Military

Pentagon Agency Pauses Celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and More

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives at the Pentagon

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department's intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion ^[1] programs in the federal workplace.

The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The memo's authenticity was confirmed by a U.S. official who said the pause was initiated by the DIA and appears not to be policy across the Defense Department. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“We are receiving questions across the workforce on the way forward,” the memo said. “DIA will pause all activities and events related to Agency Special Emphasis Programs effective immediately and until further notice."

It also noted a pause on “special observances” hosted throughout the year. While Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth were included, the memo said the change would not affect those national holidays.

The contents of the memo were first reported by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein and posted to X.

Federal agencies have struggled to interpret Trump's Jan. 20 executive order ending DEI programs across the government and have taken a broad approach due to lack of clearer guidance from the White House on how to comply.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed staff to create a DEI task force to ensure no DEI programs remain in the Pentagon.

“We're not joking around,” Hegseth said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News. "There’s no changing of names or softly manipulating something. DEI is gone.”

In response to a query from the AP about the memo, the DIA said late Wednesday it “is working with the Department of Defense to fully implement all executive orders and administration guidance in a timely manner. As we receive additional guidance, we will continue to update our internal guidance.”

The other annual events listed in the DIA memo are Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Women's Equality Day and Women's History Month.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked at a briefing Tuesday whether Black History Month would cease to be celebrated.

“As far as I know, this White House certainly still intends to celebrate, and we will continue to celebrate American history and the contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed, have made to our great country,” she said.

The changes in holiday observances in some ways resemble the Air Force's quick elimination of DEI coursework in its basic military training, which temporarily resulted in the service removing videos on the Tuskegee Airmen ^[2] and World War II female pilots that had been in those courses. After a brief uproar, the Air Force said the history of both groups would continue to be taught.

Tricare to Allow Patients in Tricare West Region to Receive Specialty Care Without Preapproval

Beneficiaries informed about the transition to TriWest Healthcare Alliance

Military.com | By Patricia Kime ^[1]

Published January 29, 2025 at 5:16pm ET

The Defense Health Agency has suspended a requirement for Tricare Prime ^[2] patients in the West Region to get pre-authorization from their Tricare ^[3] contract manager for specialty care.

Defense Department health program officials announced Monday that the beneficiaries still are required to get a referral before seeking specialty care, but pre-authorization from TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the company that manages the Tricare program in the western U.S., will not be required through March 31.

The process is retroactive to Jan. 1.

The waiver announcement is directly tied to problems with TriWest's referral portal that have affected processing, said Jacob Sanchez, referral management subject-matter expert for Tricare at the DHA.

"If you have Tricare Prime and are in the West Region, this waiver will allow you to access specialty services without interruption to your care," Sanchez said in an announcement of the change.

TriWest was awarded the contract to manage the Tricare West Region in late 2022 ^[5] and began efforts to assume the contract in earnest last February after a federal court ruled it had rightfully won its bid.

Issues with the transition began to emerge in December when participating providers began voicing concerns that they had not received communications from TriWest ^[6] on joining its network.

Then, customers who were required to update their payment information with TriWest found themselves unable to do so because of troubles ^[7] with TriWest's online portal and call center.

Patients have written Military.com saying that they have experienced lost referrals; been referred to the wrong type of doctor -- for example, a brain surgeon when a spine surgeon was needed; and endured delayed or canceled referrals.

"These are not just administrative failures -- they are directly impacting military readiness and the well-being of those who serve," wrote an Air Force ^[8] airman. "This is a national problem affecting thousands of service members and their families, and yet it seems to be slipping under the radar."

According to the waiver announcement, Tricare Prime enrollees may receive care from any Tricare-authorized specialist if they have a copy of an unexpired referral authorized by Humana Military or Health Net Federal Services before Jan. 1 or a referral dated Jan. 1 through March 31 from their primary care provider; and a copy of the waiver letter, which can be found on the Tricare West Region website ^[9].

The announcement also allows Prime patients in the region to see both network and non-network providers, as long as they are authorized by Tricare. They can ask the providers directly whether they are Tricare-authorized.

The waiver does not apply to: inpatient care; applied behavior analysis or other services under Tricare's Autism Care Demonstration; laboratory developed tests; or service under the Extended Care Health Option program.

Those services still will require pre-authorization, according to the announcement.

