Sources: USA Today
United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin orders the USS "Abraham Lincoln" aircraft carrier strike group and the USS "Georgia" SSGN cruise-missile submarine to the Middle East to defend Israel from possible retaliation from Iran and to strengthen the U.S. military position in the region. 2024-08-12
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announces the sale of 250 M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Poland amid tensions with Russia. The Polish Land Forces will become the first European military to operate the American M1 Abrams. 2022-02-18
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says American troops withdrawing from Syria will go to western Iraq, where the U.S. military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State to prevent its resurgence. 2019-10-20
Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, testifies before the Senate. 2018-09-27
Senator Ted Cruz, the runner-up in the race for the Republican Party nomination, is booed off stage after giving a speech and refusing to endorse Donald Trump. 2016-07-20
During a visit to Baghdad, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces that the United States will be sending more troops to the country to help in the fight against ISIL. The U.S. also plans to give Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which are fighting ISIL on the ground, more than $400m (£280m; €350m) in assistance. 2016-04-18
The public interest non-profit Cause for Action files a Freedom of Information Act request for United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s personal emails following his disclosure of using that account for official government emails, this in the wake of the former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton email controversy and the Office of Personnel Management data breach. The U.S. Federal Records Act restricts use of personal email for official business. 2015-12-23
United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter indicates a more robust role ahead for the United States military in bolstering indigenous forces countering ISIS and in response to Russia’s increasing role in Middle East conflicts. 2015-10-26
The United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter warns that the People's Republic of China's island building in the South China Sea is undermining security in the Asia-Pacific region and has called for a diplomatic solution. 2015-05-30
Chuck Hagel is confirmed by the Senate as the United States Secretary of Defense. 2013-02-26