pentagon tour of duty

Official websites use .mil

Secure .mil websites use HTTPS

Official Pentagon tours are provided by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs Office; however, they are currently suspended due to the current Health Protection Condition at the Pentagon. To attend a tour at the Pentagon requires all of the following:

• Visitor Registration
• Valid identification (government-issued, unexpired, with a photo)
• Security screening prior to entering the building

More information related to the impact of COVID-19 on PFPA-protected facilities can be found here: https://www.whs.mil/COVID-19 . Click on “Facilities Update” located at the bottom left side of the page.

NON US Persons

Link to chart on who is a US person versus non-US person

• The Pentagon Visitor Entrance is located adjacent to the Pentagon Metro Entrance.
• Pentagon Visitor Entrance hours: Monday - Friday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Mobile devices will not be allowed on the tour. A locker will be provided before the start of the tour to secure phone, tablets, etc. You will pick up your mobile device at the end of the tour.
• All animals, except service animals for persons with disabilities
• Explosives, weapons, and alcohol
• Bladed, edged, or sharp weapons; knives with blades 2.5 inches in length or longer
• Bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, tricycles, or any other self-propelled or motor-powered personal transport (e.g., Segway). This criterion does not include medical mobility equipment.
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
• Oleoresin capsicum (OC) (“pepper spray”), if more than 1 ounce (28 grams)

Pentagon Tours Frequently Asked Questions This is generic text for Question template? This is a generic answer for template. This is generic text for Question template? This is a generic answer for template.

David B Gleason

Can I Tour the Pentagon?

The pentagon memorial is open to all visitors, and public tours inside the pentagon are available to us citizens with advance reservation..

Yes, but public tours inside the Pentagon are available to US citizens only with advance reservations. The Pentagon Memorial is open to all visitors.

How to tour the Pentagon

The Pentagon, located just outside Washington, DC in Arlington, Va., is the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense. It is open for official tours through the  Pentagon Tours program .

Pentagon tours must be reserved at least 14 days in advance and no more than 90 days in advance. Tours are conducted Tuesdays and Thursdays (excluding federal holidays) at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tours fill up quickly and it is highly recommended that you book well in advance of your visit. You can make a tour request online . International visitors must request a tour through their home country’s embassy.

Individuals who have a Pentagon badge and escort privileges are permitted to give a self-guided tours to friends or family. If you are assigned to the Pentagon or if you are visiting a Pentagon staff member, contact the Pentagon Force Protection Agency at (703) 697-1001 to determine escort status.

Nighttime at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Virginia

Touring the Pentagon

Tours are 60 minutes and cover about 1.5 miles inside the Pentagon, which is one of the largest office buildings in the world. Tours include the history of the four branches of the military and the opportunity to see the indoor memorial near the Sept. 11 crash site and the Sept. 11 Memorial chapel, as well as the Hall of Heroes (featuring the names of all the Medal of Honor recipients) and a number of other military displays.

@daily__ary

Parking, security and accessibility

There is no public parking at The Pentagon. The Pentagon can be reached via its own dedicated Metro stop on the Blue and Yellow lines or you may choose to park at Pentagon City Mall and make the five-minute walk to the Pentagon via pedestrian tunnel. Once you’ve arrived, check in at the Pentagon Tours window near the Metro entrance.

Visitors must check-in at least 60 minutes prior to their scheduled tour to allow time for security. You will be asked to present your tour confirmation email and photo ID. All visitors will go through security scanners. All purses are subject to search. Large bags, including backpacks, shopping bags and camera bags are NOT permitted on the tour. Cell phone, cameras, recording devices and other electronic devices cannot be used on the tour and no photography is permitted inside the building.

Ramps are available for visitors with disabilities. Tour visitors in wheelchairs must bring someone who can assist them on the tour.  A signer will be added to tours to assist hearing impaired visitors provided that two weeks' notice is given. Special tours for visually impaired visitors can also be arranged with two weeks' notice.

There are so many great tours and sightseeing opportunities in Washington, DC. Discover  your next tour adventure .

More About DC

You may also like..

15+ Exciting Things to See & Do Along the Old Town Alexandria Waterfront

How Do I Tour the U.S. Capitol and See Congress in Session?

Washington, DC Ghost Tours That Are Sure to Spook You

After 2-Year Hiatus, Pentagon Reopens for Tours

The seat of national defense is also home to a spectacular display of military history, by eun yang, news4 anchor • published may 19, 2022 • updated on may 19, 2022 at 10:29 am.

The Pentagon has opened again for tours, more than two years after it last offered them. The tour guides are dedicated to informing the public about the many contributions of the country's servicemen and women.

Army Specialist Tyson Weichbrodt imparts the gravity and emotion of Sept. 11, 2001:

"It was at 9:37 in the morning, Sept. 11. Flight 77, a 757 under the control of terrorists, was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon. It killed all 59 people on board and 125 people working here at the building. Their names, in alphabetical order, are listed here...."

The America's Heroes Memorial is located where the plane crashed into the Pentagon, an essential stop on these tours, which recently reopened to the public to tours.

We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.

'We want to impress on the public how seriously we've taken and remind them of the sobriety of that day," Specialist Weichbrodt said, "particularly for the younger generation, who was not born or perhaps very little. It's particularly impactful for them to understand what happened."

