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Meet the first woman to make Chief Master Sgt in the Air Force’s rugged SERE world
A recruiter tried to dissuade her from SERE because “barely any women make it.” Now Tiffany Zaloudek is the job’s first female chief.
Military academies saw drop in reports of sexual assault and harassment but rates remain high
In 2024, 783 service academy cadets and midshipmen experienced sexual assault and harassment, 31% less than two years ago. The 2024 number is the second highest on record since 2006.
She joined the Army at 45. Now she’s vying to be an Army Golden Knight
Spc. Maribeth Kossman joined the Army at 45 to become a Golden Knight after serving in the Navy, teaching elementary school and finding a love of skydiving in her off time.
Space Force wants its own boot camp
Space Force recruits currently attend Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where they have their own curriculum.
Top Marine says combat experience gives US the edge over China’s military
“Our experience in the cauldron of combat will give us an advantage in any future fight,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told Task & Purpose.
VFW bashes The Economist for taking ‘turkey-sized dump’ on disabled vets
Patrick Murray of the Veterans of Foreign Wars has produced a rebuttal to a recent article calling for reducing veteran’s disability benefits that only a combat veteran could write.
Beards in the Air Force and Space Force will be debated in Congress
The service will have to brief Congress on a pilot program that would allow service members to grow beards.
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.
