Elon Musk confirms he's using six 'young Spartans' to clear out the US government

It was only a few days ago that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) department took control of a government computer system that resulted in officials being locked out.

The initial report came from Reuters that claimed senior officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suddenly lost access to a critical government database that contains the personal data of millions of federal employees. The report stated the takeover of the database by DOGE members is part of the broader overhaul to reduce bureaucracy and implement cost-cutting strategies across the entire US government.

According to the unnamed officials who spoke to Reuters, one of the systems now under control by DOGE is the Enterprise Human Resources Integration, which contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades, and length of service of government workers. OPM workers have raised security and oversight concerns since access to the database was revoked. Now, a new WIRED report has identified six individuals who play critical roles in DOGE and have been tasked by executive order with "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

• Read more: Elon Musk takes control of government computer system, officials now locked out

The report states that all of the engineers are between the ages of 19 and 24, according to public databases, online presences, and other records. The engineers are Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran. WIRED reports none of the individuals listed previously have little to no government experience.

Musk has seemingly confirmed the ages of the six young men in a recent X post where he wrote, "Not many Spartans are needed to win battles."