For Specialist Weichbrodt, sharing this defining moment in American history has personal meaning.

"It frames so much for me, that event, how I think of myself as an American, and it certainly contributed to my decision to join the military," he said.

Only the best in the building are selected to be tour guides. They have to go through an extensive process for which not even their military training could prepare them.

"So it was a 15-day process, 33 pages of scripts that we had to memorize verbatim, so every day we were learning about page and a half, I would say, front to back, of scripts," said Navy Seaman Ariana Diaz. "At the end of the process, you get three days to test out."

Catch Free Outdoor Movies in DC, Maryland and Virginia All Summer Long

The Weekend Scene: 10+ Things to Do in the DC Area May 20-22

That final test involves giving your colleagues a tour. It is a distinct honor, one that Seaman Diaz considers a highlight of her time at the Pentagon.

Her favorite section before is dedicated to women in service.

"It wasn't until 1901 with the Army nurses' corps, and 1908 with the Navy nurses' corps, when women were officially allowed to serve, and that was just as nurses," Seaman Diaz said. "Today, we're allowed to serve in every position, that being on submarines, on battleships, things of that nature. Thanks to these women, they were kind of being pioneers for me, specifically women in service."

Now, Seaman Diaz is a role model herself.

"I'm the first woman in my family who served in the military. So being able to work here has definitely shown me what I can do for further generations," she said. "My nieces, I want them to be just as great, if not greater. Maybe one day, they'll be able to be the president or the secretary of defense."

That's just a fraction of what you'll see and learn on the entire guided tour.

Tours are offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. You must register online in advance.

For security reasons, you may not bring any electronics on the tour or take videos or photos. You also won't be able to store your electronics on-site, so remember to leave them behind. Prohibited devices include cell phones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, gaming devices, cameras, storage devices/flash drives, scanners, headphones, virtual reality devices, transmitters and GPS devices.

Take the Metro, because parking is a challenge. And wear comfortable shoes, because you'll be walking about 1.5 miles during the tour.

This article tagged under:

• Subscribe Now (Opens in new window)
• Air Force Times (Opens in new window)
• Marine Corps Times (Opens in new window)
• Navy Times (Opens in new window)
• Pentagon & Congress
• Defense News (Opens in new window)
• Flashpoints
• Benefits Guide (Opens in new window)
• Military Pay Center
• Military Retirement
• Military Benefits
• Discount Depot
• Gear Scout (Opens in new window)
• Military Culture
• Military Fitness
• Military Movies & Video Games
• Military Sports
• Transition Guide (Opens in new window)
• Pay It Forward (Opens in new window)
• Black Military History (Opens in new window)
• Congressional Veterans Caucus (Opens in new window)
• Military Appreciation Month (Opens in new window)
• Military History
• Vietnam Vets & Rolling Thunder (Opens in new window)
• Honor the Fallen (Opens in new window)
• Hall of Valor (Opens in new window)
• Service Members of the Year (Opens in new window)
• Create an Obituary (Opens in new window)
• Medals & Misfires
• Installation Guide (Opens in new window)
• Task Force Violent
• Battle Bracket
• CFC Givers Guide
• Photo Galleries
• Early Bird Brief
• Newsletters (Opens in new window)
• Long-Term Care Partners
• Navy Federal
• Digital Edition (Opens in new window)

Congress orders Army to open Tour of Duty portal to Reserve, Guard troops

Since late 2017, the Army’s more than 500,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers haven’t been able to browse short-term Army vacancies except on a government network. Thanks to a new provision in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act , however, the service will now make those listings available on soldiers’ personal devices.

The Army advertises individual vacancies for deployments or short active duty tours on Tour of Duty, an online job board tailored for the service’s part-time soldiers to volunteer for such roles. But the required trip to an armory to get on a government network was a barrier for many troops that don’t have access except while on base.

“The Army will comply with the [legislation],” spokesperson Bruce Anderson told Army Times. “We are considering evaluating the Tour of Duty portal access as part of the Bring Your Own Device pilot program planned for this year.”

The service will have a year to implement the change.

Another new policy added that Guard and Reserve troops can now spend five years out of every six on temporary active duty for operational support orders (ADOS). Previously, such volunteers were limited to three years on ADOS out of every four calendar years.

Leaders of organizations representing Guard and Reserve troops praised the measure.

“Providing ease of access for Citizen Soldiers to find their next opportunity to serve is vital to their growth as soldiers and the readiness of the reserve force,” said the Reserve Organization of America’s Executive Director, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips, in a press release .

A spokesperson for the National Guard Association of the U.S. was cautiously supportive of the change, noting that ADOS roles were a “bandaid” for issues with permanent full-time manning.

“[This] has the potential to impact a lot of people,” NGAUS spokesperson John Goheen said, describing the provisions as a “win-win” that will give soldiers increased opportunities and create better application pools for critical short-term vacancies.

The bipartisan Tour of Duty legislative provision was spearheaded in Congress by Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

The author of this article is a member of NGAUS .

This article was updated at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2021, to clarify that Tour of Duty was accessible from non-government devices until late 2017 .

Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.

