Overview
- Hegseth’s staff dropped the 30-inch globe, which was damaged during an attempted move on Feb. 3, puncturing the shell near Antarctica and detaching the spherical portion from its metal mounting, Army spokesman Christopher Surridge confirmed.
- The U.S. Army Center of Military History normally oversees moves of delicate artifacts, but its curators were furloughed during a partial government shutdown so Hegseth’s team proceeded without specialist help.
- The Defense Department said the globe is being repaired and at one point described the item as a replica, while reporters and photo verification by other outlets, including NBC News, identified it as an original Eisenhower globe, creating a factual dispute.
- The incident has become a source of ridicule inside the Pentagon and has intensified criticism of Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership style and priorities, with officials and former military historians citing impatience and poor process.
- The globes are treated as historically significant government property and were moved with specialist crating in a separate 2022 transfer, so the case raises questions about oversight, museum procedure during furloughs, and the cost and timeline of restoration.