The Pentagon says it is reviewing where top military officials can publicly speak as part of a growing move to allow only venues that align with the views of the Trump administration, which could affect attendance at annual military conferences.

The announcement comes just more than a week after the Pentagon pulled a host of top military officials^[1] from attending a major security conference in Aspen, Colorado, claiming the event promoted the "evil of globalism" and hatred of President Donald Trump.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office on Friday did not say whether the review could mean the end of officials attending annual military-run conferences such as the Navy^[2]'s Sea Air Space and the Surface Navy Association Symposium; the Marine Corps^[3]' Modern Day Marine; and the Army^[4]'s Association of the United States Army, or AUSA.

Read Next: Decades of Troubles for Air Force Maintainers Set to Get Worse with Job Consolidation^[5]

"In order to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums and events that run counter to the values of this administration, the department's Office of Public Affairs will be conducting a thorough vetting of every event where defense officials are invited to participate," top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Military.com in a statement.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson was more direct in a social media post Thursday^[6], saying that "going forward, no DoD official will attend events by 'America last' organizations that promote globalism and hate [Trump]."

After the decision to pull out of the Aspen Security Forum, Wilson said that the Pentagon would "no longer be participating in an event that promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the president of the United States."

The program for the Aspen event included Navy Secretary John Phelan; Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Gen. Bryan Fenton, head of U.S. Special Operations Command; and Lt. Gen. John Brennan, deputy commander of U.S. Africa Command.

The ultimate scope of any changes to attendance at events is still unknown. One defense official noted that Parnell and other leaders at the Pentagon were still developing the actual guidance and policy on how event appearances will be assessed and what criteria would be used.

Multiple officials who spoke with Military.com on the condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the new policy said that they didn't know who would be in charge of deciding whether a military official would be allowed to go to a conference or not.

One service-level official expressed frustration at the lack of details and documentation on yet another policy change coming from Hegseth's office. The official noted that they found out about the change through Politico, which first reported the story^[7], and not official channels.

The official also said their service already has a long-standing policy of vetting engagements for top officers and civilian officials that included legal and ethics reviews, as well as input from public affairs and the defense secretary's office.

Without formal paperwork, the official said they were unclear on what the review from the secretary's office would add to the process or whether it would affect just military officers or civilians as well.

The new policy has also proven to be unpopular among some conservatives.

The Washington Examiner, a conservative political news outlet, called the new policy "a war on thought" in an article published Friday^[8].

Wilson's deputy, Joel Valdez, shot back on social media, arguing that the appearances -- many of which are before various think tanks specializing in national security or foreign affairs -- have no value.

"There isn't a lot of 'thinking' going on at these think tanks," Valdez argued in a post Friday^[9]. "It's just a bunch of 'America last' globalists foaming at the mouth."

The Anti-Defamation League has said that the word "globalist" -- a term that is being used with greater regularity by officials like Wilson and Valdez -- is frequently used "as an antisemitic dog whistle" and can be wielded "as a codeword for Jews or as a pejorative term for people whose interests in international commerce or finance ostensibly make them disloyal to the country in which they live."

Wilson has a yearslong history^[10] of making posts on her personal social media account that allude to or flat out referenced a variety of extremist rhetoric, ranging from white nationalist talking points to antisemitic conspiracy theories.

While military officials will now be under greater scrutiny, Hegseth recently took the unusual step of appearing at a political Turning Point USA rally two weeks ago. Typically, defense secretaries take steps to avoid appearing openly partisan in an effort to preserve the nonpartisan nature of the military.

Turning Point USA is an influential right-wing nonprofit organization run by Charlie Kirk, himself a key figure in the world of Trump and Republican politics.

Speaking to a crowd at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, Hegseth claimed that "we don't do politics" at the Defense Department, while also saying that NATO was "freeloading off of America."^[11]

Related: Pentagon Pulls Top Officers from Colorado Security Conference, Claiming It Promotes 'Evil of Globalism'^[12]

Every time U.S. Paralympic guide runner Jerome Avery hears the national anthem, he thinks of his late father, who served in the Navy^[1] and whom he shares a name with.

So as the anthem played to open the 2025 DoD Warrior Games track meet Wednesday, the 46-year-old once again became emotional as he looked at the American flag inside Garry Berry Stadium.

For the sixth year, Avery served as the track coach for the U.S. Special Operations Command's Warrior Care Program during the Warrior Games, and finds purpose in coaching from his father's service.

"I honestly feel my purpose is to be here at this moment," Avery said. "I love it. My father served in the military, so this was a way of me doing something bigger than myself and being part of something bigger than myself. Every time I'm surrounded by SOCOM he's here with me."

Avery has been a guide runner for the U.S. Paralympic track and field team since 2004. An Olympic hopeful at one point himself, Avery placed in the top 20 at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials and in the top 15 at the 2004 trials before finding a new path in guide running.

"One door closed and another opened for me," Avery said. "Working with Paralympic athletes opened up another door to working with SOCOM. I got involved through a friend of mine and the rest is history."

As a guide runner, Avery is bound to an athlete by a tether as they sprint in lanes side-by-side, communicating by touch and sound. Avery has helped three athletes to Paralympic medals, two of them gold and one silver in long jump with Lex Gillette who he still trains with today.

