Pentagon suspends participation in think tank events
The Pentagon's public affairs, general counsel and policy teams will review all requests for participation at events and will ask for officials' remarks and talking points in advance, according to the email. The directive, which took effect Tuesday, applies to all DOD military officers, civil servants and senior enlisted leaders. The Pentagon's public affairs team must approve any future events.
'In order to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums, and events that run counter to the values of this administration, the Department's Office of Public Affairs will be conducting a thorough vetting of every event where Defense officials are invited to participate,' chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in an emailed response.
It also appears to apply to Pentagon-led events such as Sea Air Space, which is hosted by the Navy League, the military service's largest veteran organization, and Modern Day Marine, a similar trade show for the Marine Corps, although public affairs offices inside the military were still seeking guidance on the directive.
The effort to drastically cut the Defense Department's public presence on Washington's think tank circuit comes after the Pentagon said senior leaders would no longer be allowed to attend the Aspen summit, just a day before the gathering began. Navy Secretary John Phelan, Emil Michael, the Defense undersecretary for research and engineering, Defense Innovation Unit chief Doug Beck and several top military officials had been scheduled to speak.
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