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

Right: Terry McIntosh, kneeling, with retired Lt. Col. Al Kittredge at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in June 2026. Left: An undated photo of McIntosh during his time in the Army.
Army

At 18, he fought with Green Berets in Vietnam. Now, he finally has his Special Forces tab.

At 18 in Vietnam, Terry McIntosh fought as a Special Forces soldier, though it wasn’t until this year that his service as a Green Beret was officially recognized.

Capers Ripley Dockery 2026
Marine Corps

Three officers who overcame desperate odds receive Medals of Honor

Two Marines who served heroically in Vietnam and an Army officer who used his body to shield a soldier in Afghanistan received the award.

After two full days and nights of events to test their stamina, technical prowess and mental acuity, the remaining teams crossed the finish line April 12, 2026 at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus Georgia, concluding the 2026 Best Ranger Competition. Sgt. Drew Schorsh and Spc. Caleb Godbold, representing the 75th Ranger Regiment, was the winning team. (U.S. Army photo by Patrick A. Albright)
Army

Specialist and sergeant win Best Ranger competition for first time in nearly 40 years

“We had each other’s back, and knew that when one of us was in trouble, the other was there to carry the load.”

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A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Multi-Domain Command - Pacific, fires a Spike Non-Line of Sight missile at the USS Mobile Bay for a Sink Exercise during Rim of the Pacific in Hawaii, July 11, 2026. Thirty nations, over 30 surface ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 206 aircraft and 30,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 24 to July 31. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2026 is the 30th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Christian Morton)
Navy

Army helicopters, Navy drones sink two retired ships at RIMPAC

The Army, Air Force and Navy joined troops from other nations in blowing up the decommissioned USS Mobile Bay and USS Peleliu.

Image: Trucks exit from Port Newark Container Terminal in Newark, New Jersey on July 24, 2026. US President Donald Trump slapped sweeping new tariffs on 60 trading partners and saw 25-percent duties take effect on Brazilian products. Both cases involved an authority that has previously been used to impose levies. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP via Getty Images) 
Veterans

Transportation Department wants veterans to become truck drivers

The “Freedom Hauler” campaign seeks to get veterans who drove heavy vehicles in the military to haul freight.

The Pentagon nominated Lt. Gen. Kevin Admiral to replace Gen. Christopher Donahue as the top Army officer for Europe and Africa. Admiral is currently the commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood.
Army

Pentagon picks Lt. Gen. Kevin Admiral to lead Army Europe and Africa

The current III Armored Corps commander is tapped to replace Gen. Chris Donahue, who announced last month he would retire earlier than expected.

National Guardsmen deployed Washington, D.C. will be housed in corporate-style apartments, officials announced.
National Guard

National Guard will spend $290 million on apartments for Washington troops

Originally a mission for 800 National Guardsmen, there are now 4,750 troops are assigned to the Washington, D.C., mobilization. A new housing contract runs for three years.

With the Tinker control tower in the background, an F-35 Lightning II aircraft takes off at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Oct. 22, 2021. The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex's Heavy Maintenance Center performs all aspects of engine maintenance on the F135 engine, including all variants and for all partner nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Paul Shirk)
News

Shortage of military air traffic controllers impacts safety, mission, watchdog says

For the Air Force in particular, their controllers make about 43% less than their counterparts working at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Medical Education and Training Campus
News

Dorms for 5,200 enlisted medical students to be demolished due to ‘foundational defects’

Because the “foundational defects” with the dormitories cannot be fixed through regular repairs, the buildings will be demolished, a base spokesperson said.

Marine Corps 31st MEU
Iran

The US is in another asymmetric war in the Middle East

“What are we trying to do to Iran? We’re trying to impose pain. What is Iran trying to do to us? They’re trying to impose costs. Those are two different things.”

