Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Without a budget accord, Pentagon prepares for furloughs

88 days ago

The department, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a memo to employees, "will be forced to place the vast majority of its civilian workforce on administrative furlough.

Pentagon notifies Congress of likely furloughs

88 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress on Wednesday that if automatic government spending cuts kick in on March 1 he may have to shorten the workweek for the "vast majority" of the Defense...

Obama salutes Panetta as he prepares to retire

99 days ago

Calling it "the honor of my life," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said farewell to the U.S. military Friday, capping a venerated public service career that spanned four decades and included stints...

Cuts would turn U.S. into second-rate power, Panetta says

101 days ago

The United States is at risk of becoming a second-rate power if automatic budget cuts take effect, plunging the U.S. armed forces into the most significant readiness crisis they've faced in more...

Panetta: DOD backed arming Syrian opposition

102 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is saying for the first time that the Defense Department backed the idea of providing arms to opposition groups in Syria.

Panetta warns of crisis in military readiness

102 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says looming across-the-board budget cuts will present the U.S. military with the most significant readiness crisis in more than a decade.

Panetta defends military response in Libya attack

102 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the speed of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya last September kept U.S. armed forces from responding in time to save the four Americans who were killed.

U.S. will have just one carrier in Persian Gulf

102 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has approved keeping just one carrier in the Persian Gulf region.

Panetta: Defense budget cuts will damage economy

103 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is laying out a grim list of spending cuts the Pentagon will have to make in the coming weeks that he says will seriously damage the country's economy and degrade...

AP sources: Pentagon extending benefits for gays

103 days ago

U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is poised to extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of military members.

Panetta, Dempsey to testify on Libya attack

105 days ago

The testimony by Panetta, who is stepping down, could be his last on Capitol Hill.

Panetta: Drone strike decisions don't come lightly

105 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says decisions to strike potential terrorist targets with unmanned drones don't "come lightly."

Panetta says politics at play in Hagel questioning

106 days ago

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said "the political knives" came out when Chuck Hagel faced fellow Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing to be Pentagon...

Graham threatens to block Hagel pick over Libya

111 days ago

A Republican senator is threatening to block the nomination of Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon unless Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies about the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic...

US to support French in Mali with aerial refueling

113 days ago

The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has told the French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, that U.S. Africa Command will provide the aerial refueling support.