Pete Hegseth's team 'punch hole' in historic WWII globe owned by Dwight Eisenhower after Secretary demanded it be hauled into his office

Pete Hegseth's team has damaged a historic Second World War globe owned by General Dwight D. Eisenhower after the Secretary of War demanded that it be hauled into his office.

Two floor globes, used by the 34th President, had been kept in the Pentagon, but Mr Hegseth took a keen interest in the artefact and requested that his staff lug one into his personal office.

Normally, moving one of the 30-inch globes would be done in consultation with specialised experts from the US Army Centre of Military History.

But because the US Government was under a partial shutdown at the time, the staffers were unavailable.

Rather than wait for the expert curators to return, Mr Hegseth's staff dispatched a team to move the globe - and dropped it, the Washington Post first reported.

Images of the historic globe, seen by GB News, show a large hole near Antarctica after it was impaled by its own base.

A sign, displayed with the globe, explains the artefact's significance.

It reads: "According to popular theory, the one in this room was first used by Dwight D Eisenhower while serving on the General Staff as Chief of the War Plans Division from February to March 1942 and Operations Division from March to June 1942.

"It is conjectured that this was retained by the successors to the Operations Division, known today as the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-35."

Army spokesman Christopher Surridge said the damage happened during an "attempted move", and the "spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate".

It was not eventually relocated, he added.

And a Department of War (DoW) official, in a statement, told the US outlet that "accidents happen".

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Sources within the DoW said the incident was internally viewed as an embarrassment.

Mr Hegseth's team could have waited for experts to return from the partial Government shutdown, as it ended the same day the globe was damaged.

One person familiar with the situation said an "apparent lack of patience" contributed to the rushed job.

US Colorado Congressman Jason Crow said it was "incompetence all around".

"They break everything they touch," he added.

Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Senate nomination in Kentucky, said the blunder "just about sums up his tenure at the Pentagon".

There are four globes associated with Eisenhower, who was known for posing with them in photographs.

A DoW official told The Times: "An accident occurred while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe as part of its relocation.

"Accidents happen; we are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired.

"It is unsurprising that The Washington Post is once again dedicating time to another inconsequential non-story."