Steve Beynon

Cadet Neil Edara, Ridgewood, N.J., who was attending Cadet Summer Training passed away during training on the Land Navigation site on July 24, 2025, on Fort Knox, Ky. (U.S. Army Cadet Command)

While it's not unusual for political hands to manage messaging at the highest levels of the Pentagon, the ongoing change to military public affairs marks a broader institutional pivot.

Thousands of Army Reserve soldiers are being forced to scramble for new assignments after the service abruptly ordered the dismantling of its helicopter units, a sweeping move that has caught commanders off guard and upended aviation operations across the country.

This image from video provided by the U.S. Army via DVIDS shows the entrance to Fort Stewart in Georgia on Nov. 18, 2021. (Staff Sgt. Daniel Guerrero/U.S. Army via AP)

Secretary of the Army, Hon. Daniel P. Driscoll pins a medal on a soldier recognized for valor during the Aug. 6, 2025, active shooter incident at Fort Stewart, Aug. 7, 2025. (U.S. Army photo Sgt. Bernabe Lopez)

Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, speaks with Brig. Gen. Patrick M. Costello, Commanding General, United States Army Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill on Fort Sill, OK., July 14, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Resnick)

President Donald Trump has ordered a total blockade of Iranian shipments.

LUIS MARTINEZ, NATHAN LEE and STEVE BEYNON The U.S. military began a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday as reopening the Strait of Hormuz

The Pentagon, heaquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, is seen from the air on February 8, 2025, in Washington, DC. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)

Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 82nd Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division artillery lookout atop a M109 A7 Paladin self propelled Howitzer