'Groundless accusations': China delegation rejects US secretary of state's warning at Singapore security forum
China's representative at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore accused U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of making 'groundless accusations' of rapidly developing threats by Beijing.
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Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Navy ordered to rename USNS Harvey Milk in deliberate Pride Month move
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Navy to rename a ship honoring late LGBTQ rights hero Harvey Milk — in a move intentionally set to coincide with Pride Month. According to a memo from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy reviewed by officials have already drawn up a plan for the USNS Harvey Milk to be renamed. The ship is a John Lewis-class oiler, part of a series of vessels named after civil rights leaders and activists. While its new name has yet to be announced, Navy Secretary John Phelan and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth are expected to unveil the change on June 13, according to the memo. An unnamed defense official confirmed to the decision to make the announcement in June was deliberate. The move was slammed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a 'shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream.' Milk, who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, made history as California's first openly gay elected official. He was assassinated inside San Francisco City Hall on Nov. 27, 1978 — just months after helping pass a landmark city ordinance banning discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation. Before his short-lived career in public office, the trailblazing LGBTQ+ rights leader also served as a diving officer in the Navy, but resigned with the rank of lieutenant junior grade in 1955 after being questioned about his sexual orientation. In late 2016, the Navy announced it would name a ship after the slain LGBTQ icon. Construction began in late 2019 and, two years later, Navy Veteran Paula Neira christened the Navy's USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206) in a ceremony in San Diego Bay attended by state and local leaders. 'Harvey fought for the dignity and worth of every person,' Pelosi, who represents California's 11th congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco, said in a statement Tuesday. 'In San Francisco, we take great pride that our Harvey's name adorns a mighty ship among a new class of Navy vessels — named for the conscience of the Congress, John Lewis — which honors titans in the fight for freedom,' Pelosi said. 'As the rest of us are celebrating the joy of Pride Month, it is my hope that the Navy will reconsider this egregious decision and continue to recognize the extraordinary contributions of Harvey Milk, a veteran himself, and all Americans who forged historic progress for our nation,' she concluded. _____
Associated Press
33 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hegseth will skip a meeting on organizing military aid to Ukraine in a first for the US
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time since the U.S. created an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine three years ago, America's Pentagon chief will not be in attendance when more than 50 other defense leaders meet Wednesday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who returned from a national security conference in Singapore on Sunday, will not arrive in Brussels until Wednesday evening, after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group's meeting is over. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss scheduling details, confirmed that Hegseth also will not participate by video conference. It is the latest in a series of steps that the U.S. has taken to distance itself from the Ukraine war effort. And it comes on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's warning at the security conference last weekend that the U.S. and others risk a dangerous double standard if their concentration on a potential conflict with China is done at the cost of abandoning Ukraine. France and other NATO nations are concerned that the U.S. is considering withdrawing troops from Europe to shift them to the Indo-Pacific. Macron said abandoning Ukraine would eventually erode U.S. credibility in deterring any potential conflict with China over Taiwan. Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, created the group after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Since then, more than 50 member nations have collectively provided Ukraine with some $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including over $66.5 billion from the U.S. Under Austin's leadership, the U.S. served as chair of the group, and he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended monthly meetings, which were both in person and by video. Hegseth has upended that position by stepping away from a leadership role, providing no new military aid and now abandoning the gathering altogether. During his first meeting with the group and a subsequent NATO defense ministers gathering in Brussels in February, Hegseth warned that Ukraine should abandon its NATO bid and its push to reclaim all Russian-occupied territory. And he signaled that President Donald Trump is determined to get Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for Ukraine's defense. Since Trump took office, there have been no new announcements of U.S. military or weapons aid to Ukraine. Hegseth also turned leadership of the group over to Germany and the United Kingdom. While he will not attend Wednesday's session, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and NATO's supreme allied commander, will be there. In Washington, meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is in town for talks about defense, sanctions and postwar recovery, said Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office. The Ukrainians met with U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, discussing recent talks with the Russians and conditions on the battlefield, Yermak posted on social media. Svyrydenko and Yermak also are expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials Wednesday. ___ Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Army Hits Annual Recruiting Goal Months Ahead of Schedule
