Task & Purpose. News, culture, and analysis by and for the military community.
Culture
Farewell to the GWOT spitter
As nicotine packets like Zyn rapidly replace dipping tobacco in the ranks, the spitter bottles of GWOT — gross, simple, everywhere — are gone but not forgotten.
Army and Air Force sweep out DEI-coded programs
Army officials were instructed to remove diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility communications and trainings. The Air Force shuttered groups that targeted professional barriers faced by Black and Native airmen, women, and others.
Cancer rates in military pilots and other aviators could get a closer look
Previous studies military aviators have found higher rates of cancer than the general population. A new bill in Congress would further study what links those jobs with increased risk.
Army recruits hoping for cav scout or armor jobs will have to wait for boot camp
Army recruits hoping for a job in a tank or other mechanized armor will now be assigned during basic training, similar tor recruits in air defense and infantry roles.
Air Force planes will fly deportation flights under Trump order
A total of four C-17s and C-130s will be used to fly migrants in detention out of the United States.
Celebrity chef Robert Irvine wants to overhaul Army dining facilities. Will it work?
The Army’s ambitious plan to overhaul its dining halls and the food soldiers eat may run into a roadblock: Army culture.
Paychecks for junior enlisted troops are better than 90% of civilian peers, report says
A report on military compensation found that average pay across the enlisted and officer corps “continues to compare well” relative to the salaries of civilians with similar education and experience.
Task & Purpose was founded in 2014 as a voice for the military community, and continues to serve that community 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.