In Other News

The 3rd Group roots of this unofficial Nazi-inspired Green Beret logo

A nazi-inspired patch that sparked outrage in recent days likely originated with 3rd special forces group, which banned the logo in 2022..

Pentagon needs to wake up on troops’ lack of sleep, watchdog says

A new gao study found that defense department leaders aren't doing enough to address sleep deprivation among troops..

Army slowing deployment cycle for busy armor units, assessing others

Army times spoke with a top training official and force management experts about how changes to the readiness model will impact armor units and more..

Army investigating social media post showing Nazi symbol

The army opened an investigation after a national guard unit posted a photo online that contained a symbol worn by nazi ss troops..

VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access

Veterans affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care..

TOUR OF DUTY: EXERCISING CONTROL OVER YOUR MILITARY CAREER

Just some dogs and ponies lining up for a show. Yes, I’m wearing a helmet. I don’t want to talk about it.

September 22, 2019

Something that’s been very interesting to me over the last two years is figuring out how to maintain the most options and flexibility as I move forward. I discuss this idea in “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and in this article, I’m going to share a resource with you that can help.

At this point, I have no idea whether or not I’d want to come back into the Army later in life, within one of the many Reserve Component opportunities available. I also know that I have zero interest in being a “weekend warrior” at this point. The unpredictability and minimalism of unemployment, international travel, volunteering, and van life aren’t exactly conducive to having to show up once a month for weekend drill in the National Guard or Army Reserves.

This is where the IRR comes into play. If you’re not familiar with the IRR, check out my other article: The Individual Ready Reserves.

So I’m going to tell you about something called Tour of Duty. It’s a website that lists individual job vacancies for soldiers in any of the Reserve Component entities: IRR, IMA, USAR, ARNG. Essentially, you can serve on active duty orders, on your own terms, whenever you want. These periods of service are also referred to as “active duty for operational support” orders,  or ADOS tours, which I’ve just written a new article about here. From what I understand, the only current limitation is that you can only serve three consecutive assignments before you’re required to have a “break in service” for one calendar year. I haven’t seen this in writing, but this is what my Reserve Component recruiter told me during my separation counseling.

To access Tour of Duty, you have to use this site: https://mobcop.aoc.army.pentagon.mil/ . I verified the site worked when I was on active duty and was able to access it with a CAC on a personal computer. A year after I wrote the original article, I couldn’t access the site because I didn’t have a CAC. It also appeared the link no longer worked. I read somewhere that the site had been further restricted to computers operating on a government network. Who knows. But the fact that this site is strictly CAC-enabled, and probably only accessible on a government computer when it’s literally intended for Reserve Component soldiers who may not have access to these resources is… clearly nonsensical, but pretty on-brand for the military.

Fast forward, and the Army Times published an article in December of 2021 stating that Congress passed a piece of legislation requiring the Army to make this site accessible to soldiers on their personal devices. The new site, called Carrera, was released in 2022. It provides the same information as Tour of Duty, but the difference is Carrera can be accessed from a non-government computer. This is super helpful for Reserve Component soldiers so they don’t have to head to a base or armory just to check job listings. As I understand, Carrera is only for looking for jobs, and you still need to log onto Tour of Duty to actually apply, so that’s why I’ve kept the information below.

The photo above is the Mobilization Common Operating Picture (MOBCOP) website. This site is how you access Tour of Duty. You’ll need your CAC to log in. After you log in, select the light green box that says “Tour of Duty.” This will take you to the TOD homepage. Since you’re going to be searching for a job, some of the menu options across the top will be disabled, as they only apply to those who are posting job vacancies. Click on “Find Job/Volunteer,” circled in red below.

As you can see, there are 2,580 available jobs listed. I’ve blacked out some of the information that’s irrelevant to understanding how the site works. You can filter results using any of the column headers. The most applicable are rank and MOS. In this example, I filtered the listings by rank, for CPT, and by MOS, for 01A, which means branch immaterial.

So you can see that the results above are filtered by “CPT” and “01A.” There are 121 positions for 01A CPTs. From what I’ve found on the site, tours can be as little as 14 days, or as much as 400+ days. Anything above 365 days constitutes a PCS move, and you can bring your family. For these tours, you’re put on active duty orders, and you’ll receive active duty pay, TRICARE, and any other active duty benefits. There’s a lot more to the process, but this is generally how it works. Locations are both CONUS and OCONUS and are in some unique places. I found jobs in Utah, California, and all over Europe.

If you look at the column farthest on the right, it lists the “Soldier Category.” Different jobs are open to different entities. Some are only open to ARNG (Army National Guard) soldiers. Some are only open to IRR soldiers. And some are open to all.

From my perspective, if you’re in the National Guard or Reserves, this is a great tool to use if you’re maybe between civilian jobs and are looking to travel and want to go on Active Duty for a bit. It’s also a great way to work towards retirement benefits. For my specific situation, I decided to stay in the IRR following my Resignation from Active Duty (REFRAD), with the understanding I’d have Tour of Duty as an option.

Something my Reserve recruiter told me is that while a job may be open to applicants from all Reserve Component entities, a Guard or Reserve soldier may be more likely to be selected for a job vs IRR because their readiness metrics (MEDPROS, annual/350-1 training, etc) will likely be more up-to-date. If you’re in the IRR, chances are you aren’t going to drill on the weekends for MRT or cyber awareness training.