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Michael Lorenz, left, a drill instructor with India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, inspects a recruit during a senior drill instructor inspection at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, May 22, 2025. The SDI inspection is the first several inspections recruits will undergo throughout the duration of their training at MCRD San Diego and aims to ensure the recruits are upholding the orders given to them. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah M. Grawcock)
News

Hazing could soon become a specific charge under military law

Congress is debating a rule in next year’s defense bill that would direct the Pentagon to consider making hazing a specific charge in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Rony Molina, a spectrum manager with I Marine Expeditionary Force, records discrepancies during a barracks inspection in support of Operation Clean Sweep II at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 24, 2025. Part of the larger Barracks 360 Reset initiative, OCS II builds upon the success of the first iteration by sustaining elevated barracks conditions and further transforming our organizational culture by reinvesting our time, resources, training and efforts into the barracks. Molina is a native of El Paso, Texas (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jordan Searls)
Marine Corps

Enlisted Marines in the US will not be getting single barracks rooms

The only enlisted barracks with individual rooms for Marines from the rank of E1 to E4 will be built in Japan, a Marine Corps official said.

Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, and Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad
Army

These are the 3 soldiers killed by Iran’s attack on a base in Jordan

The three active-duty soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack against Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, on July 17.

Col. Brian Diehl, left, commander of the 153rd Airlift Wing, and Col. Lawrence Sullivan, command of the 153rd Operations Group, of the Wyoming Air National Guard, were releived of command July 17.
Air Force

Two Air National Guard commanders fired for ‘loss of confidence’

“When those standards are not met and that trust is broken, we must take appropriate action,” wrote the Wyoming Air National Guard’s top officer about the firings.

Many homes on the former Navy base in Adak, Alaska are uninhabitable after decades in the harsh climate, but many are counted in a tax-payer-funded program as having broadband internet access.
Navy

Abandoned Navy base costs taxpayers $340,000 a year in internet nobody uses

Scores of empty homes and collapsing buildings on a former Navy base in Alaska receive tax-funded internet access, an investigation by local reporters found.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton.
Army

Pentagon identifies soldier killed in Iraq during controlled detonation

Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, was killed on July 18 in Erbil, Iraq.

COLOGNE, GERMANY - JUNE 22: Close-up of a hand holding a lit, hand-rolled cannabis joint between fingers on June 22, 2026 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by EyesWideOpen/Getty Images) 
Military Life

Marijuana still off limits to troops even if federal rules change, Pentagon says

Despite moves by the Trump administration to reclassify marijuana, the military’s no-use stance remains unchanged. 

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - NOVEMBER 11: Lights from various take-aways and fast food outlets still operating illuminate diners eating at the Broadwalk at Kandahar airfield on November 11, 2014 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Now that British combat operations have ended and the last UK base in Afghanistan had been handed over to the control of Afghan security forces, any remaining troops are leaving the country via Kandahar. As the drawdown of the US-led coalition troops heads into its final stages, many parts of Kandahar airfield - once home to tens of thousands of soldiers and contractors - are being closed or handed over to the Afghans. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Army

New Army program will let some soldiers use meal cards at Subway, Burger King, Starbucks

The new program at Fort Stewart, Georgia, will give soldiers the ability to use their meal cards at chain restaurants on base.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andy Ngo, an Arkansas native and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense specialist assigned to the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force, participates in a polar plunge during cold weather training at Camp Dawson, Feb. 10, 2026. The training equipped Marines and Sailors with the knowledge and skills to manage the effects of cold-water submersion and execute active rewarming procedures in preparation for Arctic Edge 26. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Amy Espinoza)
Marine Corps

Marine Corps issues new rules to prevent heat and cold injuries

The new guidance, the first in 11 years, emphasizes monitoring and collecting data on conditions and Marines’ well being.

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Tech & Tactics

The commander of the Blue Angels said Thursday that a low pass over a Pensacola, Florida, beach was "unsafe."
Navy

Blue Angels commander calls beach flyover ‘unsafe’

Army

Army helicopter pilots to take solo flights in training for first time in decades

Navy

Navy ship honors sailor from famed North Korea rescue mission

Navy

US uses drone boats for first time in latest Iran strikes

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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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