Tricare officials said that, beginning April 1, beneficiaries who see a non-network provider will start paying point-of-service fees, and they will be required to get preapproval from TriWest for any specialty care they were referred to by their primary care physician.

© Copyright 2025 Military.com. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request here ^[18].

Trump Order on Back Pay for Vaccine Refusers Raises Questions, Offers No Clear Path Forward

Hospital corpsman administers a COVID-19 vaccine

Late Monday evening, President Donald Trump fulfilled a promise and signed an executive order ^[1] that he said would reinstate troops who were discharged over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate -- but much of what is in the order was already in effect, while the rest left more questions than answers.

The heart of the order is a direction to the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security to allow reinstatement of vaccine refusers. However, the thousands who were forced out have been allowed to return since 2023, but only a scant few have taken the military up on the opportunity.

The order's key addition is a broadly articulated promise of back pay. However, the order doesn't explain whether there will be conditions or service obligations that come with the benefit, while seemingly providing no way for the services to pay for the potential spike in troop salaries should thousands of new recruits need years of pay in the coming months.

When asked about the order or how someone interested in taking advantage of its promises should proceed, Pentagon officials were unable to offer details beyond a statement saying they "will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the executive orders issued by the president" and "provide status updates as we are able."

According to data from each of the military services provided to Military.com last week, the Pentagon ultimately separated about 8,200 service members over a refusal to follow a lawful order and receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

The vast majority of those individuals objected to the vaccine on religious grounds ^[3] and filed requests for religious exemptions that were overwhelmingly rejected by military leaders. There were a variety of ^[4] legal challenges filed ^[5] over the mandate, and it was ultimately repealed in 2023 when Congress forced it to be rescinded ^[6] in that year's massive defense policy bill.

A total of 690 service members, dependents and civilian Defense Department employees died from COVID-19 between the start of the pandemic in early 2020 and Dec. 8, 2022, the date the DoD stopped publishing updates of its COVID-related deaths.

From 2023 to the present day, only 113 of the more than 8,000 discharged service members have chosen to return to military service. According to data provided by the services, 73 soldiers, 25 Marines, 13 airmen or Guardians, and two sailors have come back.

While Trump's order also dictated that service members should be reinstated to their former rank, that is already typical for prior service civilians who rejoin the military.

Meanwhile, the key new tenant of the order -- the direction that returning troops "receive full back pay, benefits, bonus payments or compensation" -- goes unexplained in the text published by the White House on Monday night.

The order also appears to allow any service member to simply "provide a written and sworn attestation that they voluntarily left the service or allowed their service to lapse" over the vaccine and they will be allowed to return "with no impact on their service status, rank or pay."

Neither the order nor Pentagon officials said whether people in that category would be eligible for back pay. Without that element, the promise seems to largely describe the existing ability to reenlist after having previously served, though with a firmer promise on the terms of reentry.

Furthermore, the order notes that the services will be making good on the back pay promise while still being "subject to the availability of appropriations," meaning that there will be no new money on the table to pay for the back pay, benefits or bonuses.

As president, Trump has limited ability to provide extra funding to the agencies he oversees. That power is reserved for Congress by the Constitution.

However, during his first term in office, he controversially moved money already given by Congress from one agency to another when he took billions of dollars from the Pentagon's coffers ^[7] to fund construction of a barrier wall at the southern border.

In the wake of the order's announcement, former military members -- many of whom claim they left or were forced out over the vaccine mandate -- took to social media to say that, even despite the promise of back pay, they would not be returning.

A former Army ^[8] captain and Green Beret who left the service over the vaccine told Task and Purpose on Tuesday ^[9] that he wasn't considering returning because "God is guiding me elsewhere at this time."

Ivan Raiklin, a former Green Beret and lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve ^[10], said that "until this 'reinstatement' order is amended to punish all involved ... I don't expect anyone to return to the military," in a social media post Tuesday ^[11].

"If they do, they are absolute sellouts that aren't to be trusted to defend the Constitution," he added.

Other former service members who have become semi-public figures as part of their fight over the vaccine mandate, as well as other more anonymous individuals,^[12] echoed that sentiment in blog posts ^[13] and posts to social media ^[14].

The COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 7 million deaths ^[15] internationally and estimates that range from double to four times that from indirect causes ^[16], is considered one of the worst worldwide calamities of the 21st century, and it was one of the deadliest global events since the Spanish Flu a century ago and World War II.

