Overview
- A team from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office tried to move a 1930s, 30-inch globe and dropped it, causing a several-inch gash near Antarctica and detaching the sphere from its mounting.
- The Army confirmed the damage occurred during an “attempted move,” and the Defense Department says the globe is being repaired.
- Reporting and verification differ on the object’s status, with NBC News and photos saying it is the original Eisenhower globe while a Pentagon statement called it a replica.
- The move proceeded without U.S. Army Center of Military History curators because those specialists were furloughed during a partial government shutdown, creating the procedural gap that led to the mishandling.
- The incident, which has become a focus of internal ridicule, raises questions about who ordered the relocation, how the Pentagon will handle repairs and accountability, and the risks of moving fragile artifacts without trained conservators.