Imagine you’ve planned the trip of a lifetime for your animal-loving family: a cruise to Antarctica with the unique opportunity to view penguins, whales and other rare wildlife. Your adventure-loving kids can kayak through fjords, plunge into icy water and

When top White House defense and national security leaders discussed plans for an attack^[1] on targets in Yemen over the messaging app Signal, it raised many questions^[2] about operational security and recordkeeping and national security laws. It also puts

It probably feels obvious that having a close friend can influence your well-being. But do the groups that you’re a part of also affect your well-being? For example, does the culture of your work colleagues influence your productivity?

It may seem like

The Defense Department inspector general's office said Thursday it will review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of commercial messaging apps like Signal to discuss sensitive details on planned U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.

The IG's evaluation comes a little over a week after The Atlantic reported that members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet -- including Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- were part of a group chat on Signal where they discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

The magazine became aware of the discussion after Waltz added its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the chat^[1]. The revelations that top national security officials in the Trump administration were using the commercial app and not secure communications triggered widespread public criticism and concerns that intercepted messages could have endangered U.S. troops carrying out the strikes.

Read Next: Army Mulling a Dramatic Reduction of Tens of Thousands of Troops^[2]

The inspector general's office said it will look into "recent public reporting on the secretary of defense's use of an unclassified, commercially available messaging application to discuss information pertaining to military actions in Yemen in March 2025," the memo announcing the investigation said^[3].

The evaluation began after the IG received a bipartisan letter from the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member.

"The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the secretary of defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business," the memo said. The IG will also "review compliance with classification and records retention requirements."

NPR reported that^[4] the Pentagon had warned its employees in the days after this incident that Signal was not safe to use even for discussing unclassified information.

In defending themselves from criticism following the news, officials like Hegseth and Waltz have argued that the information they described in the group chat was unclassified.

However, days later, The Atlantic revealed that Hegseth was posting specific times^[5] that Navy^[6] jets would be taking off and approaching their targets, as well as when Tomahawk missiles would be launched.

Experts told Military.com that operational details like that are almost always classified^[7] and that sharing this type of information outside of classified systems is incredibly irresponsible.

"It's an extraordinary departure from how we deal with classified information," Eric Carpenter^[8], a law professor at the Florida International University College of Law and a former Army^[9] judge advocate, told Military.com in a phone interview last week.

Carpenter and rank-and-file troops remarked that, if a service member were to do something similar to what Hegseth was caught doing, they would likely face a court-martial^[10].

Military.com has asked the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff whether the acting chairman, Adm. Christopher Grady, or his staff use Signal to discuss national security matters but, after more than a week, they have not provided an answer.

The IG's memo noted that investigators "may revise the objective as the evaluation proceeds."

Mollie Halpern, a spokeswoman for the inspector general's office, told Military.com on Thursday that the resulting report will be "nonpartisan, and it will be thorough."

"And whatever the results of this evaluation are, we will release the unclassified report," she said.

The report will be a very public test of the ability of the inspector general to remain independent of political pressure, given that Trump fired the Senate-confirmed head of the watchdog^[11], along with about 17 other inspectors general shortly after he was inaugurated in January.

The firings violated a 2022 law that requires that Congress be notified in advance of any removal of an inspector general, but lawmakers have not taken action to enforce the law.

The Defense Department's IG office is currently being headed up by Steven Stebbins, who was the principal deputy inspector general until stepping up into the acting IG position.

Democrats on Thursday took the move as a small victory, and Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who called for the investigation, said he not only welcomed the investigation but that he has "grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth's ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. service members and the commander in chief."

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., also said that he was glad that the inspector general is looking into the matter but noted in a post to social media Thursday^[12] that "it's clear this administration's use of Signal to discuss sensitive information goes far beyond [the Defense Department]."

Politico reported on Wednesday that Waltz and his team set up at least 20 different Signal group chats^[13] for various crises around the world that the National Security Council was dealing with.

Related: 'Different Spanks for Different Ranks': Hegseth's Signal Scandal Would Put Regular Troops in the Brig^[14]

Day care centers at Peterson Space Force Base^[1] and Fort Carson^[2] in Colorado are disenrolling some families and pausing waitlists amid staffing issues, the latest impacts of the Trump administration's hiring freeze throughout the federal government.

Two memos, reviewed by Military.com and confirmed as authentic by base officials, both express issues with ongoing staffing challenges at the Space Force^[3] base, as well as the Army^[4] garrison.

"Due to ongoing staffing challenges related to our adherence to current administration guidance and recent impacts from the hiring freeze the Main Child Development Center (CDC) is facing a critical shortage of qualified child care providers," a March 24 memo to families with infants at Peterson's day care center said, also stating that a classroom needed to be closed by April 11.

Read Next: Top US General Argues Against Giving Up Command of NATO at Senate Hearing^[5]

Similarly, an April 1 memo from Fort Carson said "the recent federal hiring freeze, while lifted, has significantly impacted our ability to hire and onboard qualified personnel," adding that staffing levels "are currently not sufficient to meet the needs of our waitlist." It said the base is pausing enrollment from the militarychildcare.com waiting list as a result.

