War Department
Coverage of War Department in the Nexus archive.
- Blanchard’s Lathe and the Long Arc of American Manufacturing
The War Department sought to increase domestic production of standardized muskets after supplying the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. From this industrial project arose Thomas Blanchard's copying lathe, which resulted from a collaboration between public and private interests. This invention enabled complex, irregular three-dimensional wood forms to be manufactured at scale, revolutionizing an formerly artisanal task.
- Federal task force created to target leaks to news media
The Department of Defense and the Department of Justice announced a joint task force to investigate and prosecute leaks of sensitive War Department information to the news media.
- Hegseth announces end to military flu vaccine requirement
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the end of the Pentagon's mandatory flu vaccine requirement for U.S. troops, framing the policy shift as a restoration of personal freedom and a rollback of Biden-era mandates. The decision reverses a long-standing requirement, allowing service members to choose whether to receive the annual flu shot, and follows a 2025 memo that had already begun scaling back the mandate for some personnel.