Pete Hegseth’s staff break priceless historic globe he requested for office

Key Points:

• A priceless pre-World War II Eisenhower globe, reportedly used by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to plan the D-Day landings, was damaged by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff during a botched attempt to move it within the Pentagon.
• The damage occurred when aides opted not to use specialist movers and instead attempted to transport the fragile 30-inch globe themselves, resulting in it being dropped and sustaining a large gash near Antarctica on the globe.
• The globe, one of two similar artifacts from the 1930s housed in the Pentagon, was highly valued by Hegseth due to his interest in military history and his desire to have it placed in his office.
• The Pentagon's Department of Defense, rebranded as the “war department,” downplayed the incident, calling it an accident involving a replica and criticizing media coverage as an inconsequential non-story; the globe is currently undergoing repairs.
• Specialist movers have previously demonstrated the level of care required to transport such artifacts safely, highlighting the mistake made by Hegseth’s aides in handling the relocation without expert assistance.