Pentagon explores partially restoring civilian protection program

NPR | By Tom Bowman,

Leila Fadel

Published August 31, 2026 at 4:44 AM EDT

After internal pushback amongst top military officials over gutting a civilian protection program, the Pentagon is looking at partially restoring it.

Tom Bowman

Tom Bowman is a NPR National Desk reporter covering the Pentagon.

Leila Fadel

Leila Fadel is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

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