The secretary has also ordered the conclusion of service for most advisory board members.
The secretary s move boots Trump loyalists who were appointed to the boards at the last minute.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for an immediate suspension of the department s advisory committee operations as it conducts a top-down review and ordered the removal of most advisory board members by mid-February, according to a Department of Defense memo.
Austin, who was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the US Senate in late January, said that the Defense Department s review was being conducted to align with our most pressing strategic priorities and the National Defense Strategy.
Updated
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Quick Fix
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus wants the Pentagon to replace the members of a commission to rename military bases who were chosen by the Trump administration.
There are more signs that U.S. troops could remain in Afghanistan indefinitely as the Taliban fail to stop attacks and end terrorist support.
Islamic State senior leader in Iraq killed in US-led coalition airstrike January 29 The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition took part in an operation that killed the jihadi group s top remaining leader in Iraq, officials say. (Operation Inherent Resolve) A U.S.-led coalition air strike killed the top remaining Islamic State leader in Iraq, said Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. “Abu Yasir, the most senior Daesh leader in Iraq, was killed during an air strike near Kirkuk, Jan. 27, 2021,” Marotto announced via a tweet Friday morning.
Abu Yasir, the most senior Daesh leader in Iraq, was killed during an air strike near Kirkuk, Jan. 27, 2021. The @iraqicts & @CJTFOIR partnered operation resulted in the deaths of 10 Daesh terrorists. Yasir’s death is another significant blow to Daesh resurgence efforts in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/cdfToIgBCK OIR Spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto (@OIRSpox) January 29, 2021
President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is preparing to review President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw some 3,000 U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq in the days before the end of his presidential term.
Defense officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal said Austin is expected to launch a review of the Trump administration troop cuts. Austin’s spokesman, John Kirby, said Pentagon officials haven’t yet decided on the review process but said, “It stands to reason that the incoming administration will want to better understand the status of operations in both places and the resources being applied to those missions.”