While that may be true, it will still be MUCH easier for me to transfer from the IRR back into the IMA, Guard, or Reserves vs how difficult it would be if I completely resigned my commission. So this is why I only resigned from Active Duty and opted to remain in the IRR. While I have no interest in the military now, I want to maximize my options. For enlisted personnel, you can have a break in service. I don’t know too much about how that all works, but you have some more wiggle room than officers do.

If you’re reading any of the information above and notice something is incorrect or outdated, please let me know . I do my best to update articles when policies change, but I miss things. Also, if you’ve gone through this process before and have input, feel free to hit me up. I’m just a random with some experience as Active Duty officer but no Reserve experience. I’ve compiled most of this information from odd corners of the internet, YouTube, the HRC website, and my Reserve Component recruiter… But, I haven’t been able to find a one-stop-shop source on IRR or IMA information.

*UPDATE* It’s been four years since I wrote this article and I’m leaving this update to give you the link to my new article on ADOS tours, which is a product of a lot of time, effort, and help from about a dozen ADOS contributors who were willing to share their experience. Hope this helps.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and my hope is this information can empower you to take ownership of your life!

Got feedback?

Let me know!

Copyright 2023 Kayla Hodges. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Design by Intelligen.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

• Online Services
• Agency Listing

Mississippi National Guard

Mobcop • tour of duty.

Provides a portal to post, find and volunteer for Active Duty tours. Tour of Duty (TOD) is a system for advertising AD opportunities where RC Soldiers can look for available tours that match their skills and desire to serve. Soldiers can volunteer for consideration for the tours and the hiring commands can screen and recommend interested candidates as part of the TOD process. Soldiers recommended to fill the tours sign automatically generated request packets in DAMPS-A.

Soldiers that would like to volunteer for mobilizations should contact their unit and ask to be added to the G1 MOB Volunteer list.

HRC Contact Number:   1-888-ARMYHRC   ( 1-800-276-9472 )

MOBCOP -   https://mobcop.aoc.army.pentagon.mil/

TAG Release Process

To reserve a Pentagon Tour, you must be an adult (18 years or older) and a United States citizen or alien admitted for permanent residence in the United States under 22 U.S.C. 6010.

If you need additional assistance using this website or have questions about the Pentagon visitor registration and pre-visit security review for your tour group, please call the Pentagon Force Protection Agency - Pentagon Tours Service Desk at

1-888-623-7457 to request a support ticket.

A user guide for this portal is available here .

Answers to frequently asked questions about Pentagon tours may be found on the Pentagon Tours Webpage .

Middle East Crisis Top Israeli and U.S. Defense Officials Meet on Rafah as Tensions Rise

• Share full article

• A man salvaging food from a building that had been hit in Rafah, southern Gaza. Said Khatib/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• An Israeli tank near the border fence with Gaza. Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• A woman mourning by the bodies of her relatives at Al-Najar Hospital in Rafah. Mohammed Abed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Posters in Tel Aviv with photographs of hostages. Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters
• Smoke rising over northern Gaza. Ariel Schalit/Associated Press
• A Palestinian man looking for the remains of bodies after an airstrike in Rafah. Mohammed Salem/Reuters
• An injured Palestinian on Monday at a hospital in Zawaida in central Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Talks between U.S. and Israeli defense officials focus on Rafah.

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and the U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd J. Austin III, met at the Pentagon on Tuesday to discuss the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza and Israel’s plan to invade the southern city of Rafah, where U.S. officials have warned that a major military action could lead to catastrophe.

The meeting came amid growing friction between the two allies a day after the U.S. decision to allow the passage of a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Afterward, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared that he was scrapping a plan to dispatch a delegation to Washington to discuss the potential offensive in Rafah.

Remarks by Mr. Gallant and Mr. Austin before the meeting underscored the divide. While both noted their countries’ commitment to Israel’s security, Mr. Gallant emphasized what he said was the urgent need to destroy Hamas, secure the release of Israelis taken hostage in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks and “ensure Israel’s military edge and capabilities.”

Mr. Austin focused on the dire consequences the war has had for Palestinian civilians. “The number of civilian casualties is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low,” he said. The safety of Palestinians in Rafah, where more than a million people are holed up, was a “top priority,” he added.

After the meeting, a senior Defense Department official said Mr. Austin presented the broad outlines of the Biden administration’s alternative approach to a major combat operation in Rafah. The main points were a focus on precision targeting intended to root out Hamas leadership, credible and effective steps to evacuate civilians sheltering there, an increase in humanitarian aid and securing the border between Gaza and Egypt.

The official, who spoke on a call with reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential talks, said that the Israelis were receptive to the priorities raised by Mr. Austin and that there would be additional meetings in the future.

Senior administration officials have said that any Israeli operation that did not adequately mitigate the risks to civilians in Rafah would be a mistake and exacerbate the dire living conditions in the enclave. Without proper planning or preparations, the senior Defense Department official said, a major ground operation into Rafah could dramatically restrict the flow of already insufficient humanitarian assistance into Gaza when just the opposite needs to happen.

Speaking with reporters after his meeting with Mr. Austin, Mr. Gallant said Israel would not be deterred in its war aims. “Our goals are simple: We need to destroy Hamas as a military and governing organization in Gaza,” he said. “It means that the military framework must be destroyed.”

