The Pentagon has placed several conservative military veterans with large social media followings in civilian roles within the department, according to The Washington Post, which reviewed Pentagon records and spoke with people familiar with the assignments. Among those identified are retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness (@RobManess) and retired Army Col. Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) , both of whom have active government email accounts and are assigned to the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata. Retired Army Col. Thomas Anderson, who writes online as @CynicalPublius, was also previously listed in the office. The Post reports that the individuals have been serving as either special government employees or highly qualified experts. The precise duties, compensation and start dates for the assignments have not been disclosed. The assignments appear to intersect with several Pentagon initiatives focused on military education and personnel policy. Maness, Schlichter and Anderson participated in a Senior Service College Task Force review at the Army War College in May. The task force was established to examine what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as “toxic” or “woke” ideology at senior service colleges. The disclosure is notable because the three have maintained significant public profiles as commentators and, in several cases, have publicly supported Hegseth's policies. The Post also reports that some of their government affiliations were not disclosed in their recent public commentary. Separately, conservative influencer Jennica Pounds, who writes as DataRepublican (@DataRepublican), disclosed that she became a Defense Department special government employee in July after previously holding a journalist credential in Hegseth's Pentagon press corps. The Pentagon has declined to publicly identify the roles or confirm whether the individuals are receiving taxpayer-funded compensation. Thus far, the available reporting establishes their government affiliations but does not establish that they were hired specifically to promote partisan messaging or that their social-media activity is being directed by the Pentagon. Source: washingtonpost.com/national-…