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USS Gerald R. Ford

USS Gerald R. Ford’s ‘record-breaking’ deployment could last 11 months, top admiral says

The already long deployment for the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier could last 11 months, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said.

U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, New York Air National Guard, conduct pre-flight operations on an MQ-9 Reaper aircraft during exercise Sentry South 26-2 in Gulfport, Mississippi, March 3, 2026. Sentry South 26-2 is a large force employment exercise focused on major combat operations and joint maritime opportunities in a contested or degraded operational environment. Sentry South 26-2 applies joint and combined warfighting doctrine against realistic and robust enemy integrated threat systems, all while under safe and controlled conditions. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Dylan McCrink)

Air Force reactivates Reaper drone squadron at Nevada base

The squadron activation is part of an organization of Reaper units brought about by new technology that automates the takeoff and landing process.

U.S. Army Spc. Jake Amato, an MK48 machine gunner assigned to Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team, patrols through a field looking for triggermen in the Alisheng district, Laghman province, Afghanistan, on Sept. 12, 2011. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane, U.S. Army. )

Hegseth says US won’t rule out deploying ‘boots on the ground’ for Iran war

“You can’t fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground,” Hegseth said

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Zachary Savage, an anti-tank missile gunner with 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, forward deployed with 4th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division as part of the Unit Deployment Program, fires a Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile during the Korean Marine Exercise Program 25.2 in Pocheon, South Korea, July 29, 2025. KMEP is conducted regularly between the ROK and U.S. Marine Corps to increase their combined capabilities through realistic training geared towards deterrence and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Van Hoang)  

Marine corporal charged with stealing and selling a Javelin missile

Marine Cpl. Andrew Paul Amarillas is accused of taking a Javelin anti-tank missile along with some 5.56mm ammunition to Arizona and allegedly selling them.

U.S. Army Soldiers with 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment and Task Force Bayonet, currently deployed throughout the Horn of Africa, received a combat patch during a battlefield circulation, June 20 – Sept. 11, 2020. Patching is a custom reserved for those serving in a combat zone and Soldiers from the eight elements that comprise the task force were awarded their patches over the span of three weeks. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sirrina Martinez)

Army approves combat patches for soldiers in Iran war zone

The new approval for soldiers to wear a combat patch on their right sleeve covers those currently deployed in countries under U.S. Central Command and Africa Command.

Former Marine Raiders Prime Hall, Don Tran and Rick Briere, lent their likenesses to the latest season of "Battlefield 6."

These Marine Raider veterans are now playable characters in ‘Battlefield 6’

“Representing that lineage and history is something we take seriously.”

Image: The USS Constitution sails past the Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) during Massachusetts’ commissioning in Boston, on March 28th, 2026. Massachusetts is the newest fast-attack submarine and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lucas J. Hastings) 

Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Massachusetts

The nuclear-power fast-attack sub is the latest in a long line of ships named for the state, but the first submarine to bear the name.

U.S. Marines with Lima Company, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct a live fire deck shoot aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), Philippine Sea, March 16, 2026. The 31st MEU is a persistent, combat credible force operating aboard the ships of the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, routinely interacting and operating with our allies and partners to contribute to deterrence, security, crisis response, and combat operations in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Gerardo Mendez)

USS Tripoli, 2,200 Marines arrive in the Middle East

The first of two Marine Expeditionary Units reached the region Friday, as the war with Iran enters its second month and the U.S. deploys a third carrier strike group. 

A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter flown by Soldiers from the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard, lands in a field near Irvine Lake, March 19, 2022, in Silverado, California. Annual interagency training between the California National Guard and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Crystal Housman)

FAA investigating close call between National Guard Black Hawk and a passenger jet

A California Army National Guard UH-60 came within just 525 feet vertical and 1,422 feet lateral from a passenger jet as their paths crossed.

John Windom is accused to have taken more than $1,800 in casino chips from contractors known as the "Power Group."

VA executive accused of demanding gifts in the form of cash, casino chips from contractors

A retired Navy captain who was in charge of the VA’s health record modernization program allegedly got casino chips, cash and other gifts from contractors.

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing take cover in a bunker during exercise Grand Shield 22-2 at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Dec. 15, 2021. Grand Shield tested Al Udeid’s readiness to respond to regional threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Noah D. Coger)

Pentagon looks for vendors to supply pre-made bunkers within 30 days

The request was issued Monday for companies to submit possible delivery timelines for 3 days, 15 days, and 30 days and include information about the “highest threat level” that the bunkers could withstand.

A mover loads boxes into the truck for transport to the next duty station during a Permanent Change of Station on Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, July 18, 2025. The Department of Defense established the Permanent Change of Station Joint Task Force to improve the moving experience for military members and their families. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stephanie Henry)

New bill could make it easier for veterans to get VA home loans, senators say

Three senators want to help the Department of Veterans Affairs hire more home appraisers to speed up the process of getting home loans.

Iranian F-14 Tomcat landing at Mehrabad International Airport.

How Iran got the F-14 Tomcat and kept it flying for decades

The United States sold Iran 80 of its F-14s in the 1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the regime somehow kept the fighter flying for decades.

A New Hampshire Air National Guard KC-46 tanker following the engine test that left the airport's tarmac littered with chunks of asphalt.

Air Force jet tore up asphalt at Alaska airport during engine test

The 1,170-degree exhaust from the New Hampshire Air National Guard KC-46A tanker’s engines blew a 25-foot wide crater in an Alaska airport’s tarmac.

U.S. Army Recruits and Soldiers with the New Jersey National Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program conduct the weekend drill at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, N.J., March 5, 2026. The Recruit Sustainment Program is a program of the United States Army National Guard designed to introduce new recruits to the fundamentals of the U.S. Army before they leave for Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Seth Cohen)

Army raises enlistment age to 42, eases marijuana restrictions

New recruiting rules bump the age limit for recruits from 35 to 42. Easing restrictions on a single marijuana possession conviction “accounts for changes in society,” one expert said.

A trainee from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade low crawls through an obstacle the Sand Hill Obstacle Course March 4, 2024 on Sand Hill. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Stephanie Snyder)

Soldiers must now get approval from supervisors for tuition assistance

In order to use a financial aid program for secondary education, soldiers now need approval from their supervisors.

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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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