“The ability of Hamas to act as an organized military with a centralized command and control must be destroyed,” he said. “There is not a military capability, there is a terrorist capability.”

The Israeli minister said he also discussed with his American counterpart maintaining Israel’s qualitative military advantage in the region (American officials said the sales of F-15 and F-35 fighters and Apache helicopter gunships were discussed). And Mr. Gallant said he and Mr. Austin talked about the urgency of efforts to recover more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas and the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“We discussed the humanitarian efforts in Gaza — not only in terms of bringing the aid in but the real issue of distribution,” Mr. Gallant said. “Hamas is doing everything to sabotage the delivery of aid and to create pressure at the expense of the Palestinian people. This includes blocking routes and looting.”

Mr. Gallant — who was also expected to sit down with the C.I.A. director, William J. Burns, a key figure in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas — met with Mr. Austin a day after the United States abstained from a vote on a cease-fire resolution at the U.N. Security Council, a decision that Mr. Netanyahu said “harms the war effort as well as the effort to liberate the hostages.”

Hopes for a breakthrough in the talks for a deal to halt the fighting and secure the release of Israeli hostages appeared to remain distant on Tuesday. Hamas said late Monday that the latest proposal on the table did not meet its demands.

The talks in recent days have been hung up on the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released, in particular those serving extended sentences for violence against Israelis, according to two U.S. officials and an Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Last week, the U.S. delegation — led by Mr. Burns — proposed a compromise to try to bridge the gap, which Israel has accepted, according to the Israeli official and another person familiar with the negotiations. A Hamas statement on Monday appeared to reject it, saying it was demanding Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and “a true prisoner exchange.”

— Eric Schmitt and Victoria Kim

Gazan authorities say 12 people drowned trying to retrieve airdropped aid.

The authorities in Gaza said late Tuesday that a total of 12 people had drowned while trying to retrieve airdropped aid that had fallen into the Mediterranean, calling for an end to the airdrops — a last resort to get urgently needed food and other supplies into the enclave — and an increase in deliveries by land.

People waded into the water from a beach in northern Gaza on Monday afternoon to get the aid packages, according to Ahmed Abu Qamar, a Gaza-based researcher for EuroMed Rights, a human rights group, who said he had spoken to witnesses. He also said that around a dozen people had drowned, saying that at least one had become entangled in a parachute.

It was not possible to confirm the details independently and it was not clear which country was responsible for the airdrop in question.

Three of approximately 80 aid bundles dropped by the United States on Monday “were reported to have had parachute malfunctions and landed in the water,” a Pentagon spokeswoman, Sabrina Singh, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The aid was intentionally dropped over water and intended to be carried to land by wind drift, to mitigate potential harm in the event that the parachutes failed to deploy, Ms. Singh said.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday that the Biden administration expressed “condolences to the families of those who died.” But she did not confirm whether the aid packages that had fallen into the sea were dropped by the United States.

The fatalities were not the first connected to aid drops. Earlier this month , the authorities in Gaza said that at least five Palestinians had been killed and several others wounded when airdropped aid packages fell on them in Gaza City. On Tuesday, the Gaza government media office said that six other people had died during what it characterized as stampedes as they tried to get aid that was airdropped in other locations.

The United Nations and other aid organizations say that trucks, rather than planes, are the cheapest, safest and most effective means of delivering aid to Gaza, a territory whose population of more than two million faces a hunger crisis that humanitarian organizations say borders on famine.

But several governments, including those of the United States, France, Jordan and Egypt, have in recent weeks used airdrops to supplement aid that arrives by land, while also calling on Israel to allow in more trucks.

Britain airdropped aid to Gaza for the first time on Monday, delivering over 10 tons of supplies along the northern coastline as part of a mission led by Jordan, the British defense ministry said in a statement .

Governments say that the drops are necessary because of a steep fall in the amount of aid entering Gaza since Oct. 7, when Hamas led a deadly attack on Israel. The number of aid trucks entering Gaza since then has fallen by around 75 percent, according to U.N. data. One charity, World Central Kitchen, delivered a bargeload of aid to Gaza earlier this month.

Governments and aid groups say Israel has slowed aid deliveries through stringent inspections of trucks. The authorities in Israel blame UNRWA, the United Nations aid agency that supports Palestinians, arguing that Israel can inspect and process aid trucks faster than humanitarian groups can distribute the aid inside the territory.

Abu Bakr Bashir , Adam Sella , Anushka Patil and Zach Montague contributed reporting.

— Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Advertisement

A bill to continue exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service sparks protests in Israel.

Tensions are rising in Israel over a bill to extend ultra-Orthodox Jews’ exemption from compulsory military service, a provision has divided the government and poses what may be the biggest threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration since the war began.

While most Israelis must perform mandatory military service, the country’s ultra-Orthodox minority have for decades been exempt from conscription to focus on religious study. The new bill has incited protests in Israeli cities and discord within the country’s war cabinet as the fighting in Gaza grinds on.

Mr. Netanyahu’s cabinet was expected to discuss the bill on Tuesday but postponed its meeting at the last minute after protests and disagreements about its contents, Israeli news outlets reported. The demonstrations demanding equal military service included one on Tuesday in front of Mr. Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem.

