Eisenhower globe damaged in Pentagon move to Hegseth office

A 30-inch World War II-era floor globe said to have been used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was damaged on Feb. 3 when members of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff tried to move it into his Pentagon office. The Washington Post published photographs revealing a tear several inches wide near Antarctica; Army spokesman Christopher Surridge told the newspaper that the sphere also came off its rotating metal mount. The Pentagon’s statement to NPR called the item a replica, while the Post and Anadolu described the globes as said to have been used by Eisenhower.

It is among two 30-inch standing globes kept at the Pentagon that are linked by tradition to Eisenhower in World War II. A plaque dates them to the 1930s, and generations of Army leaders have been custodians of the artifacts. Retired Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, a Hamilton College history professor, said the piece measures 30 inches across, sits on a big wooden stand and can spin, and that a British firm built it in the middle of the 1930s; it remains in the Army's G-3/5/7 shop where Eisenhower planned operations.

Hegseth’s staff asked for one of the globes to be moved to his office, but did not use the Pentagon’s usual process of having trained curators oversee the relocation, according to The Washington Post. The Army office that watches over the objects intended to ask specialists at the U.S. Army Center of Military History for help, but a partial shutdown tied to an immigration fight in Congress had placed those experts on furlough. Because those specialists were not available, Hegseth's team went in themselves; the team lost control and the globe slammed onto its base.

Surridge described the Feb. 3 event as an "attempted move" in which the globe was damaged. Once the Post story appeared, a Defense Department official gave the paper a short unsigned comment: "Accidents happen. We are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired."

Seidule told NPR the news brought "sadness, anger and, like, what the heck are you doing?" He said such artifacts are normally moved by teams from the Center of Military History and professional movers; a previous move about four years ago was wrapped and he recalled movers saying they would handle it "with kid gloves." Because the right people were not available in February, he said, the staff went in without training and broke the globe immediately. The globe is still in the G-3/5/7 office, but in pieces. Seidule, who has criticized Hegseth over Confederate commemorations at military bases, said the episode shows Hegseth "does not plan well and executes poorly."