Pentagon Shutters Research Programs
No more woke crap.
Science (“Pentagon abruptly ends all funding for social science research“):
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is ending all of its funding for social science research, stopping 91 ongoing studies related to threats such as climate change, extremism, and disinformation. In a press release issued late on Friday, the department wrote that it would “focus on the most impactful technologies” and that research it funds “must address pressing needs to develop and field advanced military capabilities.”
“[DOD] does not do climate change crap,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X on Sunday. “We do training and war fighting.”
DOD has been looking at the impact of climate change on future operations for quite some time now. To take just one example, the melting of polar ice caps will radically change the calculus in the Arctic Circle in the near future.
The cuts include the entire Minerva Research Initiative, a landmark project established in 2008 “to help DOD better understand and prepare for future challenges.” (Science Insider first reported on cuts to Minerva on 2 March.) The initiative’s website, including reports on finished and ongoing projects, has since gone dark.
Preparing for future challenges seems like it might be important. Otherwise, how would one assess which technologies will be “most impactful”? Or what “pressing needs” are?
“The Pentagon’s decision to scrap its social science research portfolio … is short-sighted and harmful to U.S. national security,” says Jason Lyall, a political scientist at Dartmouth College. Many of the canceled projects focused on how new technologies such as artificial intelligence are shaping modern battlefields, Lyall notes. “How do you know what’s ‘impactful’ if you don’t do the research? How do you anticipate countermeasures and consequences of their use?” he asks. “I’m worried that without this portfolio, we lose a critical source of impartial evidence about national security, leaving the Pentagon more susceptible to companies selling ‘revolutionary’ but unproven technologies.”
The move “suggests they don’t care about better understanding threats the U.S. faces,” says Josh Busby, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and a senior adviser for climate at DOD in 2021–22. Busby had a small grant to study the U.S. dependence on critical minerals from China for the clean energy transition, a project scheduled to wrap up this summer after a tabletop exercise at the U.S. Naval War College. That is now unlikely to happen, Busby says. “It’s baffling that our project was terminated early since the focus on critical minerals and dependence on China is what they say they care about.”
DOD has said cutting the research projects will save more than $30 million in the first year, but that’s “a rounding error in the Pentagon’s massive budget,” Lyall says. “Any savings will be outweighed by new gaps and blind spots in our knowledge about current and emerging threats.”
For context, the FY24 DOD budget—the most recent passed—was $842 billion. We spent $30 million—the amount saved here—on Hellfire missiles. Which is down from $116 million the year before because they’re being phased out of the inventory.
How did they decide to phase Hellfires out of the inventory?
(Yeah, I know… Just being snarky. 😉 )
Come, when has terrain or weather ever been even a minor factor in any battle?
Insurance companies understand climate change is real.
The oil industry understands that climate change is real.
Anyone who understands some pretty basic and uncontroversial laws of nature knows that climate change is real.
Three kinds of people do not: very stupid people and very ignorant people and very dishonest people – the people who make up the present administration..
One of the reasons Trump is interested in Greenland is because of climate change.
And someone needs to tell our poster child for “merit” based hires at the head of the DoD that things like water and other resources affected by climate change are relevant to where and why future military conflicts are likely to emerge.
“We do training and war fighting” is a middle-school understanding of the military (and that it being charitable).
@Steven L. Taylor: You’re the first person I’ve seen allude to the irony of GOPs saying Greenland is becoming more strategically important because of receding sea ice while denying Global Warming. Also, the Navy spent a lot of money raising docks at Norfolk, for no good reason according to GOPs.
But, I can see Hegseth scrapping sociology research. Those experts can never be trusted to come up with the GOP’s politically correct answer.
When the SecDef, himself a DUI hire, and the CinC know everything there is no need for research.
@Steven L. Taylor:
What, exactly, about this administration isn’t based on middle-school understanding?
@Daryl:
Some is not at that exalted level. Like their “understanding” of the economy.
I bet that the felon is certain the stock markets will shoot up once his tax cuts pass, and big corporation begin buying back their shares again.
So, researching and studying the potential environmental and social conditions in which current and future war fighters will operate so that they’ll be more adaptable, efficient, and effective is a non-starter with this moronic administration.
Whelp, I guess that’s what we voted for.
@Daryl:
Trump.
Trump’s mental deterioration is too progressed for Trump to be able to handle a middle school curriculum.