President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk's push to dramatically reduce the size and spending of the federal government has extended to the Department of Defense, which is aiming to cut 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs.

A Department of Defense memo issued March 18 quickly tried to stop some hemorrhaging by saying certain essential positions were exempt from the hiring freeze, including "child and youth programs staff," as well as "instructors or facility support staff at DoD schools or child care centers."

Jules Hurst III, who is performing the duties of under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement Wednesday that the hiring exemptions were necessary for a wide range of jobs deemed to "support the total lethality" of the military.

"DoD will continue to recruit the great Americans who manufacture artillery shells, repair and refit our warships, maintain our fleets of military vehicles and equipment, teach the sons and daughters of service members, and provide medical care to our warriors and their families," Hurst said in his statement.

But the effects of those hiring freeze exemptions may not be felt for quite some time. As Military.com reported in an extensive investigation^[6] last year, child development centers are frequently understaffed and lack oversight.

As a result of the staffing challenges, Peterson Space Force Base's looming closure of its infant classroom meant that eight families would have to be disenrolled, the March 24 memo said. It asked for volunteers to transfer to a preschool about 10 miles away from the base, where they can pay the same rates as they would have at the on-base CDC.

If they didn't volunteer, the most recent families with the lowest priority levels were disenrolled, according to the memo.

"Due to ongoing staffing challenges, one of the infant rooms is closing effective April 11 to maintain appropriate child-to-teacher ratios and ensure the children's safety and well-being. We will work directly with the impacted families to ensure continuity of care for their children," a Space Force spokesperson, who spoke anonymously to provide information from multiple sources, told Military.com.

Peterson is home to Space Base Delta 1, as well as U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command Headquarters -- consisting of more than 20,000 family members, service members and civilians, according to Military One Source^[7].

"We are working through all our hiring freeze exemptions as quickly as possible. The hiring, on-boarding and training process will take time; however, we will work with impacted families to return to the main CDC as quickly as possible," the Space Force spokesperson said.

At Fort Carson, the April 1 memo to families said "our team is working diligently to expedite the hiring process and to get to fully staffed as quickly as possible" but did not point to other resources families could use while they wait for admittance to the child care center.

"While we had to adjust enrolling new children, [we] are working as quickly as possible to alleviate any impacts and bringing on new direct-care staff to ensure we are providing the services and support for our Fort Carson families," said a base official, who spoke to Military.com anonymously to provide information from multiple sources.

The news of the military child care woes in the Colorado Springs area is angering family advocates.

Kayla Corbitt, a military spouse^[8] and founder of Operation Child Care Project, a nonprofit group that advocates for family care for service members, told Military.com that the changes leaves troops and their loved ones scrambling.

"In the Colorado Springs area, we are seeing official and unofficial lack of access to DoD-operated care," Corbitt told Military.com. "Even at installations where the military are not being asked to leave, they are being told they cannot enroll or attend until staff is onboarded.

Military families will be relying on their community resources and support outside the installation more than ever."

Colorado isn't the only place the child care shortages are being felt. Military.com reported late last month that, due to the hiring freeze and staffing issues, Hill Air Force Base^[9] in Utah had closed one of its two day care centers^[10] -- disenrolling 31 families in the process.

"It's time for the states to decide if they are a military supportive community or if they simply have military members in their state," Corbitt added.

Related: Families at Utah Air Force Base Lose Day Care Center as Pentagon Slashes Personnel Spending^[11]

Defense appropriators in Congress have recommended adding nearly $15 billion the Pentagon did not request in fiscal 2025 for several hundred military research and procurement programs, a new database shows.

In most cases, those increases were additions to the amount of funds the Pentagon had sought. But more than one-third of the money went to scores of new programs, mostly weapons, that were not in the Pentagon’s budget plans for fiscal 2025, according to the report and corresponding database, which were released Wednesday by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget monitor.

The report is the latest in a series of analyses in recent years by the group and CQ Roll Call that have disclosed how members of Congress appear to be funneling billions of Defense dollars to their constituents — and sometimes to campaign contributors — for initiatives the Pentagon did not formally seek and that bankroll contracts that defense lobbyists acknowledge are often open to competition in name only.

In the new report, the taxpayers organization spotlights programs that were not sought by the Pentagon but were inserted in the funding tables by members as ideologically diverse as such as Illinois’ Democratic Sens. Richard J. Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Republicans such as Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a close ally of President Donald Trump, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R- Texas, an appropriator.

‘Backdoor earmarks’

The spending directions from Congress are included in tables that Republican Defense appropriators sent the department last month to spell out how members believe Defense money in the fiscal 2025 continuing resolution should be spent.

The stopgap spending bill’s $895.2 billion for Defense programs is $6 billion over fiscal 2024, a cut in spending after inflation is factored in, while nondefense departments and agencies saw their nominal funding cut by $13 billion compared to fiscal 2024.

Lawmakers always add money to the Defense budget above the requested amount for some programs and cut it for others. But, more and more in recent years, as uncompetitive earmarks have been halted except for nonprofit organizations, members have in many cases used so-called “program increases” to try to in effect funnel defense funds to favored recipients.

