This week, the White House and Defense Department moved forward on a promise to protect the United States from missile threats with a system first proposed 40 years ago and made possible now with 21st-century technology.
"On Tuesday, [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth joined [President Donald J. Trump] in the Oval Office to announce the Golden Dome missile defense shield," said Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell during the Weekly Sitrep video. "This bold initiative represents a historic investment in American security and fulfills our duty to protect the homeland."
The Golden Dome will be similar to Israel's Iron Dome defense system, which is designed to protect against inbound missile attacks.
The president announced that an architecture has been selected for the system, which will use next-generation technologies across land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors.
"The Golden Dome for America is a game changer. It's a generational investment in the security of America and Americans," Hegseth told the president. "It's an honor to be a part of this bold initiative. We're going to get to work on it."
Trump said the Golden Dome should be complete in three to four years.
With the summer permanent change of station season already underway, service members and their families are busy moving to their next duty stations. At the Pentagon, DOD leaders have taken steps to remedy complex and, in some cases, expensive issues that often accompany those moves.
"We ... announced a complete overhaul of the permanent change of station process to make it easier on our service members and their families during moving season, which is happening right now," Parnell said.
In a May 20, 2025, memorandum, Hegseth directed U.S. Transportation Command to make various changes related to the existing Global Household Goods contract, which was implemented recently and is responsible for facilitating the movement of household goods during military family moves.
The secretary noted that the PCS process has "never been a great system."
"We know it's not working, and it's only getting worse," he added. "We've heard your concerns about contractor performance, quality and accountability. We hear you loud and clear, and that's why we're taking decisive action immediately."
Hegseth directed that during the 2025 PCS moving season, Transcom should fully leverage capabilities under the new GHC and the legacy Tender of Service program, which GHC replaced.
He also directed Transcom to develop and implement rates similar to the legacy system within GHC to increase vendor capacity and ensure enough companies are willing to move military family household goods to the next duty station.
In August 2021, the U.S. military withdrew its forces from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of conflict. While withdrawing, 13 U.S. service members were killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, during a terrorist attack, Aug. 26, 2021.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jan. 14, 2025, Hegseth spoke about a lack of accountability for what happened.
"There's been no accountability for the disaster of the withdrawal in Afghanistan," he told senators. "Leadership has been unwilling to take accountability. It's the time to restore that to our most senior ranks."
Just this week, Hegseth took steps to determine accountability, and Parnell is part of that effort.
"I served in Afghanistan for 485 days," Parnell said. "My platoon took an 85% casualty rate. This is personal to me. America, the truth is coming, and I look forward to leading this very important effort in delivering accountability to you — the American people who deserve it."
And finally this week, the Defense Department announced a raise in jump pay for paratroopers.
"Secretary Hegseth wrapped up the week with a visit to Fort Bragg, [North Carolina,] where he delivered remarks at the 82nd Airborne Division's All American Week, announcing an increase in jump pay for paratroopers, and for the first time in 25 years, an increase in jumpmaster pay," Parnell said. "It is a good day to be a paratrooper in the United States military."
According to Hegseth, hazardous duty incentive pay — commonly referred to as jump pay — is set to increase from $150 per month to $200 for paratroopers. Jumpmasters — the senior paratroopers responsible for training and teaching the techniques for parachuting from an aircraft — will receive an additional $150 per month on top of the $150 in incentive pay they already earn.