Zachary Fryer-Biggs

'Open Cruelty': Transgender Troops Describe Indignities as They're Kicked Out of the Military Leaders in the Trump administration have minced few words in articulating how they feel about transgender troops.

Possibly the last byline we'll get from @ktoropin.bsky.social who's headed to a great job, but also a really important story that you shouldn't miss.

Plans for Mass VA Firings Scuttled, But Department Still Expects 30,000 Employees to Leave on Their Own The announcement walked back previous plans, first revealed in a leaked memo in March, to fire as many as 83,000 employees as part of the Trump administration's overarching goal to slash the size of t...

VA backs off plan for massive job cuts, but workface still to shrink - story by @kheel.bsky.social

Military Domestic Violence Convictions Skyrocketed After Commanders Were Removed from Process Courts-martial are on the rise for domestic violence charges across the Defense Department services.

Military Domestic Violence Convictiins have surged since commanders were removed from prosecution decisions. Via @militarydotcom.bsky.social @stevenbeynon.bsky.social www.military.com/daily-news/i...

Military Domestic Violence Convictions Skyrocketed After Commanders Were Removed from Process Courts-martial are on the rise for domestic violence charges across the Defense Department services.

We're undertaking a major project looking at domestic violence in the military community, which experiences disproportionate rates. The first story, looking at sharp increases in convictions by @stevenbeynon.bsky.social and @patriciakime.bsky.social is out. Please reach out if you can help us.

A Veteran Was Detained by Marines. It Highlights Concerns over the Military's Growing Ties to Law Enforcement. Marcos Leao's detention by Marines marks what many legal, defense and policy experts say is an unprecedented violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the U.S. military from performing domestic...

NEW: The Army veteran detained by Marines in LA told me about the incident, which raised legal fears among experts.

"I would feel bad if someone else was going through that same thing as me, because they would probably freak the heck out."

More @Militarydotcom:
www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Exclusive: US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video shows Marines deployed to Los Angeles carried out the detention of a civilian on Friday, the U.S. military confirmed after being presented with Reuters images, in the first known detention by active-duty troops deployed there by President Donald Trump.

The first civilian detained by U.S. Marines in Los Angeles was an ARMY VETERAN on his way to a VA APPOINTMENT

Food Assistance Cuts Softened, Veterans Education Benefits Protected in Senate Version of Trump Agenda Bill Two aspects of a sweeping bill to enact President Donald Trump's agenda that alarmed veterans and military family advocates have been watered down by Senate Republicans.

Senate pares back cuts to food stamps for troops and their families, but cuts are still there - @kheel.bsky.social with the story

'No Kings' Protests, Citizen-Run ICE Trackers Trigger Intelligence Warnings Army intelligence analysts are monitoring civilian-made ICE tracking tools, treating them as potential threats, as immigration protests spread nationwide.

Scoop: Threat intelligence reports obtained by WIRED and @propertyofthepeople.org show military and state-run fusion centers are tracking civilian-made ICE encounter maps, while others distribute "threat" alerts about tomorrow's "No Kings" protests.

By me @wired.com (free to read):

Army Eliminates Office for Minimizing Civilian Deaths on Battlefields The Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, which once housed roughly 30 staff, has been folded into the Army's dense web of unrelated bureaucratic policy shops.

Army Eliminates Office for Minimizing Civilian Deaths on Battlefields - part of a broader trend with the Pentagon closing offices in March that tried to account for civilian deaths as well as prevent them. @stevenbeynon.bsky.social has the story.

The Army Parade Poses Potential Pitfalls like a Tank Breakdown. Soldiers Say They're Prepared. Thousands of soldiers have descended upon Washington, D.C., from more than a dozen Army divisions across the force, and many of them have meticulously prepared their machines to roll down Constitution...

The Army Parade Poses Potential Pitfalls like a Tank Breakdown. Soldiers Say They're Prepared. - @dflawrence.bsky.social looks at the Army's preparations for the Army/Trump birthday parade tomorrow. Soldiers sound as if they've talked through the Tiananmen Square scenario.

The Marines Are in Los Angeles Around 200 Marines armed with rifles, riot control equipment, gas masks, roughly 20 hours of civil disturbance training and the ability to temporarily detain civilians arrived in the country's second-...

The Marines Are in Los Angeles - a look at the Marines now deployed to an American city, how they were prepared, and the history of Marine Corps training in non-lethal tactics by @dflawrence.bsky.social and @tomnovelly.bsky.social

Pentagon Encourages Troops to Join Immigration Enforcement, Border Security Job Training Program Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to "prioritize and broadly advertise" opportunities troops who are nearing separation or retirement from the military have with either Customs and Border Protection or…

Pentagon Encourages Troops to Join Immigration Enforcement, Border Security Job Training Program www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Army Officials Pushed Back on Pop-Up MAGA Shop Ahead of Fort Bragg Trump Speech Ahead of President Donald Trump's rally-style appearance at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Army officials raised alarms over a vendor planning to sell Trump-branded merchandise on site.

