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Nearly 20 War Department officials, both civilian and military, met today with more than two dozen members of the newly appointed Pentagon Press Corps during a series of more than 150 round-robin style one-on-one interviews.
The event capped off three days of onboarding for new members of the Pentagon Press Corps, which includes more than 70 independent journalists, bloggers and social media influencers who entered the Pentagon for the first time this week to start their reporting on the War Department.
Most of the newly appointed members of the Pentagon Press Corps are not associated with legacy media outlets, including print media such as newspapers and magazines, and broadcast media, such as cable television news.
This "new media" operates differently than traditional media, and Pentagon leadership believes it is better equipped to inform a broader swath of the American public about what goes on inside the department, said Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson.
"We really have seen a shift in the way people consume media," Wilson said. "It's not always through the mainstream outlets anymore. A lot of people are cutting the cord, and they don't have cable news subscriptions. And a lot of young people are increasingly using social media and following their favorite influencers on YouTube, X and Instagram. It's important for us to reach them too — to let them know about all the incredible things our warfighters are doing."
Independent media outlets, such as those represented in this new Pentagon Press Corps, Wilson said, are growing in influence and reach.
"We want to make sure that we're reaching as many Americans as possible," she said.
Unlike other federal agencies, the War Department has had members of the press "resident" in its headquarters — the Pentagon — for decades. Credentialed members of the press corps have badges that allow them unescorted access to the building at any time of day. And some members choose to take up residence with a desk space.
In October, Pentagon leadership asked members of the press corps to sign an agreement, which Wilson said was both "common sense [and] very standard." Most press corps members at the time chose not to sign the agreement, so they lost access to the building.
In their place now is a new press corps that signed the new agreement. It is this new press corps that will now be responsible for the important job of learning what is happening within the War Department and reporting on that to the American people.
"We are excited to welcome people who were willing to sign the agreement here so we can continue that tradition of having resident media here in the building to hold us accountable and to help with our commitment to transparency," Wilson said.
New members of the Pentagon Press Corps entered the building for the first time Dec. 1, kicking off a whirlwind of activity for Pentagon public affairs staff.
"A lot of planning went into these three days," Wilson said.
Press corps members were issued building passes and press passes and given a tour of the building. And for those who will operate out of the building full time, they also got to see their new office space, Wilson said.
The following day, the press corps attended its first press briefing, during which Wilson provided an update on War Department activities. Public affairs staff also provided press corps members with an unclassified briefing on U.S. Southern Command and a primer on combatant commands.
Today, the press filled the Pentagon Briefing Room to meet with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Based on the questions she heard during the Dec. 2 press briefing, Wilson said she believes this new press corps is the right one to keep the American people informed about what its military is doing and to keep the department honest about its operations.
"I think great questions were asked yesterday in the briefing, a lot of tough questions; they definitely didn't hold back," Wilson said. "We're going to continue to make sure that we're transparent with them, and I know in turn, they will hold us accountable. They absolutely have said as much to me many times, and I'm glad to hear it, because our job in government is to be transparent and to make sure that we're keeping everybody up to date on all the incredible things that this department and our warfighters are doing across the world."
