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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

Freedom Alliance scholars met last week with Marines in Washington as part of their annual weekend retreat. They said the gatherings have become crucial to healing. (Photo by Wanda Cruz)

Freedom Alliance scholars grateful for scholarships, peer support

Less than a week after Nicolas Munsen's father died during exercises off the coast of Puerto Rico, his family received a heartbreaking letter: The Navy pilot soon intended to return home, retire from military service and focus on raising then-2-year-old Nicolas.

June 25, 2018
U.S. Strategic Command Commander Gen. John Hyten, testifies before a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Space Subcommittee and House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces Subcommittee joint hearing on 'Space Situational Awareness: Whole of Government Perspectives on Roles and Responsibilities' on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 22, 2018. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Donald Trump’s Space Force unlikely anytime soon

President Trump demands quick results, but the Pentagon is about to test his patience as military leaders embark on a daunting mission to assess whether the commander in chief's call for an American "Space Force" is even practical.

June 24, 2018
Defense Secretary James Mattis speaks about the National Defense Review, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, in Washington. China's expanding military and an increasingly aggressive Russia are among the U.S. military's top national security priorities, the Pentagon said Friday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

James Mattis hails Germany’s defense efforts

Twenty-four hours after his boss took yet another shot at Germany on Twitter, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis on Wednesday praised the European nation and said it's "on the right trajectory" with respect to its financial contributions to NATO, also telling reporters at the Pentagon that Berlin is an indispensable partner to the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.

June 20, 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 still mum on mysterious airstrike in Syria

Pentagon officials are staying quiet about a mysterious airstrike Sunday that struck Syrian regime forces near the Iraqi border, insisting the U.S. military didn't carry out the attack but refusing to offer any clarity on who did.

June 19, 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)

Military says it’s received no guidance about canceling Korean war games

Pentagon officials said Tuesday they'll stay out of President Trump's landmark diplomacy with Kim Jong-un -- but they also emphasized that, so far, military leaders have gotten no formal instructions to follow through on the president's words and immediately cancel joint military exercises with close ally South Korea.

June 12, 2018
In this Jan. 31, 2010, file photo, an unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

U.S. drone-strike policy threatens to backfire as nations acquire technology

The rapid proliferation of military drone technology is reaching the point that other nations -- and even non-state actors such as Mexican drug cartels -- could engage in the kinds of deadly strikes that the U.S. pioneered more than a decade ago and has increased under presidents of both political parties.

June 11, 2018
FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 file photo, al-Shabab fighters march with their weapons during military exercises on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. A U.S. drone strike in Somalia has targeted a key leader of the al-Shabab militant group who was involved in two attacks in Mogadishu more than a year ago that killed more than 30 people, at least three Americans among them, the Pentagon said Friday, April 1, 2016. Several U.S. officials said he and two others were killed. Hassan Ali Dhoore was targeted in the airstrike Thursday, but the U.S. military was still assessing the results, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor, File)

Alexander W. Conrad killed in firefight with al-Shabaab in Somalia

The Pentagon has identified the soldier killed Friday in a firefight with Somali extremists. Alexander W. Conrad, 26, of Chandler, Arizona, died following the clash, which also claimed the lives of one member of the Somali-Kenyan partner force and saw four Americans wounded. Conrad was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

June 10, 2018
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