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

Latest Videos

More News

U.S Airmen assigned to the 81st Security Forces Squadron along with members of the U.S. Navy stand in formation during the Police Week Retreat Ceremony on May 15, 2025 at Keesler Air Force Base. The retreat ceremony was one of several events held by the 81st Security Forces Squadron commemorating National Police Week. National Police Week was established in 1962 as a collaborative effort to honor America’s law enforcement community and pay special recognition to those law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jon Carter)

Bipartisan bill would nix federal taxes on military bonuses

The bill would amend federal tax codes and take away taxes paid on troops’ performance and enlistment bonuses.

U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Jackson, assigned to 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armor Division, recites the oath of enlistment in front of the Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll during a re-enlistment ceremony at Drawsko Pomorskie Combat Training Center, Poland, April 10, 2025. Driscoll administered the oath during his visit to Poland. Leaders in the area of operations gave him insight into operational planning, mission command, and oversight of the rotational forces in Europe so he could better support NATO allies and help improve interoperability (U.S. Army photo by 1st Sgt. Jacob Connor)

Fewer reenlistment options for soldiers amid high Army retention

The Army pointed to its retention of 800 more soldiers than its original goal for fiscal year 2025 as a reason for the changes.

ICE agents at Camp Pendleton

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will screen visitors at 3 Marine Corps bases

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are already posted at the gates of Camp Pendleton, California, and they will also be sent to Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

U.S. Air Force Airmen walk away from an explosive detonation during EPIC CRAB 25 Exercise at Northwest Field, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, May 1, 2025. Explosive Ordnance Disposal locates, identifies and disposes of dangerous hazardous materials, improvised explosives devices and nuclear materials etc. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Adasha Williams)

Air Force holds epic exercise to blow stuff up, calls it ‘EPIC CRAB’

EPIC CRAB 2025 involved explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Republic of Singapore.

U.S. Army Spc. Anton Lane, a combat medic with specialized drone training, assigned to 5-7 Cavalry, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division inspects a Skydio X10E4TT drone prior to flight during exercise Combined Resolve 25-2 at Hohenfels, Germany on May 17, 2025. TiC is grounded in one principle: increasing the lethality of our formations by creating more agile and mobile units capable of responding to complex combat scenarios (US Army photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Fist Class Richard Hoppe, Released).

The Army wants more drones, electronic warfare tech. This unit is the guinea pig.

The 3rd Infantry Division is experimenting with specialized teams that focus on drones and electronic warfare, in order to test out the Army’s plan for fighting the next ‘big war.’

Abbey Gate

Hegseth announces accountability review of Afghanistan withdrawal

The Defense Department will conduct a comprehensive review of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 “to ensure that accountability for this event is met.”

Coast Guard rescue swimmers saved a worker stuck in hardening concrete after roof collapse

Coast Guard rescue swimmers saved a worker stuck in hardening concrete after roof collapse

The rescuers spent three hours extracting four workers from inside a collapsed industrial water tank who had fallen 40 feet when the structure’s roof collapsed.

Army Rangers Sea Battle

Army investigating whether Rangers fired weapons at public beach before ‘pirate sea battle’

Posts on social media indicate the incident took place on Friday afternoon before soldiers with the 6th Ranger Training Battalion took part in a private festival in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

19 Purple hearts lay on velvet ready to be awarded to Soldiers of the 39th Brigade Combat Team for wounds received while fighting in Iraq. The Purple Heart is the oldest and most expensive medal in the militarys arsenal of awards. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Rebekah-mae Bruns, 39th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)

10 New York soldiers receive Purple Heart for injuries in Tower 22 attack

Three soldiers died and dozens were wounded in the attack, many with traumatic brain injuries and concussions, when an Iranian drone destroyed a housing unit at the Jordan outpost.

Rambo

Nothing is over! They’re making a ‘Rambo’ origin movie

The new film will likely take audiences back to Vietnam and show the moments that made Rambo the traumatized Green Beret he became in “First Blood.”

M1 Abrams

The Army takes steps so its 250th birthday parade won’t destroy DC streets

Previous attempts at a military parade in the nation’s capital have been met with concern that heavy Abrams tanks would tear up Washington, D.C.’s roads.

A tiltrotor aircraft flies across the plains.

101st Airborne tapped as first unit to get new Black Hawk replacement

The newly designated MV-75 is meant to eventually replace the Army’s H-60 Black Hawk helicopters, including in special operations missions.

Air Force HALO jump

Air Force surprises troops with sudden deadline for reenlistment bonuses

Airmen have until close of business on May 19 to apply for a selective retention bonus. This year’s fiscal program is ending more than four months early.

Army Apache crews who fired ‘first shots of Desert Storm’ receive Distinguished Flying Crosses

Army Apache crews who fired ‘first shots of Desert Storm’ receive Distinguished Flying Crosses

Four U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin National Guard, fly over the Air Dominance Center during exercise Sentry Savannah 25-1, Savannah Air National Guard Base, Georgia, Jan. 24, 2025. Sentry Savannah is the Air National Guard’s premier fighter exercise, a critical training event that aims to enhance the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense’s fighter jet readiness, interoperability and capability in an air-to-air simulated combat environment. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Rafael D. Rosa)

Trump touts new ‘F-55’ fighter jet and upgrades to F-35s and F-22s

President Donald Trump said the U.S. military may get a new fighter jet, which he called the F-55, as long as it comes in at the right price.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Caserta died when he intentionally walked into a spinning helicopter propeller on June 25, 2018. Hi parents, Teri and Patrick, lobbied for The Brandon Act, which mandates that troops get mental healthcare and other assistance when they need it.

Parents of ‘Brandon Act’ sailor ask to meet with Hegseth about military suicides

Teri and Patrick Caserta lobbied for the Brandon Act after their son died by suicide while in the Navy, but they say they are afraid that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is not prioritizing the changes it laid out.

The Pentagon Rundown

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Aidan Smith, a rifleman with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment and a native of Maine, fires an M32 grenade launcher during a live-fire shoot range as part of Exercise Chesapeake 25 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, May 1, 2025. Exercise Chesapeake 2025 was a bilateral U.S.–French naval exercise that underscored a commitment to interoperability, maritime readiness, and shared values. The exercise took place as the U.S. Marine Corps is celebrating 250 years of warfighting excellence and reflects the Marine Corps’ commitment to global partnerships and naval integration, enabling the force to rapidly respond to crises, deter adversaries, and reassure allies. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Jack Labrador)

Hegseth orders sweeping force structure changes for the military

Army closes in on its elusive goal of a gender-neutral fitness test

US war against the Houthis grinds on. Tell me how this ends.

Pentagon faces deadline on recommending whether to invoke the Insurrection Act

SEE MORE

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.

Read Our Story

Our Staff