Lee Ferran

Tonight a judge ruled that the Pentagon's policy on press access "contravenes both the First and Fifth Amendments." Our statement:

BREAKING: Judge voids Pentagon's new press policy that led most outlets to surrender their credentials. In suit brought by NYT, Judge Paul Friedman (Clinton/DC) says policy violates 1st Amendment because it's designed to "weed out disfavored journalists." ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_p…

Had a great time with the @BreakingDefense team talking about the air war against Iran. A few conversations worth your time. 🧵

CENTCOM Update TAMPA, Fla. – As of 9:30 am ET, March 1, three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury. Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.

I appreciate the pronunciation tutorial, I gotta keep studying Arabic

Why? CIA retires The World Factbook. cia.gov/stories/story/…

SCOOP: House Armed Services Chair @RepMikeRogersAL says defense industrial base expansion will be the focus of the FY27 NDAA and that he and SASC head @SenatorWicker are seeking about $450B for defense in the second reconciliation bill: breakingdefense.com/2026/02/exclus…

As international correspondents and reporters for the @washingtonpost, we risk our safety to investigate authoritarian governments, report from gang-controlled towns and document evidence of stolen elections. This on-the-ground reporting is more critical than ever. #SaveThePost

NEW: @potus letter to @jonasgahrstore links @NobelPrize to Greenland, reiterates threats, and is forwarded by the NSC staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. I obtained the text from multiple officials: Dear Ambassador:   President Trump has asked that the following message, shared with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, be forwarded to your [named head of government/state] “Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT”

"The statement appears to challenge the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes, which while a part of the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity has long retained independence from editorial oversight from the Pentagon under a congressional mandate that it be governed by First Amendment principles." stripes.com/theaters/us/20…

Not to toot my own horn, but with so much solid rocket motor news today, I think my deep dive on the state of the industrial base is well worth a read:

“The success of this raid is not solely a reflection of the quality, or lack thereof, of the equipment. Quantity has a quality all its own," - missile defense specialist Ralph Savelsberg

Interesting final thought. A couple years ago I wrote about how one special ops leader said he was seeing a "morale challenge" in SOF post-GWOT because they weren't kicking down doors as much: breakingdefense.com/2023/05/some-u…

I need to know if anyone was dedicated to watching @TheRock's feed.

If you are following events in Venezuela following the seizure of Maduro by U.S. special forces, please be careful to check images, videos and information before you share them. If you have any questions about the story, let me know. Subscribe: personalnews.substack.com

But while Maduro is being charged with drug and weapons crimes, Trump repeatedly came back to another motivating factor for the operation and one driving his envisioned transition plan: oil. breakingdefense.com/2026/01/us-mil…

WATCH IN FULL: President Donald J. Trump's exclusive interview with @foxandfriends following the highly successful U.S. operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro

Worth noting that President George HW Bush did not seek or receive prior Congressional authorization when he ordered the U.S. military to invade Panama and arrest Manuel Noriega in 1989. As Trump apparently did in this case, Bush notified Congress after the operation was under way. Bush cited the same justifications that Trump is citing now.

Artifact of the Week: Glomar Explorer Crew Patch Learn more: cia.gov/legacy/museum/…

Breaking Defense’s 5 most-clicked stories of 2025 breakingdefense.com/2025/12/breaki…