Task & Purpose. News, culture, and analysis by and for the military community.
Top Story
Green Berets tested glider drones for supply drops during a massive special operations exercise
Special Forces used expendable gliders to ferry supplies to units on the ground during the large-scale Trojan Footprint exercise in eastern Europe this month.
This GPS-guided mortar system is meant to automate the call for fire
The Scorpion Light 81mm mobile mortar system allows crews to digitally enter data needed to hit targets and automatically moves the tube into firing position.
This 6-wheeled dune-buggy could be how troops get resupplied in the future
The Polaris MRZR Alpha 6×6 is designed to be able to carry vital supplies, be fitted with weapons, and medically evacuate wounded troops.
The battery for this next-gen headset is built into the ballistic plate
The EagleEye headset from Anduril is aims to give real-life soldiers access to a HUD akin to those seen by gamers in first-person shooters.
Task & Purpose Video
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.
More from Task & Purpose
Marines stage mock evacuation at Venezuela embassy
Four months after U.S. troops invaded Caracas to capture Nicolás Maduro , U.S. forces again flew over the city.
Army reaches its recruiting goal several months early
61,500 new recruits have signed contracts, the Army announced on Saturday.
Nimitz carrier group arrives in Caribbean amid Cuba tensions
The longest-serving carrier joins several other warships still operating in Latin American waters.
Unaccredited VA claims company charged veteran $21,000 in violation of federal law, judge rules
A North Carolina judge ruled that Veterans Guardian VA Claim Consulting, LLC, acted as an accredited agent, even though it wasn’t.
Security Forces airman becomes first Air Force graduate of Army’s revived jungle school
Once known as the “Green Hell,” the 18-day course reopened last October on the eastern end of the Panama Canal.
Most military branches don’t ‘fully’ check if suicide prevention training works, watchdog finds
The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps generally do not track or evaluate suicide prevention training effectiveness. The Air Force tracks data and has an evaluation plan, but there are gaps.
19-year-old soldier completes Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault and Pathfinder schools
On top of that, he passed all of Ranger School’s notoriously taxing phases on his first try.
AI in special operations will always have ‘a human in the loop,’ top officer says
“There’s no doubt that [AI is] changing and impacting and making us more efficient in many ways, but we have to also have a bit of a reality check,” said the head of U.S. Special Operations Command.
Doctor recalls treating dozens after Tower 22 drone attack
After treating more than 70 patients in the hours after the attack, the Army National Guard major pushed for Purple Hearts for many of the soldiers who suffered TBIs.
Drones could mean the end of sprawling bases seen during Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
“I think we need to make ourselves a smaller target. We have to be harder to be detected, hit.”
VA home loans explained
Navy Federal helps you take advantage of a powerful veteran’s benefit
Special operators need to be ‘lethal but also technically fluent,’ commander says
“You can’t be brilliant with the modern basics on this muscle memory alone. You need the technical education and training to be able to master the electromagnetic spectrum in the virtual domain, as well.”
Air Force now has 18 of its new Skyraider II ‘Swiss Army Knife’ aircraft, official says
The OA-1K Skyraider II is designed to support special operations forces by flying armed reconnaissance, close air support, and precision strike missions.
Fighter pilots say Growler crews’ safe ejections were a ‘miracle’
All four crew members of two Navy E/A-18G Growlers survived ejecting, three without injury, after their planes became lodged together in a midair collision
SOCOM wants to move fast on new tech: ‘We’re not building aircraft carriers here’
U.S. Special Operations Command’s strategy for fielding new technology to special operators emphasizes speed, a top acquisitions official with the command said.
Air Force Reserve Command chief honored with massive sword
Lt. Gen. John Healy is the latest inductee into the Air Force’s blade friendly Order of the Sword.
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.
