{"id":44137,"date":"2020-01-29T16:37:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T16:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:42:54","slug":"unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that he hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hyten said the process, which has the backing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, will attempt to make it easier to communicate with industry, the public and internally at the Defense Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn many cases in the department, we\u2019re just so overclassified it\u2019s ridiculous, just unbelievably ridiculous,\u201d Hyten told the audience at an Air Force Association event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To underline his point, Hyten said when he was head of U.S. Strategic Command, he invited Adm. Harry Harris, then the head of U.S. Pacific Command, to a briefing \u2014 one so classified that their deputy commanders, both three-star officers, were not allowed to attend. If \u201cthe only people in the room are four-stars, you really can\u2019t get any work done,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Concerns about overclassification in the Pentagon have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/archive\/the-government-is-classifying-too-many-documents\/\" target=\"_blank\">been long-standing<\/a>. The department\u2019s internal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sigar.mil\/pdf\/quarterlyreports\/2017-10-30qr.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">watchdog on Afghanistan<\/a> issues considers it a major issue, and the Project on Government Oversight in December released a report warning of a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/analysis\/2019\/12\/the-pentagon-war-on-transparency\/\" target=\"_blank\">war on transparency<\/a>\u201d in the department, in part through what it called the unnecessary marking of documents as classified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At December\u2019s Reagan Defense Forum, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said she will look into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/reagan-defense-forum\/2019\/12\/08\/barrett-rogers-plan-to-declassify-black-space-programs\/\" target=_blank>declassifying some space programs<\/a>, stating that \u201cthere is much more classified than what needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have got to push down the classification to where it makes sense,\u201d Hyten said. \u201cThe good part is the chairman and the secretary have raised that issue, and we\u2019re working that. And I think this year we\u2019re going to have some significant improvement in that so we can actually share some very important things with our allies, with industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along those lines, Hyten said the Pentagon must \u201ddo a better job of reaching out\u201d to industry. He said he has a rule that if he is willing to meet with one company on a topic, he must meet with all the relevant players, but he also told the industry-heavy audience that \u201cif you want to come see me, come see me. The door is open.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":57743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[160,11,36,19,48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-44137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-the-americas"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YVXSIK2725AFBKCLCTB5FHYSKY","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-29T16:37:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T23:42:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-01-29T16:37:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:42:54+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 393,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\",\n\t                \"The Americas\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-01-29T16:37:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:42:54+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/29\\\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pentagon\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"pentagon\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process - Defense News","description":"Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process","og_description":"Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2020-01-29T16:37:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T23:42:54+00:00","author":"Aaron Mehta","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aaron Mehta","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process","datePublished":"2020-01-29T16:37:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T23:42:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/"},"wordCount":393,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Global","Newsletters","Pentagon","The Americas"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/","name":"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-29T16:37:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T23:42:54+00:00","description":"Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hopes to see \u201csignificant improvement\u201d this year on loosening classification standards in the infamously overclassified Pentagon.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/01\/29\/unbelievably-ridiculous-four-star-general-seeks-to-clean-up-pentagons-classification-process\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pentagon","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/","ad_zone":"pentagon"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"\u2018Unbelievably ridiculous\u2019: Four-star general seeks to clean up Pentagon\u2019s classification process"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19191818137436.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44150,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44137\/revisions\/44150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44137"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=44137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}