Hegseth blocks promotions / National Guard surge / Downed Apache

Hegseth blocks promotions / National Guard surge / Downed Apache

From Sources & Methods by NPR

June 11, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Pentagon promotions being blocked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the deployment of National Guard troops, and a drone rescue in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is blocking some promotions at the Pentagon, and a “summer surge” of National Guard troops heads to Washington. Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR reporter Kat Lonsdorf about the purges at the Pentagon, and why there are still National Guard troops deployed in some Democratic-run cities. Plus, a drone rescue in the Middle East. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Host: Mary Louise Kelly

Guests: Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf

Topics covered

  • Pentagon promotions
  • National Guard
  • military deployment
  • politics
  • drone rescue

Keywords

  • Pentagon
  • National Guard
  • Pete Hegseth
  • drone rescue
  • military politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR

Places: Washington, Middle East

More episodes of Sources & Methods

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sources & Methods podcast page.