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The Duffel Brief · the free edition, Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Vol. 15 · No. 134 · Monday, 9 November 2026

Pentagon

Hegseth asks staff to make next execution more like ‘The Running Man’

Pentagon says condemned prisoners could compete for freedom in televised death matches

Pete Hegseth picks wrong week to stop drinking

Pentagon confident U.S. will be ready for 2027 war with China by 2035

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Vol. 15 · No. 134

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Vol. 15 · No. 134 · Deployed worldwide

Monday

9 November 2026

2358 Zulu

Next edition Wednesday

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· Page 2

Troops 'asking for a friend' to be charged with conspiracy, Pentagon says

Filed · 1535

THE PENTAGON — U.S. service members can now be charged under Article 81 (Conspiracy) of the uniformed code of military justice for asking questions "for a friend," sources confirmed last week.

According to the Pentagon's general counsel, posing hypothetical questions regarding illegal, treasonous, or immoral acts under the guise of a friend's curiosity is now grounds for being tried under military law, two defense officials said.

"One of my colleagues at Fort Meade didn't show up to a meeting today," said Capt. Abraham Reynolds, a signal officer assigned to the Pentagon. "Last night, he asked 'for a friend' if it's legal to hack into a high school crush's webcam for reasons of national security."

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