Joel Valdez
Role at the time: Acting Pentagon press secretary at the time (now Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary), in a statement provided to The New York Times and posted by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell on his official X account
Statement summary
In a statement provided to The New York Times on July 23, 2026 and posted that evening by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell, then acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez said the department was aware of temporary data disruptions and site anomalies on the Defense Casualty Analysis System website that were being resolved. He said the Times had written a "non-story" that will be fixed imminently and that the department remains committed to the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting.
“The Department of War is aware of temporary data disruptions on the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) website. These site anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination with the Military Services. The Department attempted to explain the anomalies to the New York Times ahead of publication, but given their lack of knowledge in this area, they proceeded to write a non-story that will be fixed imminently. We remain committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting.”
Why we used this label
In July, when four deaths dropped out of the Operation Epic Fury tally, Valdez attributes the change to temporary data disruptions and site anomalies being resolved, calls the Times' report a non-story, and says the department is committed to the utmost accuracy of casualty reporting, which excuses the discrepancy as technical and defends the accounting. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, because he disputes the Times' account of what happened. That loses because the statement goes beyond disputing a description: it explains the change as a data glitch and affirms the accuracy of the department's reporting.