Zach Rosenberg
zachinflight.bsky.social
Zach Rosenberg
@zachinflight.bsky.social
260 followers 290 following 150 posts
Former defense and aerospace reporter/editor
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Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
Here's a sample piece of "journalism" from one of the "news" outlets that signed the DoD rules. Welcome to the new press corps.
But I cannot overstate what a bad sign this is, and I congratulate my former colleagues -- Janes among them -- for refusing to sign restrictions that clearly violate the First Amendment. That even such ridiculous 'news' networks as Newsmax refused to sign is telling.
The military has to follow orders from political figures and appointees, but I am not sure that many military officials have fully grasped what kicking the media out of the Pentagon means. I know some have, and those may be excellent (if anonymous) sources in the coming months.
One of the last interviews I conducted at Janes was with a senior civilian Pentagon official. We had to meet in the Pentagon cafeteria due to restrictions on reporters' movements. He told me "I hope and think these restrictions will lift soon." Well, they haven't.
Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
Always check your NOTAMs

X-59 first flight imminent 👀
Some familiar faces in this video. Godspeed all, and thank you for not giving in to blatant intimidation.
Pentagon reporters could be seen leaving the sprawling U.S. military headquarters with boxes after at least 30 news organizations declined to sign a new Pentagon access policy for journalists, warning of the potential for less coverage of the world's most powerful military.
Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
Make your plans for #NoKings. This Saturday, October 18th.
Free speech is action. Protestors believe that action has meaning. Protestors are exercising the rights enshrined in the Constitution. For me, protest is about love of country.
I'll be there. Please join in.
www.nokings.org
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...
www.nokings.org
I've noticed a drop in posting by a lot of people on this platform recently. Not sure why, or if the userbase is still growing or not, but it's becoming less useful for my purposes.

That's a shame. I like Bluesky and would like it to grow. I ain't going back to X.
Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
With no reporters able to ask questions, it seems the Pentagon leadership will rely on slick social media posts, carefully orchestrated short videos and interviews with partisan commentators and podcasters.

No one should think that's good enough. “

www.npr.org/2025/10/14/g...
Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass
Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scen...
www.npr.org
Bidding defense journos good hunting at AUSA 2025, which begins today.
The Pentagon is moving forward with policies designed to restrict what reporters assigned there are allowed to write. This is censorship of a free press and should not be legal under the first amendment.
Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
DoD appears to be pausing all or most media engagements for the duration of the government shutdown. I’ve had two interviews canceled so far.
Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
Thrilled to share that @theaircurrent.com is hiring! Super unique opportunity to join a fast-growing, collaborative newsroom.

You tell us what you want to cover, and why you're the one set up to do it best.

Apply here and shout with any questions: theaircurrent.com/jobs/senior-...
Reposted by Zach Rosenberg
And so concludes another week with no routine news briefing at the Pentagon.

Previous ones:

March 17 (Sean Parnell, Lt. Gen. Grynkewich)

June 22 (Pete Hegseth, Gen. Caine)

June 26 (Hegseth, Caine)

July 2 (Parnell)

Aug. 7 (Kingsley Wilson)

Aug. 14 (Wilson)
Yesterday was my last day at Janes after 3 years. Great place, but after 15 years in aerospace/defense reporting it was time to move on. I am not sure what's next but I am not worried.

In the meantime who wants a super-sweet job?
job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/janes/jobs/4...
Americas Aviation Reporter
Arlington, Virginia, United States
job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io
So Rocket Cargo is a platinum-plated project of extremely limited use, with limited payoff but potentially catastrophic drawbacks.

It's a DoD logistician's dream to be sure, but DoD's money would be better spent on almost anything else.
Insane cost aside -- what cargo could possibly justify such a price? -- it looks an awful lot like a ballistic missile in flight. Even if it's a squad of Marines, generally speaking, any receiving country is likely to seriously consider whether or not they are about to be nuked.
Rocket Cargo might cost around $50m a shot or more.
Reusability is probable but not guaranteed, so there's a pretty high likelihood of simply disposing of the vehicle after a single flight.
Rocket Cargo's goal is to transport 100 tons of cargo anywhere almost instantaneously. That's not much more than a single C-17 can carry, but at -- I'm estimating here -- roughly 200x the price of a C-17 flight.
For one thing, unlike the fever-dream of Golden Dome, Rocket Cargo is an organic idea of the USAF. It has survived multiple administrations, and the USAF keeps requesting small but increasing amounts of funding.
Now, unlike some far-out programs *coughGoldenDome!*, Rocket Cargo is actually technically feasible. The technology effectively exists to loft 100 tons of cargo on a suborbital trajectory.

So why is this program so ridiculous?