”

A day before, a Russian jet had crashed into an American surveillance drone, forcing it down over international waters.

Andrei Belousov, the new defense minister, was appointed this May in a major shakeup within the Kremlin. Belousov is an economist by training, and his ascendance in part reflects Russia’s ability to manage its defense industry two years into the full-scale war in Ukraine.

This is the first time Belousov and Austin have spoken. The U.S. treats any conversations with Russia as extremely sensitive, and Ryder wouldn’t answer questions about how long the call lasted, why it occurred and the state of U.S.-Russia communication.

A group of veterans, dubbed Justice for LGBTQ+ Veterans, filed the lawsuit in August 2023, claiming they had been discriminated against by the Pentagon’s former “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy due to their discharge papers unnecessarily identifying their sexual orientation as grounds for separation.

LGBTQ+ veterans face more health problems than peers, study finds

The policy, repealed in 2011, prevented LGBTQ+ service members from serving openly.

While veterans can apply to have their discharge status reviewed, attorneys for the group previously told Military Times that the process can be onerous for LGBTQ+ veterans.

“We are very pleased that the Court recognized the merits of this case by denying the Department of Defense’s motion to dismiss,” attorneys for the veterans said in a statement. “This ruling allows us to move forward in rectifying the discriminatory effects of the Department of Defense’s policies, ensuring that LGBTQ+ veterans receive the honor they rightfully deserve, having served our country with dignity and integrity.”

The Pentagon asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, citing a six-year statute of limitations for service members to challenge their discharge papers. In its motion, the Pentagon also argued the lawsuit’s timing conflicts with the department’s efforts to correct military records for service members discharged due to their sexual orientation.

Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied the Pentagon’s motion. He noted the “burdensome” application process required for LGBTQ+ veterans to correct their discharge papers.

“[LGBTQ+ veterans] suffer new injuries … each time they must present their paperwork disclosing their sexual orientation to obtain benefits or are unable to access benefits that would have been available to them had they not been discharged under [the Defense Department’s] past unconstitutional policies and forced to bear the burden of seeking correction of that paperwork,” Spero wrote in the decision.

In September 2023, Pentagon officials announced a “proactive review” of LGBTQ+ veterans who received less than honorable discharges based on their sexual orientation through its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Army vet still paying the price for bad paper discharge for being gay

A less than honorable discharge can limit a veteran’s access to veterans benefits or impact job prospects once out of the service.

The review, however, won’t include nearly 20,000 LGBTQ+ veterans expelled from the armed forces before the implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 1994.

The group declined to drop their lawsuit against the Pentagon after it announced the review.

According to the Defense Department, more than 32,000 troops were separated from the military under its “homosexual conduct” policy before and during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era between 1980 and 2011. Of those, roughly 14,000 LGTBQ+ troops were given less than honorable discharges from the armed forces.

Attorneys for Justice for LGBTQ+ Veterans claim the number to be higher, with more than 35,000 troops discharged due to “real or perceived homosexuality, homosexual conduct, sexual perversion, or any other related reason,” according to the complaint.

Further information and results from the Pentagon’s review are expected later this fall, but defense officials have not provided an exact date.

On Monday, Russia summoned the American ambassador to protest what it says was the use of U.S.-made advanced missiles in a Ukrainian attack on Crimea on Sunday that reportedly killed four people and wounded more than 150.

Pentagon: Ukraine may fire US missiles into Russia in self-defense

Crimea, which Russian seized from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that most of the world rejected as unlawful, long had been declared a fair target for Ukraine by its Western allies.

However, the Pentagon said last week that Ukraine’s military is also now allowed to use longer-range missiles provided by the U.S. to strike targets inside Russia if it is acting in self-defense. Since the outset of the war, the U.S. had maintained a policy of not allowing Ukraine to use the weapons it provided to hit targets on Russian soil for fear of further escalating the conflict.

The continued flow of U.S. munitions, which will be drawn from existing stockpiles, is intended to help Ukrainian forces repel intensified Russian attacks.

The upcoming shipment is expected to include munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS. That system is capable of firing the longer-range missiles from the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, which Russia has said would prompt retaliation and risk escalating the conflict. One of the U.S. officials said they could not verify whether this aid package included ATACMS munitions, but said the aid did not include cluster munitions.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not yet been made public.

The package also includes antiarmor weapons, small arms and grenades and the highly sought after 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds, among other support.

An amendment to the chamber’s annual defense appropriations bill offered by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., over the weekend would mandate the salary change. It’s the second consecutive year she has offered the idea, which was adopted by House Republicans last fall but ultimately stripped out of the final legislation in negotiations with the Senate.

The pay reduction for the secretary of defense will be considered by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday and, if ruled in order, voted on by the full chamber later this week. It is one of more than 400 amendments to the $833.1 billion spending measure, many dealing with partisan fights and priorities.

GOP green lights FY25 defense bill, but more social fights ahead

Austin, 70, has been repeatedly attacked by Republicans in committee testimony and on the House floor over the last few years for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the military’s diversity and equity policies, recruiting shortfalls in the ranks and COVID-19 vaccine policies.

In addition, several lawmakers demanded his resignation earlier this year after he hid his prostate cancer diagnosis from senior military officials and the White House, a move for which he has publicly apologized.

