EXCLUSIVE — Two Department of War memorandums seen by the Washington Examiner show that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has relocated a “Cross Functional Team” managing the so-called “Havana Syndrome” or “Anomalous Health Incidents” concern. The CFT has been moved from the powerful office of the Undersecretary of War for Policy to the Office of the Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering. The development follows reporting by the Washington Examiner last December that the War Department was preparing to make just this move.
Numerous sources continue to tell the Washington Examiner that they fear this move will weaken the CFT’s support for victims, its analytical independence, and undermine evidence-based efforts that indicate some AHIs are consequences of Russian intelligence service activity. Specifically, the employment of novel pulsed microwave weapons. CBS News reported last week that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) wrote to Hegseth, warning that this move would damage efforts to support AHI victims.
As the Washington Examiner noted last year, “Hundreds of subsequent [AHI] incidents have been reported globally by American diplomats, intelligence officers, and military personnel. AHI symptoms include dizziness, auditory disruption, traumatic brain injury, and loss of gait. Some victims have suffered serious disabilities and premature death. There is even circumstantial evidence that former President George W. Bush may have been a victim.”
Following Hegseth’s sign-off on this relocation, the CFT will now fall under the leadership of Undersecretary Emil Michael and the day-to-day leadership of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies Peter Highnam. While Highnam has appointed himself as the CFT’s new director, he does not have direct experience on this problem and is already managing other high priority research areas. Alongside his “scaled directed energy” focus, Highnam’s office is focused on applied artificial intelligence, hypersonics, quantum and battlefield information dominance, contested logistics, and biomanufacturing. Multiple sources fear the CFT will be deprioritized among these other concerns. Two sources added that Highnam has referred to AHI victims as “damaged.”
In one memo seen by the Washington Examiner, Highnam states that “Effective immediately, the Anomalous Health Incidents Cross Functional Team will transition to the Office of the Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering as part of a strategic effort to strengthen scientific governance, enhance technical rigor, and ensure long-term stability of research and interagency coordination supporting the AHI mission.”
Another memo from Highnam states that the move will ensure the “CFT is aligned with a structure that can provide sustained governance, deeper technical capacity, and enduring support for cross-functional execution … This action reflects the department’s commitment to advancing the AHI mission with precision, rigor, and alignment to national security priorities. Continued success depends on maintaining momentum, strengthening integration, and sustaining the trust of the cohort along with the operational and research communities we support.”
Highnam’s focus on “technical rigor” and “technical capacity” suggests a priority focus on weaponizing the technologies responsible for AHI effects. As CNN first reported, the U.S. is now in possession of a device believed to form one of the complement of RF/MW weapons in Russia’s possession. While the U.S. intelligence community continues to reject abundant evidence of Russian RF/MW activity (scroll to the end of the article here), the Washington Examiner understands that Russia possesses numerous such devices ranging from truck to backpack-sized capabilities. But the lack of statements from Highnam on AHI attribution or victim support has some of those victims concerned.
“Adam,” a former CIA officer afflicted by AHI during a tour in Havana, is among them. He told the Washington Examiner that he expects this move will “delay the issue by years, if not indefinitely, due to fractured interagency relationships and deep distrust of the incoming Research and Engineering leadership team.” In reference to Highnam’s “damaged” comment, Adam added, “As much as he may think of us as a piece of discarded furniture, we were the tip of the spear for the U.S. government.”
Reached for comment, a Pentagon official told the Washington Examiner that “We have nothing to announce regarding a reorganization of our AHI Cross-Functional Team and we will not address speculation about supposed concepts or plans.”