(26 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fayetteville, North Carolina – 25 March 2025
1. Various exteriors of Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Edwin J. Thomas, Marine Veteran:
++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED++
"I think it’s a big deal. Everything should be kept confidential, behind closed doors, of what they’re going to do. You don’t, that’s the worst thing you could do. I think that they’re trying to downplay it. I think it is a big deal. So I think it’s incompetence. They should have thought about what they were doing at the time when they did it. It’s a mistake. If they correct it, that’s fine. If they continue to use that app, then I think that’s an abuse of power."
3. Various of soldier statue
4. Close of veteran Edwin J. Thomas’ hat
5. SOUNDBITE (English) David Cameron Wright, Air Force Reserve Veteran:
++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY COVERED++
"It makes me mad, first. It makes me think they don’t care about our security. That could give people like ISIS (the Islamic State group) intel to be able to come in here and do us damage. That’s not wise. I expect more of our people in that type of authority. I see some good results so far. I really do. I mean, nobody’s perfect. No president, no civilian. Military. Non-military. Nobody’s perfect. Only Jesus was a perfect one who was on this Earth."
6. Various of North Carolina Veterans Park
7. Mid of sculpture with words "AIR FORCE"
STORYLINE:
Vietnam veteran Edwin J. Thomas says President Trump’s cabinet officials should have known better than to use a non-governmental phone app to discuss top secret military operations.
Thomas, 78, was visiting the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Tuesday as news of the controversy swirled.
"I think it’s a big deal," said Thomas, who carried a heavy machine gun during his time in the U.S. Marine Corps. "Everything should be kept confidential, behind closed doors, of what they’re going to do. You don’t, that’s the worst thing you could do."
Top national security officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, texted plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic. This was reported by the magazine Monday.
Fayetteville is home to Fort Bragg, the nation’s largest Army installation and a center of special operations.
Thomas doesn’t think anyone should be fired over the scandal, unless they continue to show what he considers such poor judgment.
"Yes, I think it’s incompetence," said Thomas, who voted for Trump. "They should have thought about what they were doing at the time when they did it. It’s a mistake. If they correct it, that’s fine. If they continue to use that app, then I think that’s an abuse of power."
Nearby, at the North Carolina Veterans Park, Air Force Reserve veteran David Cameron Wright said it made him angry.
"It makes me think they don’t care about our security,’ the 52-year-old former senior airman said as he sat by a gurgling fountain. "That could give people like ISIS (the Islamic State group) intel to be able to come in here and do us damage. That’s not wise. I expect more of our people in that type of authority."
Like Thomas, though, he thinks Hegseth and the others should be given a second chance.
"I mean, nobody’s perfect," he said. "No president, no civilian. Military. Non-military. Nobody’s perfect. Only Jesus was a perfect one who was on this Earth."
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