SCOOP: The Army pushed back on a MAGA pop-up shop being set up at Bragg for Trump's speech but were overruled. Here's how orgs with deep Trump campaign and Jan 6 ties got merch to be sold to troops. www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Are you on the LA mission? Or any mission related to recent events? I want to hear from you. No one will know we talked, here's my Signal: SteveBeynon.28

Guard Soldiers Deployed in Trump's LA Crackdown Aren't Getting Paid Yet According to more than a dozen Guardsmen across four units who spoke to Military.com, none has received formal activation orders, the critical paperwork that not only authorizes their duty status, but...

Guard Soldiers Deployed in Trump's LA Crackdown Aren't Getting Paid Yet - military scrambling to sort out orders so that troops can get paid by @stevenbeynon.bsky.social

Marines Authorized to Temporarily Detain Protesters in LA, Raising Legal Concerns A legal expert said that even granting temporary detention authority to troops can be construed as a law enforcement act, blurring the line between civilian police and service members on active orders...

Marines Authorized to Temporarily Detain Protesters in LA, Raising Legal Concerns by @dflawrence.bsky.social - a critical issue to watch

'Deeply Negative Message': Relatives of Fort Gregg-Adams' Namesakes React to Trump Renaming Relatives of the late Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams-Earley anticipated it, but when President Donald Trump announced their parents' names would be stripped from the Virginia base, t...

"It's very disheartening," the daughter of the late Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg told @militarydotcom.bsky.social on Wednesday. "My father worked his entire life trying to move the Army and, as a result, the nation forward, and now we're watching it slip backwards."
www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Hegseth Suggests LA-Style Troop Deployments Could Happen Anywhere in US 'if Necessary' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added that "hopefully" governors in other states would mobilize their Guards themselves and took a swipe at California Gov. Gavin Newsom for "playing politics."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Wednesday that the Trump administration could send troops to any city in America over the objections of state and local officials, as it is doing now in Los Angeles.

Story by @kheel.bsky.social

Bragg Soldiers Who Cheered Trump's Political Attacks While in Uniform Were Checked for Allegiance, Appearance As Trump viciously attacked his perceived political foes, he whipped up boos from the gathered troops directed at California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Really important story - army officials asked soldiers to identify themselves if they don't agree with Trump's politics that way he'd get only supportive soldiers in uniform during his political rally on base. Heavier soldiers were also barred from participating.

Bragg Soldiers Who Cheered Trump's Political Attacks While in Uniform Were Checked for Allegiance, Appearance As Trump viciously attacked his perceived political foes, he whipped up boos from the gathered troops directed at California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Ft. Bragg goes full MAGA - Trump goaded troops into booing his enemies and cheering on partisan lines. The Army checked for allegiance to the president ahead of the event, and Trump merchandise was even sold on base to celebrate.

www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Can't second this enough. Phenomenal book.

2 Veterans Tied to 'Nazi White Nationalist Efforts' Allegedly Stole Gear from Army Base, Beat Soldier with Hammer Police arrested Charles Ethan Fields and Levi Austin Frakes after executing a warrant for alleged assault, robbery and theft of government property, according to the complaint by the U.S. Attorney's O...

Two neo Nazis allegedly beat a soldier with a hammer to rob equipment from the 75th Ranger Regiment, they've allegedly been stealing Army gear for years

www.military.com/daily-news/2...

The ship is named after a gay rights icon.

One official told me that the timing of the decision - amid Pride Month - is not an accident.

Big scoop - Hegseth orders renaming of USS Harvey Milk, intentionally timed during Pride month according to a defense official.

Pentagon Diverts $1 Billion from Army Barracks to Fund Border Mission The Pentagon is shifting $1 billion meant for maintaining and renovating Army barracks to instead fund its surge of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that coincides with the service's gradual d...

The Pentagon is shifting $1 billion meant for Army barracks to fund its border mission, contrasting Hegseth's public persona as a champion for the rank & file www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Hegseth Restricts Press Access at Pentagon, Says Journalists Will Be Required to Sign Pledge Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken yet another step to curtail the work of the press inside the Pentagon by imposing harsh restrictions on where reporters can go without official escort in a…

Hegseth Restricts Press Access at Pentagon, Says Journalists Will Be Required to Sign Pledge www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Hegseth Restricts Press Access at Pentagon, Says Journalists Will Be Required to Sign Pledge Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken yet another step to curtail the work of the press inside the Pentagon by imposing harsh restrictions on where reporters can go without official escort in a mem...

We will not stop being watchdogs for the military community, regardless of this new policy that is clearly intended to limit reporting. www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Hegseth Starts Evangelical Prayer Services at Pentagon with His Tennessee Church Pastor The defense secretary's personal pastor from a Tennessee church whose leaders have a documented history of advocating for male-led Christian authority over society.

In a move that pushes the boundaries of Constitutional prohibition against a state religion, Hegseth hosted an evangelical prayer service in the middle of the day at the Pentagon in which a pastor praised President Donald Trump as "sovereignly appointed."

Story by @ktoropin.bsky.social

Dozens of Air Force Families Disenrolled from Day Care at New Mexico Base as Staffing Woes Grow Dozens of families at a New Mexico Air Force base have been suddenly and unexpectedly warned their children will be disenrolled from the installation's day care later this month as part of widespread ...

More than 50 families at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico were notified that due to staffing issues their children would be removed from on-base daycare in just 2 weeks. The notice was given on Military Spouse Appreciation Day. More @militarydotcom.bsky.social:
www.military.com/daily-news/2...