DIA Headquarters Auditorium Renamed for Intelligence Pioneer

July 29, 2026 | By Pentagon News and Defense Intelligence Agency Public Affairs |

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met recently with intelligence community professionals at Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, to thank them for their work and to honor one of the earliest members of the intelligence community, Army Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton.

Within the headquarters, the agency renamed Clapper Leadership Hall to Thomas Knowlton Leadership Hall. 

"Thomas Knowlton was a warrior in the Continental Army and the father of American intelligence," Hegseth said. "It was Gen. George Washington, our first commander in chief and the nation's first true spymaster, who commissioned Knowlton in 1776 to form our military's first dedicated intelligence gathering unit. Washington understood that victory is won not just by steel and shot, but by secrecy, by deception and by foresight. He knew that accuracy and timely intelligence are the bedrock of strategic dominance." 

It was after a spree of debilitating defeats as a result of intelligence failures in early battles of the Revolutionary War that Washington recognized the Continental Army's need for an elite group whose sole objective was intelligence and reconnaissance.

With that realization, Washington selected Knowlton as commander of the Continental Army's first intelligence unit, which would come to be known as Knowlton's Rangers.

Washington chose Knowlton as the unit's commander because of his experience as a scout in the French and Indian Wars and his leadership at the battles of Breed's Hill and Long Island. 

Consisting of 130 men and 20 officers, the unit was charged with conducting reconnaissance, carrying out raids against British facilities and other dangerous covert missions. 

Knowlton was killed in September 1776, while leading his men at the Battle of Harlem Heights. His contributions, and the creation of Knowlton's Rangers, are regarded as the birth of military intelligence.

Hegseth told the leaders that in the same way that Knowlton provided Washington with the intelligence needed to defeat the British during the American Revolution, today's intelligence community ensures that America's military has the intelligence it needs to make decisions every day. 

"I cannot do my job without the immense, tireless and often unheralded efforts that you put in every single day," he said. "The work done in these halls and behind these walls, across the globe by the defense intelligence community is the cornerstone ... of our national defense." 

During his visit, the secretary also provided coins to several military personnel and discussed with leaders how departmentwide transformation efforts, including restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence, affect the defense intelligence community.

George Washington Announces His Farewell to Arms

March 13, 2026 | By David Vergun, Pentagon News |

The general's resignation was not a conclusion but a defining moment in our nation's history. Many regard it as a foundational act of statesmanship, setting a powerful precedent for civilian control over the military. Gen. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, formally resigned his commission, Dec. 23, 1783, in Annapolis, Maryland, where he delivered his farewell address to the Continental Congress.

Washington led the Americans to victory over the British from June 15, 1775, until the war ended Sept. 3, 1783, with the Treaty of Paris. The treaty formally recognized the independence of the U.S., set its boundaries, provided provisions on fishing rights, property restitution for loyalists and the return of prisoners of war. 

"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission and take my leave of all the employments of public life," he said at the conclusion of his address.

Britain's King George III reportedly said that if Washington resigned, he would be the greatest man in the world. 

Historically, a triumphant general would seize power. Examples abound. For instance, in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was named dictator for life after defeating his rivals in battle. In 1804, after winning a series of battles, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor of France. 

Later, Washington attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he was unanimously elected as its president. The other delegates found Washington's mere presence to be crucial to the success of the endeavor. He was held in high esteem.

Following the ratification of the Constitution, Washington was unanimously elected to be the first U.S. president. Sworn in April 30, 1789, he served two terms before voluntarily giving up power for the last time. 

3 Consequential Days in the American Revolution

Feb. 6, 2026 | By David Vergun, Pentagon News |

This year, the nation celebrates its 250th birthday, marked by the approval of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress enacted a resolution declaring the separation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. Two days later, in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson and edited by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and others. 

The 56 signers of the document were aware they were risking their lives, as the British considered this act treasonous. 

On those three eventful days, while Congress was meeting in Philadelphia, the Continental Army, Navy and Marine Corps, along with state militia, were battling British forces, German hired troops, loyalists and Native American tribes allied with Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Gen. George Washington, the commander in chief of the Army, was in New York City leading about 10,000 troops preparing defenses against nearly 20,000 British combined forces, who had landed on Staten Island July 2. 

It was the largest battle of the war in terms of the number of combatants, with the outcome resulting in the British occupying Manhattan and the port of New York. The British held New York City until Nov. 22, 1783. 

Washington received word of the declaration signing July 9 and ordered it read to his troops.

From July 2 until July 4, 1776, Army Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold was in the vicinity of Crown Point, New York, leading the retreating American forces from Canada and overseeing the construction of a naval fleet on Lake Champlain in New York. 

Beginning July 3, 1776, the North Carolina militia fought against the Cherokee at the Battle of McDowell's Station near present-day Morganton, North Carolina. The battle ended July 12, 1776, with the Cherokee withdrawing. 

While Continental forces were retreating from Canada and New York City in early July 1776, success would come later.

After a series of losses, Washington's forces defeated the British at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey over the winter of 1776-1777. Those victories revitalized the troops' morale. 

The Battle of Saratoga in New York in 1777 was a turning point in the war, convincing France to enter the war as an American ally. 

Other battles followed, the last major one being the British defeat at the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. 

After eight years of battle, the Treaty of Paris, signed Sept. 3, 1783, formally ended the war.