The reluctance of the ultra-Orthodox — known in Hebrew as Haredim — to serve in the military has long been a source of tension with secular Israelis who are required to protect the nation.

There were signs of a slight shift in attitudes in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October: More than 2,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews sought to join the military in the first 10 weeks of the war, showing solidarity in the face of a shared threat. But with the war in Gaza dragging on and Israeli reservists getting called to serve longer or additional tours of duty, a fierce national debate over the longstanding Haredi exemption has been reignited.

The debate has pitted some Haredi lawmakers against secular officials like Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — who wants to increase Haredi involvement in the military — and has threatened to topple Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition. (Mr. Gallant has said he will not support the bill, and Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and a rival of Mr. Netanyahu, has threatened to leave the government if it passes.)

While the vast majority of Haredim hope to retain the exemption, nearly 30 percent of the Haredi public recently supported conscription — 20 points higher than before the war, according to a poll conducted in December by the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs, a Jerusalem-based research group.

Polling has also shown that other Israelis increasingly want Haredim to be required to enlist, particularly with a growing number of soldiers returning from battle in Gaza and questioning the absence of ultra-Orthodox on the front lines.

Rawan Sheikh Ahmad and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

— Cassandra Vinograd and Patrick Kingsley

After the U.N. resolution, Israel and Hamas are still far apart on a cease-fire.

Israel and Hamas appeared no closer on Tuesday to negotiating a pause in the fighting in Gaza, as both sides dampened the prospect for an agreement a day after the U.N. Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire.

Mediators have been in Qatar trying to narrow gaps between Israel and Hamas and secure a deal for a halt in the fighting and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

After the Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” Hamas issued a statement late Monday saying that Israel’s latest proposal in Qatar did not meet its demands.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back on Tuesday morning, confirming that Hamas had rejected a “compromise proposal” and calling the armed group’s demands “extreme.”

“Hamas’s stance clearly demonstrates its utter disinterest in a negotiated deal and attests to the damage done by the U.N. Security Council’s resolution,” he said in a statement, adding that Israel “will not address Hamas’s delusional demands.”

Mr. Netanyahu’s office declined to say whether the Israeli delegation would remain in Qatar. Israeli news outlets, including Haaretz , reported that some members of the delegation had been brought home.

Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, on Tuesday responded to Mr. Netanyahu’s assertion that Hamas was balking at the hostage talks because of the Council’s resolution, calling it “inaccurate in almost every respect” and “unfair to the hostages and their families.”

Mr. Miller said that news reports about Hamas’s position have not reflected “the actual substance” of the group’s response. “And I can tell you that that response was prepared before the U.N. Security Council vote, not after it,” he said.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry of Qatar, which has been helping facilitate the negotiations, said on Tuesday that the talks “are ongoing, they have not stopped.”

“We remained hopeful, from Day 1,” the spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters.

Michael Crowley contributed reporting.

— Cassandra Vinograd reporting from Jerusalem

Israel presses on with strikes in Gaza after the U.N. cease-fire resolution.

The Israeli military pressed on with its bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, signaling that the passing of a United Nations resolution calling for a cease-fire for the holy month of Ramadan the day before had not shaken Israel’s determination to keep fighting.

The military said its fighter jets had struck “over 60 targets” in Gaza over the previous day. It added that its forces were also operating in central Gaza, where it said they had killed “a number of terrorists.” The military also said on Tuesday that it had confirmed the death of a senior Hamas leader. Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, said Tuesday that the Israeli military had struck residential homes and buildings and that dozens of people were killed.

In a statement, the Israeli military added that it was continuing its “operational activity” around Al-Amal Hospital and the town of Al-Qarara, in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, adding that its forces were “eliminating terrorists and carrying out targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure.”

Al-Amal Hospital went out of service on Monday night after Israeli forces besieged it a day earlier and forced everyone inside to leave before closing off its entrances with earthen barriers, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which runs the hospital. The organization said on Monday that two people had been killed and three others wounded when Israeli forces opened fire as they were being evacuated.

The Israeli military also said on Tuesday that it was pressing on with its assault on Al-Shifa Hospital in the north for a ninth day. It said its forces there had “located weapons, and engaged with and eliminated several terrorists in the hospital area.” Witnesses have described days of fear at the complex , with several patients dying as a result of the assault.

Ezzeldine al-Dali, who lives less than a mile from Al-Shifa, said airstrikes and gunfire had intensified in the area on Monday night, before calming down on Tuesday morning, which residents took as a sign that Israeli forces had concluded their raid.

He said people he knew went to the hospital thinking the raid was over, but “they were wrong,” and people were shot and wounded. His account could not be independently verified. The Israeli military said it was checking into it.

Israel has long accused Hamas, the armed group that led an attack into southern Israel on Oct. 7, of using hospitals in Gaza for military purposes, a claim that Hamas and hospital administrators have denied.

An analysis by The New York Times found that Hamas had used the Shifa complex for military purposes. The Israeli military, however, has struggled to prove its claim that Hamas maintained a command-and-control center under it.

In a news conference on Tuesday, a military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that Israel had killed Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, in a targeted strike.