@Kathy:
Some of Trump’s minions have been pointing out that stocks have gone up a lot in the past few years, and that markets do not grow to the sky. Something to think about.
@Daryl:
Freudian slip?
[…]
ETA: “Whelp, I guess that’s what we voted for.”
AYUP, this, too.
@just nutha:
Nope. Entirely intentional.
@Daryl: Well played, then.
@Daryl: Fair.
When questioned in the Senate, Pete Hegseth was unable to articulate a coherent defense strategy with regard to China, which is the target of the administrations “pivot”.
Appointing Pete Hegseth and carrying out his program makes our military weaker.
Copy/paste from James’ post: “I’m worried that without this portfolio, we lose a critical source of impartial evidence about national security, leaving the Pentagon more susceptible to companies selling ‘revolutionary’ but unproven technologies.” (end copy/paste)
The above quote is a key one to focus on, as this is what President Trump and Pete want to happen, I bet there are CEO’s of companies that pumped their fist in the air at this news and said oh yeah, Trump and Pete came through for us, and are telling their executive team to prepare to get filthy rich as they prepare to sell the Pentagon a bunch of unproven software and material goods that they know is junk, or vaporware that they will be forced to purchase because the Pentagon is staffed with President Trump acolytes who will be happy to enrich themselves and their friends in the Private Sector.
These companies will end up selling a bunch of basically Juicero products to the Pentagon, overpriced crap/software that they will claim is the best way to outfit the troops or provide logistical support, something that Trump and Pete will claim is the best use of American Tax Payers money. However, what they are really selling is a juice machine that was priced in the hundreds of dollars that did the same job as a $10 juicer you can buy at amazon’s site.
And MAGA and the DOGE brain trust will try and keep a straight face by telling us that shutting down this department so Trump and friends can fleece the American taxpayer is actually going to save us money.
Jeebus, fricking, christ, Americans have just lost the plot letting these clowns run the show.
This action of Trump/Musk is all about enriching their friends in the private sector.
@inhumans99: Agreed. Stupidity and incompetence likely a big factor, but big motivation’s also gotta be to grease the skids so it’s easier to sell billions in crap like armored Tesla Trucks with trump branded armor as the core of our future fighting force.
@inhumans99: Even worse than you describe on the Juicero. The Wikipedia article claimed that consumers discovered that the fruit pouches that consumers bought for the device could be squeezed by manually. I remember it vaguely and realized the same thing just watching the commercial–smash the pouch between your fingers and press the juice out through a small hole cut in the corner of the packet. (Which, amazingly enough, is basically what Juicero did. 😐 )
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
Yeah, reading up on the Juicero, which was supposed to be this super cool must have juicing gadget, is just fascinating and good for a laugh and a head shake or two.
Here is what will happen, Trump and Musk will say look Taxpayer, I saved you 30 million dollars by not having to keep this department operational, and then maybe not even a few months later they will announce that they have signed a flurry of contracts with Musk’s companies, and a bunch of other private sector folks who are focused on developing product/software for the Defense Department that are for something like 60-100 Billion dollars+ in total of solutions to Make America Great Again.
Trump/Musk will trumpet 30 million in “savings” to the taxpayer only to turn around and convince them that the 100 Billion in taxpayer money we are about to hand over to Musk and friends is of the utmost necessity to keep us strong, funny how that works. The sad thing is the MAGA crowd will not see this as pretty much fleecing the flock.
I have to try and not let this get to me because I want to tell myself that any day now folks (libs, MAGA, Libertarians, etc..) will get fed up with the shenanigans and say hell no to all this, but I could be waiting a very long time for that to happen. I have hopefully many years of life ahead of me, so it is not good for my mental health to let the news coming out of the White House supply me with a steady diet of migraines.
At least it is mid-week and we are a few days closer to the Weekend.
@inhumans99:
And tomorrow is Friday Eve. Yippee
@Flat Earth Luddite:
It looks like Shut Down Eve as well.
@Kathy:
Channeling my inner 5-year-old, YIPPEE!!!
aka, you broke it? You own it. Congrats, GQP.
(And I know my investments in chemotherapy have already matured.). But it’s a good thing we don’t have a mortgage. Or investments.
@Kathy:
Performative Kabuki prior to caving based on what I have been reading. Coward Schumer will cave, MR is right, Dem leaders are way past their sell by date.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-kabuki-cave
“Onion JPG“