The Army announced Tuesday that it had already reached its annual goal of recruiting 61,000 active-duty soldiers, fueled by efforts to reach out to young Americans who historically have been unqualified to serve and likely a weakening economy. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have praised recruiting momentum as a sign of renewed patriotism among the nation's youth. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, credited the uptick to "a resurgence of pride in our country" and "a generation inspired by purpose and service." The service met the goal months ahead of schedule after it and the other military branches struggled in recent years with recruiting. The Army had set out to recruit 61,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal 2025, which is Sept. 30. Read Next: Hegseth Orders Navy to Strip Name of Gay Rights Icon Harvey Milk from Ship The early success has prompted the Pentagon to consider the rare move of increasing the Army's end strength -- the total number of soldiers in its ranks. Among the options, the Pentagon could invoke a relatively obscure authority that allows the defense secretary to increase a service's end strength by up to 3% without congressional action. It is not yet clear what is driving the increase in recruiting after the Army and other services barely met their goals last year. But a variety of factors are likely at play. There is no evidence that the identity or rhetoric of any particular administration influences enlistment, as the motivation to serve is traditionally driven by economic opportunities and sometimes as a direct path for a young person to leave their hometown. The service also hit its less ambitious recruiting goal of 55,000 enlistments last year. Much of the Army's recruiting woes is attributable to a shrinking pool of young Americans eligible to serve. The Pentagon estimates just under one-quarter of 17- to 24-year-olds can meet enlistment standards, namely passing the SAT-style entrance exam and meeting body weight requirements. Some service officials and experts have tied recent recruiting struggles to the military being out of the cultural zeitgeist. A sharp increase in the number of required medical waivers has complicated the effort to bring Americans into the service -- driven in part by the implementation of Military Health System Genesis, a digital health record system that provides the military with unprecedented access to applicants' medical histories. Recruiters say the system often flags minor or outdated health issues, causing enlistments to stall or be denied unnecessarily. Internal Army data shows that medical waivers have nearly tripled, rising from 5,300 in 2022 to almost 15,000 in 2024. At the same time, the Army has relaxed some of its standards related to criminal history. In 2022, it approved the enlistment of 98 individuals with felony convictions -- a number that climbed to 401 in 2024. However, officials noted that applicants with convictions related to sexual offenses remain ineligible for service. But central to the turnaround is the Future Soldier Preparatory Courses, a program launched in 2022 that provides academic and fitness instruction for applicants who fall short of enlistment standards. As part of the prep courses, an applicant moves onto basic training once they're in compliance with service standards. As of Friday, 10,465 troops had gone through at least one of those courses this year, according to data provided by the service. The service loses nearly one-quarter of its fresh enlistees within the first two years of their contract, mostly due to injuries, health concerns or disciplinary problems, internal service data shows. Troops who attend the prep courses have about a 25% attrition rate, compared to 20% of soldiers who enlisted straight into basic training. Meanwhile, a softening economy could also factor into wider interest in military service. Trump's ongoing trade war and economic instability caused a 0.3% contraction in the U.S. economy in the first quarter of this year, the worst quarterly performance in three years. Youth unemployment has also edged upward as companies cut back on entry-level hiring amid volatility in the tech sector and the rapid rollout of artificial intelligence in some companies. Among the Army's recruits counted for this year, 11,000 joined last year through the delayed-entry program, which allows young applicants, primarily high school seniors, to commit to service early and ship to basic training after they graduate. That figure is more than double the program's usual size, a temporary surge made necessary by training backlogs last year. In response, the Army expanded the number of basic training companies this year to process the larger pipeline. For the rest of the fiscal year, all new recruits will be entered in the delayed-entry program and thus will be counted in next year's recruiting numbers. Related: 'Last Stop USA': How the Army Is Trying to Fill in for a Broken Education System
