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Task & Purpose. News, culture, and analysis by and for the military community.

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Each week on Tuesdays and Fridays our team will bring you analysis of military tech, tactics, and doctrine delivered from a rank-and-file perspective.

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U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, provide perimeter security at Operating Location Bauchi, Nigeria, April 6, 2026. Through combined training, advising, intelligence sharing and professional exchanges, U.S. and Nigerian forces worked together to address shared security challenges and improve interoperability. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Alva Gonzalez) 
Africa

US to pull additional combat troops from Nigeria

Combat forces deployed to fight the Islamic State in Nigeria earlier this year. This is the second drawdown in two months.

U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit board M/V Blue Star III, a commercial ship suspected of attempting to transit to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, April 28, 2026. U.S. forces released the vessel after conducting a search and confirming the ship’s voyage would not include an Iranian port call. (U.S. Marine Corps photo) 
Iran

Navy has cleared mines from the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says

The declaration comes six months into the war with Iran and four months after the U.S. said it was starting mine clearance operations.

A U.S. Marine with Maritime Raid Force, Littoral Combat Force-24, provides aerial sniper support during a Maritime Interdiction Operation Full Mission Profile while underway in the Pacific Ocean, Aug. 21, 2026. U.S. military forces are deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in support of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, Department of War-directed operations, and the President's priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking, deter malign actors and protect the homeland through continuous presence. (U.S. Marine Corps photo) 
Marine Corps

Marines board, sink alleged drug ship off Ecuador

The interdiction is the first direct action against suspected drug traffickers by the USS San Antonio and Littoral Combat Force-24 since they entered the eastern Pacific this month.

Guardians from Flights 057-063 stand at parade rest during a graduation ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Dec. 18, 2025. The event, hosted by the 737th Training Group, marks the completion of Department of the Air Force Basic Military Training. Guardians wore the new Space Force service dress uniform for the first time at a BMT graduation, representing the service’s evolving identity and shared training foundation with the U.S. Air Force.
Space Force

Trump signs order to create a space service academy

The new academy would train Space Force members as well as NASA personnel.

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit stand at parade rest prior to a command brief at Camp Pendleton, May 19, 2017. Formations give the opportunity for senior enlisted and officers to inform the unit of operational and administrative matters, as appropriate. The 15th MEU is expected to be able to operate in a maritime environment, performing operations very similar to the training executed during work-up evolutions. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. F. Cordoba)
Marine Corps

Marines are now allowed to wear class rings in uniform

New guidance on uniform regulations lets Marines wear class rings alongside wedding rings.

USS Abraham Lincoln
Navy

USS Abraham Lincoln sailor could be disciplined for jumping overboard

The sailor could face nonjudicial punishment, a disciplinary hearing that is neither a criminal conviction nor a court-martial.

A U.S. Air Force MC-130J Commando II from the 352d Special Operations Wing performs low-level flight training above Iceland Aug. 23, 2026, during Exercise Northern Viking 26.
Air Force

In Iceland, Air Force special ops crews test gliders for resupply

Air Force crews trained to resupply troops on the ground with cargo gliders, which can be dropped from the rear of MC-130J cargo planes and then fly themselves to a waiting team.

Jonny Kim Leaves NASA
Navy

Jonny Kim, Navy astronaut, doctor and former SEAL, departs NASA

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jonny Kim’s last day with NASA is Thursday. He is returning to active duty in the Navy, where he will be involved with naval flight training.

Special Warfare Combat Crewmen
Navy

Navy offers senior special warfare sailors up to $100,000 bonuses

The bonus is available to eligible chief warrant officers in the special warfare (SEAL) and special warfare combat crewmen career fields.

From left, Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Eby, Lance Cpl. Jordan Houston, and Cpl. Michael Gretzon received upgraded valor wards at a Pentagon ceremony Wednesday.
Marine Corps

Marines at Abbey Gate awarded Bronze Star medal upgrade

Two Marines caught in the attack received upgraded Bronze Stars with “V” devices, a third an upgraded commendation medal. One Marine hid shrapnel wounds from medics to remain at the blast site.

Marines
Marine Corps

Marine Corps releases roadmap for infantry in drone-covered world

The Marines have already begun fielding more than 80 new systems to help infantry squads detect and destroy small drones.

Some Army pilots cut from flying can transfer to the Navy. But not all.
Army

Some Army pilots cut from flying can transfer to the Navy. But not all.

Around 75 Army pilots could see a new future flying for the Navy.

U.S. Marine Corps Rct. John Romano, a recruit with India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, clears his gas mask of gas agents in the gas chamber during chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense training on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., July 17, 2026. Recruits are exposed to gas agents in order to familiarize themselves with the use of their gas masks and its capabilities. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Dylan Smith)
Marine Corps

Marine Corps and Navy update gas mask training to meet shaving rules

The policies follow directives by the Pentagon to enforce grooming standards.

Air Force 2nd Lt. Leah R. Borsich was one of eight killed in a plane crash at a remote radar site in Cape Newenham, Alaska, a site similiar to the Tin City site pictured above.
Air Force

Air Force officer killed in remote Alaska crash was a ‘positive leader’

“She led with professionalism, compassion and purpose, and her presence strengthened the bonds between the people around her.”

Ecuador official says US Special Forces are operating inside country
Army

Ecuador official says US Special Forces are operating inside country

Ecuadorian officials say American soldiers are helping fight cartels and two U.S. warships are arriving to bolster military campaigns.

Repairs
News

Military buildings need $285 billion worth of maintenance, report says

The price tag for needed maintenance on barracks and other facilities has more than doubled in five years, a federal watchdog found.

More Stories

The Iran War

(CVN 73) while underway in the Pacific Ocean, Oct. 28, 2024. George Washington is 7th Fleet’s premier forward-deployed aircraft carrier, a long-standing symbol of the United States’ commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while operating alongside Allies and partners across the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class August Clawson)
Iran

Tracking America’s latest conflict: The Iran war timeline

Navy

Sailors and Marines advised to hide military ties on social media, report suspicious activity

Iran

More than 750 US troops wounded in Iran war, nearly half since July 

Navy

How a Navy aircraft carrier ended up short on food in a war zone

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Task & Purpose was founded in 2014 to cover the military and veteran community from a rank-and-file perspective, and continues to do so with accurate reporting and great storytelling to this day. Our journalists have reported on the front lines of the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota and the war in Afghanistan. We’ve uncovered American veterans being abused in Kuwaiti prisons, deported veterans being forced to work for Mexican cartels, and drawn national attention to a longstanding legal rule barring service members from suing the government — even in the face of gross negligence.

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