Democratic lawmakers have blasted the salary reductions as unrealistic and petty. If the proposal were to be adopted by the Republican-majority House again this year, it would likely again be blocked by the Democratic-majority Senate before becoming law. The White House could also veto any measure including the salary cut.

House leaders are hoping to finalize their draft of the annual military appropriations bill by the end of the week. Senate leaders have not announced a timeline for when they plan to advance their draft of the spending plan.

Upon their return in mid-July, however, all members of Congress will feel the legislative time crunch as they confront a long list of tasks and a tight summer schedule ahead.

Both chambers are set to reconvene July 8, break one week later for the Republican National Convention, and then work for two more weeks before recessing for the summer. That’s only three weeks of legislative work between July 1 and early September.

Unfinished business includes a full Senate vote on the annual defense authorization bill, a full Senate vote on Veterans Affairs funding for fiscal year 2025 and votes in both chambers on the annual military appropriations measures. The hope is to finish all three by Sept. 30, although that goal may be overly ambitious given the limited schedule ahead.

Congressional staff are expected to negotiate all three measures behind the scenes in the coming months, though final votes may wait until after the November elections.

Wednesday, June 26

Thursday, June 27

President Joe Biden initially loosened the restrictions on how Ukraine could use U.S.-provided munitions to give it another option to defend the eastern city of Kharkiv from a relentless barrage of Russian missiles. Since the beginning of Russia’s 2022 invasion, the U.S. had maintained a policy of not allowing Ukraine to use the weapons it provided to hit targets inside Russia for fear of further escalating the war.

White House redirects air defense interceptors to embattled Ukraine

Russia has been firing on Ukrainian targets from inside its border, treating its territory as a “safe zone,” said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.

“As we see those forces conducting those types of operations from across the border, we’ve explained Ukraine can and does have the right to fire back to defend themselves,” Ryder told reporters Thursday.

The Pentagon said the additional permissions are not a new policy.

“This is not about geography. It’s about common sense,” said spokesman Army Maj. Charlie Dietz. “If Russia is attacking or about to attack from its territory into Ukraine, it only makes sense to allow Ukraine to hit back against the forces that are hitting it from across the border.”

“Additionally, they can use air defense systems supplied by the United States to take Russian planes out of the sky, even if those Russian planes are in Russian airspace, if they’re about to fire into Ukrainian airspace,” Dietz said in a statement.

The White House also announced Thursday that it is rushing delivery of air defense interceptor missiles to Ukraine by redirecting shipments planned for other allied nations, as Washington scrambles to counter increased Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The U.S. was already sending Ukraine a consistent stream of interceptors for its air defense systems, including for the Patriot missile batteries and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS.

National security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that more was urgently needed as Russia’s military has accelerated missile and drone attacks against cities and infrastructure centers ahead of this winter. The rushed shipments are expected to include hundreds of Patriot missiles.

Jackson has served in the role for only eight months, but had previously served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for force readiness at the Pentagon since the start of President Joe Biden’s presidency. The chief of staff role at VA serves as the top advisor to the secretary and deputy secretary.

In a statement, Jackson said she is stepping down to spend more time with her family.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside the dedicated women and men in the Department of Veterans Affairs in our mission of ensuring veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors get the care and benefits they have earned and so richly deserve,” the statement said.

A dental debacle: Why veterans struggle to navigate VA’s oral care

Her last day as the VA chief of staff will be July 13. VA officials have not yet announced a temporary or permanent successor.

Jackson served eight years as a naval reserve officer, holding assignments in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Naval Special Warfare, and the Chief of Naval Operations’ Strategic Studies Group.

Her appointment to the senior VA post last fall meant the department had its six top department leadership jobs all filled for the first time since 2014.

That lasted for only seven months. Jackson’s departure comes almost one month after Under Secretary of Memorial Affairs Matthew Quinn stepped down from his role in the department. Ronald Walters has been serving as acting under secretary since Quinn’s exit.

Unlike the under secretary role, which requires Senate confirmation, the chief of staff post can be filled without prior approval from Congress.

Jackson’s predecessor, Tanya Bradsher, left the role to become VA Deputy Secretary.

During last week’s debate over the annual defense authorization bill, House lawmakers inserted language in the massive military policy measure to require a new assessment from the Defense Department on “the threat of rifle-toting robot dogs used by China” in potential future conflicts.

The issue has gained public attention in recent weeks after Chinese military officials showed off armed robotic quadrupeds during recent military drills with Cambodia.

In a video released by state-run CCTV on May 25, a 110-pound dog-like robot is shown carrying and firing an automatic rifle. A spokesman for the Chinese military said the robot, which can perform many tasks autonomously, could “serve as a new member in our urban combat operations.”

Marines test robotic mule that could carry weapons, sensors

Drone warfare is not new to the U.S. or foreign militaries, and the American military for years has experimented with robot dogs for use in reconnaissance and unit support roles.

But the idea of a robot version of man’s best friend shooting at American soldiers was enough to prompt House members to demand that the secretary of defense investigate “the threat such use poses to the national security of the United States.”

The amendment was adopted without objection from any members of the chamber. But it will have to survive negotiations with senators on the broader defense measure in coming months before it can become law.

The Senate is expected to hold floor debate and make possible amendments to its draft of the legislation in the next few weeks.