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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

In this Oct. 4, 2017, photo, U.S. Army recruit Kirsten practices building clearing tactics with male recruits at Ft. Benning, Ga. She is one of a handful of women training to become infantry soldiers. The Army’s introduction of women into the infantry has moved steadily but cautiously this year. As home to the previously all-male infantry and armor schools, Fort Benning had to make a number of adjustments, including female dorm rooms, security cameras, monitoring stations. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

U.S. military must overhaul body armor for women, senators say

The U.S. military is not providing adequate body armor and other protective gear to all of its female service members, increasing their risk of injury and compromising their readiness for battle, a bipartisan group of senators argued Wednesday as they unveiled new legislation to overhaul the current system.

December 4, 2019
President Donald Trump, joined by from left, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, speaks to media during a briefing with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

Mark Esper, Mark Milley to testify on Syria next week

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will answer questions before a key House committee next week on the Trump administration's murky policy in Syria, House Democrats announced Tuesday.

December 3, 2019
VIRGINIA CLASS ATTACK SUBMARINE — The Virginia-class attack submarine USS California (SSN 781) underway during sea trials. (U.S. Navy photo by Chris Oxley/Released) ** FILE **

Navy to pay $22 billion for 9 nuclear-powered submarines

The Navy announced the largest shipbuilding contract in the service's history, striking a $22.2 billion deal with top defense contractor General Dynamics for nine cutting-edge, nuclear-powered submarines that officials say will bring about a "generational leap" in America's military might.

December 3, 2019
President Donald Trump smiles before addressing members of the military during a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Donald Trump sees military orders modified in Syria, Afghanistan

Nearly a full year after President Trump first said he was withdrawing all U.S. troops from Syria and two months after he doubled down on that directive, Pentagon officials last week announced that they had restarted combat missions against the Islamic State group and "reset" inside the country with hundreds of American troops on the ground.

December 1, 2019
Ousted Navy Secretary Richard Spencer publicly clashed with President Trump over whether Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who served eight combat tours during his two decades as a Navy SEAL, would be allowed to retain his Trident pin, which symbolizes membership in the elite unit. (Associated Press/File)

Richard Spencer out as Navy secretary

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer was fired Sunday after apparently proposing a secret deal with the White House regarding the fate of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, leading to a loss of "trust and confidence" in the Navy leader among top officials inside the Pentagon.

November 24, 2019
Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher leaves a military court on Naval Base San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Donald Trump overrules Navy on Edward Gallagher case

President Trump widened a rift with top U.S. military commanders Thursday by publicly ordering the Pentagon to abandon a process that could have resulted in booting Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher out of the elite unit -- an unexpected power play by the commander in chief that has left the Navy in what one former senior Pentagon official called a "no-win situation."

November 21, 2019
South Korea's chief negotiator Jeong Eun Bo answers a reporter's question after a meeting with U.S. counterpart James DeHart at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. U.S. and South Korean officials have publicly acknowledged the allies remain far apart in negotiations for increasing South Korea's contributions to the costs for maintaining the American military presence on its soil. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

U.S. walks out of defense spending talks with South Korea

Talks on boosting South Korea's financial support for the U.S. military defense aid in the country broke down Tuesday as Seoul firmly rejected the Trump administration's reported demand for a fivefold increase in the annual bill to cover the cost of American troops on the peninsula.

November 19, 2019
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the the Amazon re:MARS convention, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Amazon JEDI lawsuit threatens to ensnare Donald Trump

The White House faces a "very ugly" legal battle with Amazon over the handling of a massive contract to handle the Pentagon's vast cloud computing needs, experts say, and top administration officials ultimately may have to reveal under oath whether President Trump personally interfered in the process.

November 18, 2019
The creation of the Pentagon's Coalition Task Foce has coincided with the decilne of Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and has left Tehran searching for a new strategy to challenge U.S. power in the region. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Iranian attacks abate as Pentagon unveils Gulf task force

It's attracted just six members and has faded from the headlines, but a Pentagon-led Persian Gulf maritime coalition has played a key role in snuffing out Iranian ship seizures in the vital Strait of Hormuz, analysts say, and has left Tehran searching for a new strategy to challenge U.S. power in the region.

November 14, 2019
Defense Secretary Mark Esper talks to the media with Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Khalid Al Attiyah at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Amazon to protest Microsoft $10 billion JEDI contract

Amazon Web Services will protest the Pentagon's award of a $10 billion war cloud contract to Microsoft, claiming that "political influence" may have led to the decision and possibly setting up an explosive legal battle with the Trump administration.

November 14, 2019