June 1, 2009 | Schools

Students Find Millions Spent On Privately Funded Pentagon Travel

Graduate students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism today revealed that private interests spent more than $26 million on travel by Pentagon officials between 1998 and 2007.

By Brendan Cosgrove

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WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Three years after uncovering millions of dollars worth of privately sponsored trips for members of Congress and their staffs, graduate students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism today revealed that private interests spent more than $26 million on travel by Pentagon officials between 1998 and 2007. The project -- spearheaded by Medill’s Washington Bureau Director Ellen Shearer and done in partnership with the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity -- created a database of about 22,000 trips taken by Pentagon officials during the ten-year period.