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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a National Security Correspondent for The Washington Times. His reporting is regularly featured in the daily Threat Status newsletter.
Previously, he covered energy and the environment, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016, and also spent two years as a White House correspondent during the Obama administration.
Before coming to The Times in 2011, Ben worked as political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

The damaged USS Fitzgerald is seen near the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, after the U.S. destroyer collided with the Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal in the waters off the Izu Peninsula Saturday, June 17, 2017. The USS Fitzgerald was back at its home port in Japan after colliding before dawn Saturday with the container ship four times its size, while the coast guard and Japanese and U.S. military searched for seven sailors missing after the crash. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Navy says test results overstate training, seamanship crisis

A top Navy commander on Thursday pushed back against reports that junior officers' seamanship skills are lacking, arguing that his three-month internal review was specifically designed to test the most inexperienced officers and yielded exactly the results he expected.

June 7, 2018
A U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan on a moonlit night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) **FILE**

Donald Trump outpacing Barack Obama in drone strikes; 80 in first year: Report

President Trump is outpacing his predecessor in the number of U.S. drone strikes abroad and has made it easier for the CIA to use the craft to eliminate targets, according to a new study released Thursday -- but specialists warn the use of the unmanned killing machines remains shrouded in secrecy with rules of engagement that haven't been publicly explained.

June 7, 2018
Visitors are reflected at Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall, ahead of Memorial Day on Sunday, May 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

USS Frank E. Evans Association: Add sailors to Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Nearly 49 years after surviving a maritime collision that claimed the lives of 74 fellow sailors, Steve Kraus remains locked in a bitter battle with the Pentagon over how those Vietnam-era casualties should be honored -- and he finally may be on the verge of a major breakthrough thanks to renewed efforts on Capitol Hill.

May 27, 2018
In this photo provided by the Sadr Media Office, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, left, greets Shiite leader Ammar al-Hakim on his arrival for their meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, early Tuesday, May 22, 2018. (Sadr Media Office via AP)

Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi Shiite cleric, feared to be Iranian puppet

With nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his political allies now in the driver's seat in Iraq's parliament, U.S. military planners and diplomats are grappling with what the former militia leader's dramatic rise to power means for U.S. policy -- and whether he turns out to be the Iranian puppet many had feared.

May 23, 2018
The Pentagon vehemently denies that the White House exerted any political pressure throughout the process for awarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, which ultimately went to Microsoft. (Associated Press/File)

Pentagon stiffens cellphone policy but avoids full ban

The Defense Department this week stiffened its policy on cellphone use inside the Pentagon but stopped short of the complete ban that had been under consideration and which would've marked a major day-to-day change for the tens of thousands of employees who work inside the sprawling facility.

May 23, 2018
Islamic State group militants hold up their flag as they patrol in a commandeered Iraqi military vehicle in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, on March 30, 2014. (Associated Press) **FILE**

House members push tough AUMF bill; measure would expire after 5 years

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a bill that would give the president explicit authority to fight al Qaeda and the Islamic State -- but the measure would expire after five years and would force Congress to routinely revisit U.S. military strategy.

May 22, 2018
The Pentagon vehemently denies that the White House exerted any political pressure throughout the process for awarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, which ultimately went to Microsoft. (Associated Press/File)

U.S. has spent $2.8 trillion to fight terrorism since 2002: Report

Over a 15-year period after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. spent a whopping $2.8 trillion on counterterrorism efforts, a leading Washington think tank said Wednesday in a study that sheds new light on the true extent of American government spending to fight terror.

May 16, 2018