Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ordered aides to fetch him a globe associated with legendary World War II General Dwight Eisenhower -- and they broke it, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
According to the Post, the large orb fell while being carried by untrained staff, resulting in the loss of a large chunk of the world near Antarctica.
The Post reported that historic items are typically moved around the Pentagon premises by trained curators. However, Hegseth's office had dispatched its own team.
A Pentagon official told AFP in a statement that "an accident" had occurred.
However, the statement referred to the artifact as "a replica of the Eisenhower globe" and the Washington Post report as an "inconsequential non-story."
Photographs published by the Post showed the hole in the Antarctica area and an accompanying plaque identifying it as one of two nearly identical, historic "Eisenhower Globes" in the Pentagon's possession.
President Donald Trump's secretary of defense has focused on promoting a muscular image for the US military, starting by attempting to restore the Department of War name which was dropped in 1947 for the Department of Defense.
Hegseth, who rose as far as major during an Army National Guard career before becoming a Fox News host, regularly does televised exercise routines with troops. He has ordered mandatory testosterone screening for male military staff over 30.
He is currently overseeing the eight-month war against Iran, which Trump has promised repeatedly to bring to a rapid conclusion.
Eisenhower led the US war effort against Nazi Germany, commanding the D-Day landings that launched the phase of conflict leading to Adolf Hitler's defeat.
A five-star general, he then was elected president in 1952, taking the helm of the White House as the Cold War gathered pace. He was often photographed posing alongside elaborate globes.
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