News and reports from the Department of Defense, DOD.

The Department of Defense announced the selection of a team of United States and United Kingdom academic researchers to investigate the growing threat that malign social influence campaigns pose to democracies. Awarded through the Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI)'s Social Science Program, the project, "Influence, Manipulation, and Information Threats as Adversarial Techniques: Events, Evolution, and Effects," is led by Professor Jacob Shapiro at Princeton University in the U.S. and Professor Martin Innes at Cardiff University in the U.K.

On July 29-30, 2024, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Western Hemisphere Affairs Ms. Jana Nelson co-chaired the 19th U.S.-Colombia Defense Bilateral Working Group (DBWG) with Colombian Vice Minister of Defense for Strategy and Planning Luis Edmundo Suárez Soto. The meeting took place at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

On August 6, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and their Australian counterparts, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, met in Annapolis, Maryland, for the 34th Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN).

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today that the president has made the following nominations:

The Department of Defense announced today an $11.8 million award via the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) office to Lithium Nevada Corporation (Lithium Nevada), a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. The award aims to accelerate the extraction and processing of lithium carbonate and directly supports the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy's objective to expand support for domestic production of critical minerals.

The U.S. Department of Defense and the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Niger have announced the completion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces and assets from Air Base 201 in Agadez.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Pentagon Spokesman Eric Pahon provided the following readout:

Secretary Austin signed a memo reserving for himself the specific authority to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the 9/11 military commission cases. Additionally, as the superior convening authority, the Secretary has withdrawn from the pre-trial agreements that were previously signed in those cases.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh provided the following readout:

The Department of Defense continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran's partners and proxies. Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the Secretary of Defense has reiterated that the United States will protect its personnel and interests in the region, including its commitment to the defense of Israel.

The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case. The specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time.

On July 30, 2024, the Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense held the 2024 U.S.-ROK Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Committee in Seoul.