The Pentagon withdrew many of its officials from their speaking engagements at the Aspen Security Forum this week, citing a clear difference in values between the conference and the administration.
“Senior Department of Defense officials will no longer be participating at the Aspen Security Forum because their values do not align with the values of the DoD,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement Monday. “The Department will remain strong in its focus to increase the lethality of our warfighters, revitalize the warrior ethos, and project Peace Through Strength on the world stage. It is clear the ASF is not in alignment with these goals.”
The conference, set to kick off on Tuesday, originally featured a slew of Department of Defense officials, including Navy Secretary John Phelan, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command leader Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, U.S. Space Command head Gen. Stephen N. Whiting and U.S. Special Operations Command