Admiral Hagari said on March 11 that Israel had targeted Mr. Issa, a presumed planner of the Oct. 7 attacks, and another official. The United States had confirmed him dead last week , making him the senior-most Hamas leader to be killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Though a U.N. resolution had passed, Mr. al-Dali, 22, said it did not give him or those around him any hope that the Israeli bombardment would stop soon. “We have lost hope in every way,” he said in a phone call on Tuesday.

“The International Court of Justice, Biden and all the Arab and Western countries could not stop Israel,” said Mr. al-Dali. “So why would the United Nations be able to stop them?”

The International Court of Justice in late January ordered Israel to ensure that its actions would not lead to genocide, and to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. But the court did not order a halt to fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Wafa reported on Tuesday that dozens of Palestinians had been killed in an Israeli strike on a family home near Al-Shifa, citing medical sources. It did not specify the timing. The agency also reported that the Israeli military had struck other residential homes and buildings around Al-Shifa and fired on people moving on the roads around the hospital, killing and wounding dozens.

The Palestinian news agency also reported Israeli strikes in the northwest of Gaza City, the northern community of Beit Lahia and the southern city of Rafah, where it reported that a home where displaced families were living was struck, killing more than a dozen Palestinians and wounding dozens more.

These reports could not be independently verified, and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on them.

Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

— Hiba Yazbek Reporting from Jerusalem

The political leader of Hamas meets with Iranian leaders in Tehran.

The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, met with top leaders in Tehran, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday, a sign of solidarity against Israel amid seemingly stalled negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza.

The trip by Mr. Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, came a day after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages, breaking a five-month impasse during which the United States vetoed three calls for a halt to the fighting.

Photographs released on Iranian state media showed Mr. Haniyeh meeting Mr. Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. After the meeting, Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported that Mr. Khamenei had vowed that his country “will not hesitate to support the cause of Palestine and the oppressed and resistant people of Gaza.”

Mr. Haniyeh, who Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday had traveled with a “high-level” delegation, also met with Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister. In a joint news conference after that meeting, Mr. Haniyeh said that “Iran stands at the forefront of supporting the cause and nation of Palestine” and that the U.N. resolution showed that Israel was “facing unprecedented isolation,” Iranian state media reported.

The U.N. resolution, which calls for a cease-fire for the holy month of Ramadan, passed with the United States abstaining from the vote rather than vetoing the measure. That decision immediately caused friction: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he would not send a high-level delegation to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials.

Hamas has welcomed the resolution, saying that it was willing “to immediately engage on a prisoner exchange process that would lead to the release of prisoners on both sides.”

But negotiations in Qatar aimed at securing an agreement for a pause in the fighting and the release of Israeli hostages have yet to produce an agreement. Late Monday, Hamas said that the latest proposal on the table did not meet its demands.

Iran has long been one of Hamas’s main supporters in the region and the longstanding alliance has fueled fears that the war in Gaza could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

Iran has a history of training and arming proxy militia groups in the region, from Gaza to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria — a network known as the Axis of Resistance. It supports Hamas militarily and has helped it design and produce a domestic missile and rocket system to match the capabilities and material available in Gaza, which has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt for over a decade.

Since Israel began its ground operations in Gaza, a number of the Iran-linked groups in the Axis of Resistance have launched attacks — including against U.S. military installations in Iraq and Syria — in what they have said is solidarity with Palestinians under bombardment.

Rawan Sheikh Ahmad and Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.

— Cassandra Vinograd and Leily Nikounazar reporting from Jerusalem

• Transition Guide (Opens in new window)
• Subscribe Now (Opens in new window)

Your Military

• Army Times (Opens in new window)
• Navy Times (Opens in new window)
• Air Force Times (Opens in new window)
• Marine Corps Times (Opens in new window)
• Pentagon & Congress
• Defense News (Opens in new window)
• Israel-Palestine
• Extremism & Disinformation
• Afghanistan
• Benefits Guide (Opens in new window)
• Family Life
• Military Pay Center
• Military Retirement
• Military Benefits
• Discount Depot
• Gear Scout (Opens in new window)
• Military Culture
• Military Fitness
• Military Movies & Video Games
• Military Sports
• Pay It Forward (Opens in new window)
• Military History
• Salute to Veterans
• Black Military History
• Congressional Veterans Caucus (Opens in new window)
• Military Appreciation Month
• Vietnam Vets & Rolling Thunder
• Service Members of the Year (Opens in new window)
• World War I
• Honor the Fallen (Opens in new window)
• Hall of Valor (Opens in new window)
• Create an Obituary (Opens in new window)
• Medals & Misfires
• Installation Guide (Opens in new window)
• Battle Bracket
• America's Military
• Task Force Violent
• CFC Givers Guide
• Newsletters (Opens in new window)
• Early Bird Brief
• MCON (Opens in new window)
• Long-Term Care Partners
• Navy Federal

Pentagon won’t say if troop deployment tempo exceeds recommended goal

The Defense Department is still operating under a 2021 policy that sets a goal for active duty units to spend three months at home for every month they spend deployed , a spokeswoman confirmed to Military Times on Friday, but the Pentagon won’t disclose how often it’s being met.