'No One Knows Who He Is': Trump's Pick for Army Secretary Faces Confirmation Hearing

10th Mountain Division soldiers receive their golden spurs

President Donald Trump's surprise nominee for Army ^[1] secretary, Dan Driscoll, heads into his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday as a largely unknown figure both inside and outside the Pentagon.

The relatively obscure financier and political adviser, who is also a veteran, is set to lead the Pentagon's largest branch despite a resume that some Army officials behind the scenes are concerned lacks the depth for such a pivotal role.

Driscoll, a former Yale Law School classmate of Vice President J.D. Vance, fits a pattern of Trump nominations designed to upend Washington's norms by elevating outsiders to senior positions. The president's choice of appointees, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has also led to criticism that some of those outsiders are unqualified.

"The Army is an extremely complicated machine. I hope he's up for it," an Army two-star general said on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "We have a lot of moving pieces, a lot of vocabulary he's going to have to learn fast."

If confirmed, Driscoll would come into the role effectively an unknown figure to most of the force, having never worked in national security. He would also be unusually young for the role at 38 years old.

"No one really knows who he is," a senior Army official told Military.com, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the press. The lack of name recognition is compounded by Driscoll having virtually no contemporary online presence, with little social media, scant news appearances and few photos. Driscoll's military career, while honorable, was abnormally brief for an officer.

Driscoll served in the Army from 2007 to 2010 as a cavalry officer with the 10th Mountain Division. He deployed to Iraq in 2009 and left the service as a first lieutenant -- a junior officer rank that wouldn't have exposed him to operational planning or organizational leadership at scale.

His military accolades include an Army Commendation Medal, Ranger tab, and a Combat Action Badge, but his time in uniform would have involved leading no more than a few dozen soldiers at a time.

Dan Driscoll served in the Army from 2007 to 2010 as a cavalry officer with the 10th Mountain Division. He deployed to Iraq in 2009 and left the service as a first lieutenant. (Dan Driscoll for Congress Facebook page)

Immediately after leaving the Army, Driscoll attended Yale Law School before pursuing a series of finance roles, including work at a venture capital firm and political fundraising. In 2020, he made an unsuccessful bid for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, finishing sixth in a crowded Republican primary. He was endorsed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., one of the most vocal members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Army personnel issues.

The seat ultimately went to Madison Cawthorn, whose single term was scarred by controversies and scandal.

Driscoll later served as an adviser to the Trump-Vance transition team and the Republican National Committee, earning $60,000.

His last full-time role was on the board of OnCall Physician Staffing, a health care staffing agency, and he drew an annual salary of nearly $430,000 since 2021 before stepping down in December.

Despite his limited military experience, Driscoll's hearing is expected to be less contentious than that of Hegseth, who endured questions about allegations of sexual assault and a thin professional record.

If confirmed, Driscoll will succeed Christine Wormuth, who spent a career as a national security wonk and served as under secretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama before taking the reins as Army secretary.

Mark Esper, who served as Army secretary during Trump's first term before being appointed defense secretary, had an extensive military career, serving in the 101st Airborne Division during the Gulf War and leaving the service as a lieutenant colonel. His resume also included extensive national security policy experience on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon under President George W. Bush.

Still, one Senate staffer forecasted that, while Driscoll's resume is "about as thin as it gets," he's coming into the hearing without any baggage, unlike many of Trump's other nominees.

"He's nice," Gen. Randy George, the Army chief of staff, told Military.com, adding that he and Driscoll met at a recent Army-Navy football game.

Hegseth was approved in a Senate vote last week by the slimmest margin for any confirmed defense secretary in history, with three Republicans voting against him. He faced a blistering volley of questions over allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual assault, infidelity in his marriages, and a lack of qualifications for the job. He had a generally average National Guard ^[3] career, and his most recent professional experience was as a Fox News personality.

Meanwhile, Driscoll would lead the Army at an especially difficult time for the force.

Senior officials have long pointed to the service being spread thin in Europe, the Middle East and Africa -- with a new U.S. border surge adding yet another mission to an overburdened force. That high tempo has been linked to suicide amoung the rank and file.

The service is also expected to revamp its much troubled physical fitness test this year and is grappling with a series of quality-of-life issues, including dilapidated living quarters for junior troops and the inability of logistics officials to wrap their arms around providing food for soldiers.

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