Avery might still be an active guide runner, but at the DoD Warrior Games, he was in full-on coach-mode.

"He is an excellent coach," Adam Foutz, a medically retired Marine Corp veteran, said of Avery. "He is methodical, communicative, and looks after us."

One of the highlights of the day for SOCOM was a win in the 4x100 meter combined relay despite an injury during the second leg. Avery's strategy for the team helped propel SOCOM to an exciting gold medal finish.

"It showed the power of teamwork and understanding that if one wins we all win," Avery said. "They see me as an elite athlete and are inspired by me being out there, but I'm inspired by being a part of SOCOM. Coaching them and just seeing their motivation is amazing."

Foutz, who was a part of the gold medal winning 4x100 relay, was inspired by Avery to become a guide runner himself and trained with Avery to achieve that goal. Foutz guided for the first time Wednesday with Army^[2] athlete Henry Escobed. And the pair captured gold in the 100 meters.

"I'm at a point now where my time (in the DoD Warrior Games) is coming to a close and I want to give back to the community in any way I can," Foutz said. "(Avery) inspired me to give back in new ways. Never would have thought to be a guide runner, but through the (DoD Warrior Games) and being under him, I saw the possibilities and that opened up my mind."

Avery's first DoD Warrior Games was in 2018, the last time it was in Colorado Springs. That made this year's edition special for the California native. He even visited the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum for the first time where he signed pictures on the walls of him with Paralympic medalists.

At each DoD Warrior Games, it's never about the medals for Avery, although he loves to see the SOCOM athletes succeed. Besides his connection to his father, it's the athletes that will keep him coming back to coach for as long as he can.

"I love the group I work with," Avery said. "Constantly seeing the improvements in the short amount of time I get to work with the team, it's been phenomenal. I love what I do, I love to be a part of this. I hope to continue to push these athletes the best that I can. Wherever the Games are, I will be there with SOCOM."

© 2025 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Visit www.gazette.com^[3].

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.^[4]

A former Space Force^[1] officer who was booted from the service after making unfounded allegations that Marxism was spreading throughout the military has been confirmed by the Senate to be the Air Force^[2]'s No. 2 civilian.

In a 52-46 party-line vote Thursday, the Senate approved former Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier to become the under secretary of the Air Force.

Under secretaries are typically seen as the day-to-day managers of the military services, essentially serving as the chief management officer while the secretary serves as chief executive officer. But for the Air Force, as well as^[3] the Navy^[4], President Donald Trump nominated an under secretary known more for his culture warrior status than managerial experience.

Read Next: Texas' Fort Bliss Set to Host 5,000-Bed Immigrant Detention Camp^[5]

Lohmeier met Trump during the presidential campaign^[6] last year, asking at a town hall whether he would support creating a task force to root out "monsters" who support diversity and inclusion policies. Trump backed the idea and told Lohmeier that "I'm going to put you on that task force."

Lohmeier first entered the public consciousness in 2021 after he self-published a book called "Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest and the Unmaking of the American Military" and appeared on a conservative podcast to promote the book. On the podcast, Lohmeier claimed that diversity and inclusion initiatives are "rooted in Marxism," a popular conservative accusation.

After the podcast, Lohmeier was fired from command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Space Force Base^[7] in Colorado by then-Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting. Notably, Whiting is now the four-star in charge of U.S. Space Command.

At Lohmeier's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in May, Democrats grilled him about his firing^[8], as well as social media posts promising "serious consequences" for unnamed senior leaders who he said politicized the military and falsely claiming the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters was a "a gov't-led false flag and hoax."

Lohmeier said at the hearing that he would seek accountability from service members and leaders, but that his post about consequences "was not intended to be retroactive or retributional in nature." He also maintained that Democrats mischaracterized his post about Jan. 6, but wouldn't directly answer whether he believes the attack was a hoax and claimed that "there's so much uncertainty about what was really going on."

Democrats argued Lohmeier's track record, including about Jan. 6, should be disqualifying.

"I would ask all my colleagues who were there that day, and who were in danger, if it was a hoax and a false flag operation," Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "If you think it was, and is, an attack on our Constitution -- and on ourselves -- this is not the gentleman to be the deputy secretary of the United States Air Force."

But the Democratic opposition was not enough to derail Lohmeier's confirmation in a chamber controlled by Republicans. Every Republican who voted Thursday backed him.

At the May hearing, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., praised Lohmeier as "an outspoken proponent of eliminating the divisive" diversity efforts in the military and said his nomination "represents an opportunity to evaluate closely the kind of leadership we need in the Air Force and Space Force at this pivotal moment."

Lohmeier's approval comes as senators work to make progress on confirming Trump's nominees ahead of a monthlong summer break.

Just before senators started voting on Lohmeier on Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for Trump's choice to be the next chief of naval operations, Adm. Daryl Caudle.

While the circumstances of Caudle's nomination as the replacement for Adm. Lisa Franchetti, whom Trump fired without explanation, were controversial, Caudle breezed through his hearing, suggesting he will be easily confirmed on a bipartisan basis.

Related: Senators Voice 'Deep Concerns' About Trump's Pick for Air Force Under Secretary^[9]