Gabe Murphy, policy analyst for Taxpayers for Common Sense, said in an interview that the Defense Department program increases are “backdoor earmarks.”

Steve Ellis, the group’s president, said in a statement that earmarks require lawmakers to “disclose their involvement in proposing them, spell out their purpose, and certify that they have no financial interest in the earmark. In contrast, program increases are largely anonymous, come with little to no justification, and do not require lawmakers to certify anything.”

Bipartisan appetite

The billions in added Defense funds for program increases often go each year to high-profile, top-dollar initiatives such as the F-35 fighter jet program.

But the vast majority of the hundreds of annual additions, in fiscal 2025 and previously, are worth less than $30 million apiece but add up to sizable amounts even in the massive national defense budget.

Congressional and Pentagon auditors have previously confirmed that they have not produced any reports examining the effectiveness of the congressional “program increases.”

Lawmakers’ appetite for adding unrequested funds each year for projects they say will benefit their states or districts is a bipartisan and bicameral phenomenon.

One of the funding increases was $5 million for the Army to research a “thermoplastic tail rotor drive system” for Blackhawk helicopters — spending the service had not sought.

Stefanik issued a press release last June after the House and the Senate Appropriations committees had signed off on fiscal 2025 Defense spending bills with the money included.

Even though such “program increase” money is supposed to be put out for competition, Stefanik listed the Blackhawk system as one of the “defense wins” she had garnered for her district and region.

“The investments I secured through this year’s defense appropriations bill . . . will bolster our national security and further solidify Upstate New York’s role as a defense technology hub,” Stefanik’s statement said.

She noted that the funds will enable the Army to “research using thermoplastic made by Collins Aerospace in Rome, NY.”

Collins Aerospace is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon.

According to OpenSecrets.org^[1], a nonpartisan and nonprofit monitor of campaign money, RTX Corporation’s PAC contributed $10,000 to Stefanik’s campaign committee in the 2024 election cycle, the report said.

“As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am proud to advocate on behalf of Upstate New York and the North Country in the annual national defense bills,” Stefanik said by email. “I will always work to deliver results for NY-21 defense companies that support jobs in my district and ensure our service members have access to the best technology possible.”

Illinois Humvee program

The funding tables also include $100 million in unrequested Army funds for a “Next Generation HMMWV Shop Equipment Contact Maintenance Vehicle,” a Humvee that provides mobile maintenance to maneuvering units.

In a joint press release last July celebrating “Spending Bills With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin, Duckworth,” the senators highlighted the Senate bill’s proposed funding for the project, which was $120 million, “to continue manufacturing” of the vehicle at the Army’s Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.

The vehicle is built at the arsenal by AM General. That company is owned by KPS Capital Partners, which has contributed to both senators’ campaign accounts.

Duckworth’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Durbin said by email Wednesday that tactical vehicles at the Rock Island Arsenal are “recognized as critical by the Army.”

Despite Durbin’s previous touting of the added funding for the Humvee program, the spokesperson said Democrats “did not have any hand” in writing the new stopgap spending bill, “so any questions about lawmakers increasing DoD funding in the FY25 bill should go to the Majority.”

Scramjets

Another added spending line was $15 million for the Air Force to support “Vertical Integration of Scramjet Supply Chain.”

In a June 2024 press release celebrating his role in crafting the House’s Defense spending measure, Gonzales wrote that the funding would “accelerate the research, development, and production of hypersonic propulsion systems/airbreathing hypersonic engines” by putting all the suppliers in a single location.

Notably, his statement said: “The Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio specializes in this area of military innovation.”

In 2024, the institute paid $320,000 in lobbying fees to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, the taxpayer group said, and records show individuals and PACs associated with Akin Gump contributed $14,503 to Gonzales’ campaign in the 2024 election cycle.

Gonzales’ aides did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

More Defense funds en route?

The funding tables in Defense appropriations laws are not hard requirements in statute, but they communicate to the Pentagon how appropriators want the funds to be spent — and the department normally adheres to their direction.

Because the fiscal 2025 funding tables were sent to the department only after the continuing resolution had been enacted and were the work of only Republicans, they might be construed as being less binding than usual.

Yet the tables represent just about all the detailed information the department has to go on about lawmakers’ intent.

In fiscal 2023 Defense spending law, the funding tables included 996 unrequested additions for program increases amounting to $12.2 billion. Not included in the Taxpayers for Common Sense tallies are congressional hikes to spending for military personnel, operations and maintenance, military construction or other major categories of defense spending.

In the fiscal 2024 law, the number surged to $21 billion for 1,072 separate increases.

The fiscal 2025 total of $14.95 billion, while down from the prior year, may not be the end of congressional insistence on unrequested boosts for little-known weapons accounts.

Senators unveiled on Wednesday^[2] a compromise budget resolution that could add at least $100 billion for defense programs over the next decade, and lawmakers have said they want those monies spent in the next couple of years.

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©2025 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com.^[3] Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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