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guess who's back? Santa Claus agreed not to cancel Christmas for the entire US Air Force after officials at two bases gave the go-ahead for residents to decorate their homes.

Air Force families given the go-ahead for early Christmas decorations after outcry

Officials with the privatized housing company says its guidelines on when Christmas decorations can be displayed were “never meant to be strictly enforced.”

The football uniforms that West Point's team will wear in the Army-Navy game next month include script that mirrors the Constitution, a white-marble pattern based on headstones in military cemeteries, and a little-known ceremonial weapon.

Here are the Easter Eggs built into West Point’s latest Army-Navy football uniform

A little-known ceremonial weapon is one of several hidden details in the uniforms that will be worn by the U.S. Military Academy in next month’s Army-Navy game.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Coronado, a diver assigned to Coast Guard Regional Dive Locker Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, prepares to descend below the surface in the Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii Sep. 26, 2025. Coast Guard Regional Dive Locker Pacific members and a Coast Guard Station Honolulu 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew worked together to inspect and service channel marker buoys in Honolulu harbor, Hawaii. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Robertson)

Coast Guard looks for another boot camp location as recruitment booms

The Coast Guard is looking for a new recruit training facility that can hold 1,200 recruits and be operational within the next year.

Four F4U Corsair fighter airplanes return from a combat mission over North Korea and circle the aircraft carrier USS Boxer while waiting for the planes in the next strike force to launch from the deck, September 1951. US Navy photo. (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images)

That time the Air Force held a Marine hostage for steak

A helicopter rescue crew decided the usual ransom for recovered pilots wasn’t enough. 

The USS Gerald R. Ford sails towards the Caribbean.

Ford Carrier Strike Group arrives in Latin America

The aircraft carrier and three destroyers join several other ships and a Marine expeditionary unit deployed to the region.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Mason Weasel, a member 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, crosses a rope bridge at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, Panamá, Oct. 27, 2025. U.S. Southern Command is focused on increasing partner nation capacity and interoperability in the region and reflects the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership, and solidarity with the Panamanian people. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Trey Woodard)

For the first time in decades, Marines and soldiers are back in Panama to train

Welcome back to the jungle.

Marines conduct full military funeral honors with escort for U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Harlan Chapman at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Vietnam War pilot and longest-held Marine POW laid to rest at Arlington

Harlan Chapman spent more than seven years in a prison camp during the Vietnam War when he was a Marine captain. On Oct. 20, 2025, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

A U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle and Marines assigned to Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, secure a beach during a simulated amphibious assault at Hwajin-ri, South Korea, Sept. 2, 2024, as part of exercise Ssang Yong 24. Exercise SY24 strengthens the Republic of Korea-U.S. Alliance through bilateral, joint training, contributing toward combined amphibious capability in defense of the Korean Peninsula. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Amelia Kang)

This is how the Marine Corps storms a beach

Amphibious assault is still a core Marine Corps mission, but in 2025, it’s not Higgins boats and flamethrowers.

U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (April 10, 2025) U.S. Sailors handle line aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) during a replenishment-at-sea with the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (TAO-E 8) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Official U.S. Navy photo)

Sailors can voluntarily extend Navy service as government shutdown continues

Sailors preparing to leave by Dec. 5 can now extend their contracts in order to ensure they can get full separation benefits from the Navy.

U.S. Marines with the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon execute their "long line" sequence during a half-time performance at a Gainesville High School football game during Marine Week Atlanta in Gainesville, Ga., Aug. 29, 2025. The year 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, a milestone that highlights the legacy, transformation and enduring spirit of the Corps since 1775. Throughout the year, Marines across the globe will commemorate this anniversary by honoring the service and sacrifice of those who served before them and by remaining faithful to the motto Semper Fidelis. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christopher Prelle)

All the ways Marines will let you know it’s the Corps’ birthday

Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.

NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (July 10, 2025) Col. Ryan Herman, incoming commander of 521st Air Mobility Operations Group, provides remarks during a change of command ceremony onboard Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain, July 10, 2025. The 521 AMOG conducts en route operational support and aircraft maintenance, air mobility command and control, and aerial port operations, integrated with the Joint deployment and distribution enterprise and in concert with our allies and partners, to deploy and sustain the joint force in Africa, Asia, and Europe in support of national objectives. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jett Morgan)

Air Force relieves air mobility group commander in Spain after just four months

Col. Ryan Herman, who took over the 521st Air Mobility Operations Group in July, was removed following a “loss of confidence.”

Nearly all commissaries on military bases in the U.S. could close in early December if the government shutdown continues.

Military officials tell troops 168 commissaries could close next month

Officials insist commissaries will be open through Thanksgiving, but 168 U.S. stores could close soon after. Overseas stores would remain open for another month.

"Atropia," a film that centers around a fictional country the Army created in 2012, is set to release on Dec. 12.

Atropia: The Army’s biggest inside joke has its own movie

“Atropia,” a movie set for a limited release in theaters on Dec. 12, follows a cast of role-players as they help train soldiers in the Army’s longest fake war.

Staff Sgt. Kristopher Garbea, with the unmanned aerial system Platoon, 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, prepares a reconnaissance drone for flight during Saber Junction 25 (SJ25) at the Joint Multinational Readiness Training Center at Hohenfels, Germany Sept. 9, 2025. Soldiers within the unit developed Purpose Built Attritable System drones to use against simulated enemy forces at SJ25. This exercise ensures that the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and allied forces are prepared to act decisively in response to emerging threats, crises, or opportunities. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Shenicquia Fulton)

The Army is going to buy a million drones 

The massive order comes as the service tries to play catch-up on integrating and fielding drones in combat operations.

The Grinch poses with a Tyndall F-35A Lightning II during Operation Jolly Jingle, a children’s holiday event hosted at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Dec. 14, 2024. The event featured activities for the children such as face painting, a bounce house and photo opportunities with the Grinch and Santa Claus. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jennifer Jensen)

Air Force families at Florida base told to take down Christmas decorations in privatized housing

It is way too early for Christmas decorations — at least that’s what residents at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida were told.

The FDA recalled a drug prescribed by VA doctors to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder nightmares.

Drug used to treat PTSD nightmares recalled for cancer risk

The Food and Drug Administration said some batches of Prazosin, which VA doctors often prescribe to treat PTSD nightmares, had high levels of cancer-causing agents.

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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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