The Pentagon has reportedly subjected about 50 members of the US military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests as part of an investigation into alleged leaks of classified information to the media.
According to *The New York Post*, the examinations were conducted in August and involved military officers and civilian employees suspected of providing journalists with sensitive national security information.
The alleged leaks reportedly included details about depleted US weapons stockpiles following the war with Iran, with media reports pointing to shortages of key munitions, including long-range missiles and Patriot air-defence interceptors.
The Joint Staff has between 1,500 and 2,000 military and civilian personnel and is responsible for coordinating military operations, defence policies and war plans with US combatant commanders around the world.
The reported scale of the polygraph exercise has raised concerns among some officials, who described it as unusual and potentially unprecedented for senior US military personnel in recent decades.
Retired Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter, a former Navy Judge Advocate General, said he had never encountered polygraph testing being conducted on such a broad scale and at such a senior level.
“I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level. In my experience, it’s unprecedented,” Guter said.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that the Department of Defense investigates unauthorised disclosures involving classified national security information but declined to comment on the specific investigation.
“The department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly,” Parnell said.
He added that safeguarding classified information was essential to protecting US national security and troops deployed around the world.
The reported investigation comes amid growing tensions within the Pentagon over media coverage of the US military’s performance during the Iran conflict, as well as reports of declining stocks of some critical weapons.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for tougher action against those responsible for unauthorised disclosures.
Trump has also criticised media reports questioning the conduct of the conflict and the readiness of the US military, at times describing such reports as “treasonous.”
