WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Personnel from Elon Musk's government downsizing team called DOGE held what appeared to be their first meetings at the Pentagon on Friday, a U.S. official told Reuters, as senior military officers brace for billions in possible spending cuts.

Pentagon angst is as old as the military-industrial complex. Past secretaries of defence, including Bob Gates and the late Ash Carter, were philosopher kings next to their new and manifestly unqualified successor, Pete Hegseth. And yet the defence bureaucracy has always seemed to come out on top.

SecDef hints at pushback, but others worry about the team's record of breaking into databases and making hasty cuts.