Pentagon officials seized the cellphone of a foreign reporter and blocked them from using electronic devices during the first leg of a series of international flights bound for Norway, the United Kingdom and Germany, according to a report from POLITICO that was later confirmed by official press statements.
According to the source, a public affairs officer approached the foreign correspondent about 10 minutes after takeoff and “very apologetically” told them to “physically” hand over their cellphone. The individual was also prohibited from opening their laptop or using their Airpods.
The other reporter, who is a US citizen, was not asked to hand over their phone.
“It’s not only impossible to do my job without a phone and laptop, it’s also a bit insulting that after doing dozens of trips over the past six years (many to more sensitive locations) my phone was taken and there isn’t enough trust to be able to get some sort of exemption so I can continue to write stories on the plane,” the foreign reporter said in an email addressed to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, per POLITICO.
The reporter, who has previously traveled with top US officials to secure locations in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the outlet that the Pentagon said a few days prior that “there might be a problem” on the flight, but also assured the reporter that the department was “working through it and they were hopeful they could figure something out.”
However, that workaround never came to fruition, as the pilot reportedly came out of the cockpit multiple times to inform the public affairs officers that they were not allowed to use their cellphones because Deputy Secretary Hicks was on standby for a phone call.
The Pentagon has proclaimed the incident was merely a “miscommunication” in an attempt to protect classified information.
“In accordance with a new policy, the aircrew in this case applied a more restrictive approach to communication security, which led to a miscommunication about the reporter’s use of personal electronic devices on the aircraft,” Air Force spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told the outlet.
The so-called policy implemented on the first leg will not be used for the remainder of the international flights, according to Ryder.