The policy, which technically expired in November but is still part of the department’s force management guidance, includes a waiver process for units to revert to the mandatory minimum 1:2 deployment-to-dwell ratio, but the numbers on waiver requests and approvals are classified, Army Maj. Grace Geiger said.

“The Department has multiple processes in place to identify, approve, and track individuals and units not meeting the goal,” she added, including oversight from the services, the Joint Staff and the defense secretary’s office.

The Pentagon had not answered follow-up questions seeking details of these oversight processes as of Friday afternoon.

Questions about the Pentagon policy emerged following an Army Times investigation last week that found that members of Army armor brigades — units that largely have not met the dwell time goals over the past decade — were twice as likely to kill themselves than other active duty soldiers in recent years.

BROKEN TRACK: Suicides & suffering in Army’s exhausted armor community

An army times data analysis found that armor brigades and tankers experienced higher suicide rates than the rest of the army..

Long periods of high operational tempo can increase a service member’s suicide risk, according to Craig Bryan, a psychologist and mental health researcher at Ohio State University who spoke to Army Times.

Bryan, a former Air Force psychologist, was a member of the suicide prevention independent review committee convened by the Pentagon in 2022.

That committee found that “training demands and requirements … [are] primary sources of stress, burnout and demoralization.” Other common stressors include shoddy computers, byzantine promotion policies, unsupportive leaders and poor housing.

Army tank brigades have flirted with or broken the dwell threshold in recent years.

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team returned from a nine-month South Korea rotation in August 2021. But the Raider Brigade rapidly deployed to Europe six months later in February 2022, when Russia expanded its invasion of Ukraine. The brigade’s families were furious about the move, detailing the hardships they faced during a March 2022 town hall with the Army’s then-top noncommissioned officer at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

This month, the Fort Carson, Colorado-based 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, deploys to Europe approximately 16 months after returning from an eight-month Poland mission in December 2022.

Former officials argue that the sustained operational tempo has harmed units as well.

Retired Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams, who led Army Forces Command before retiring in 2021, previously told Military Times that the Army’s armor units struggle with a 1:2 deployment-to-dwell ratio at current resourcing levels and “cannot sustain that tempo indefinitely.”

“That’s what’s crushing them,” he said.

Other communities, such as air defense , have faced high deployment rates as well.

The Navy has also dealt with a bruising tempo in recent years, with an ever-increasing assortment of missions. The COVID pandemic only exacerbated that pace, as pre-cruise quarantines and zero port calls became the order of the day.

The aircraft carrier Nimitz and its strike group spent an historic 11 months at sea from April 2020 through February 2021.

Precisely 22 months later, a perfect 1:2 dwell ratio, they were back on deployment . Policy dictates they would have needed a waiver to deploy again that quickly.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.

In Other News

The 3rd Group roots of this unofficial Nazi-inspired Green Beret logo

A nazi-inspired patch that sparked outrage in recent days likely originated with 3rd special forces group, which banned the logo in 2022..

Pentagon needs to wake up on troops’ lack of sleep, watchdog says

A new gao study found that defense department leaders aren't doing enough to address sleep deprivation among troops..

Army slowing deployment cycle for busy armor units, assessing others

Army times spoke with a top training official and force management experts about how changes to the readiness model will impact armor units and more..

Army investigating social media post showing Nazi symbol

The army opened an investigation after a national guard unit posted a photo online that contained a symbol worn by nazi ss troops..

Marine arrested for firing weapon in altercation on North Carolina base

The incident, which took place outside near barracks aboard camp lejeune, north carolina, left no reported injuries..

Miramar Police Department provides food, presents to family mourning loss of Navy sailor

MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - The Miramar Police Department is lending a hand to the family of a U.S. Navy sailor from South Florida who died while on a tour of duty.

The department on Wednesday provided the family with presents, food and a shoulder to cry on as they mourn the death of Michael Aregbesola.

Aregbesola, from Miramar, died on March 20 as a result of an incident. He was 34.

The U.S Department of Defense said his death was a non-combat incident.

7News cameras captured his family, one week after learning of Aregbesola’s death, ahead of the Easter weekend.

“He really loved his son,” said Deanna Aregbesola, the sailor’s widow. “Thank you so much. Thank you for coming out.”

Aregbesola moved from Nigeria to the U.S. in 2017. At the age of 30, he decided to enlist in the Navy. He was deployed to the USS Mason, which has been operating in the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Red Sea since November 2023.

His widow describing the kind of man Aregbesola was.

“He was a very selfless man. That’s all I’m going to say,” said Deanna.

His other family members were left devastated.

“It really hurts. I’m shaken and I’m broken to the core knowing that he’s lost and they cannot find his body,” said Michael McGhi, the sailor’s father-in-law.

With the delivery from the Miramar Police Department, the family can begin picking up the pieces, one step at a time.

“Thank you for your support,” said Aregbesola’s 4-year-old son, Michael Aregbesola Jr.

The Pentagon said an investigation has been opened into Aregbesola’s death.

His family hopes the investigation moves as quickly as possible.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

• 27-year-old woman located after being reported missing from Miami’s Upper Eastside
• Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ alleged drug mule arrested in Opa-locka
• Plantation Police investigate death of mother and child
• Mobile car wash is not a mobile car wash
• Baltimore bridge collapses after powerless cargo ship rams into support column; 6 presumed dead