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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Cesar Ramirez, a warehouse clerk with Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12 pours a canteen of water on his head after a conditioning hike at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, May 23, 2019. Marines with MAG-12 hiked as part of a continuous effort to improve their physical fitness. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Seth Rosenberg)
Marine Corps

Marines in hot barracks getting portable air conditioners

Officials said 128 barracks across the force, housing almost 20,000 Marines, do not have permanent air conditioning. Many have portable air conditioners.

Amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) steams through the Pacific Ocean, April 8, 2026. John P. Murtha is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, retrieving the crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a flight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the first time humans journeyed to deep space in over 50 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Melseth)
Marine Corps

The Marines may need 40 amphibious warfare ships, general says

The discussion on amphibious warfare ships comes as the Corps plans to continuously deploy three Marine Expeditionary Units.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz, the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, speaks to Marines at Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans, March 10, 2026. Ruiz visited the facility as part of the SMMC Force Level Summit. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Van Hoang)
Marine Corps

A firefight is too late to start trusting the new Corps, say senior Marines

Five senior enlisted Marines shared “Old Corps” lessons from their careers, and why they already trust the young Marines who will come after them.

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U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, parked at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida, during Mosaic Tiger 22-1, Nov. 17, 2021. Mosaic Tiger 22-1 is a command and control exercise designed to test the lead-wing concept of the 23rd Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Sebastianelli)
Air Force

Two Air Force A-10s rescued lost boater on Florida lake

Night vision goggles, thermal cameras and a little search and rescue know-how came in handy.

Military insiders may be betting on operations more than previously known
Army

Military insiders may be betting on operations more than previously known

“Longshot” bets on military operations won 52% of the time on the Polymarket prediction market, researchers found, four times more often than others.

USS America
Navy

Navy says aviators can no longer command amphibious warships

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle is requiring that amphibious warships be commanded by surface warfare officers.

A US Navy Riverine Command Boat (RCB) cruises off the coast of Bahrain's Salman port, near the capital Manama, on May 12, 2013, one day before the start of the biggest exercise of mine countermeasure maneuvers in the Arabian Gulf. The US Navy along with other 40 nations are conducting the games. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo by MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP) (Photo by MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP via Getty Images)
News

Iran-linked hackers sent menacing texts to US service members

The messages sent directly to some U.S. troops showed how the Handala hacking group is taking a new, more personal and psychological approach to cyber attacks.

Coast Guard
Coast Guard

Congress restores Coast Guard funding after 76-day partial shutdown

“I know we would never get an apology but one could hope for one,” said a Coast Guard spouse.

Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 10th Mountain Division stand in formation prior to marching during the pass and review for the Transfer of Authority Ceremony on April 5, 2023, at the Carol I National Defense University in downtown Bucharest. The 10th Mountain Division headquarters is deployed to Europe to support the mission, assure allies and partners, and deter further Russian aggression.
News

Soldier told Discord chat he planned to target Jewish worshipers, feds say

A Fort Polk soldier allegedly said, “You’ll see me in the news. I promise,” and cited white nationalist slogans in a Discord chat.

Bunker graffiti at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan pictured here weeks into the war with Iran.
News

Scrawled in bunkers, the ‘first military art’ of the Iran War emerges

Bunker artwork drawn by troops in the Iran War often includes tallies of drone attacks and counts of hours spent in the confines of concrete shelters.

U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct reloading drills with M27 infantry automatic rifles as part of weapons manipulation training aboard Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45), in the Pacific Ocean, April 14, 2026. The 11th MEU, embarked aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, is a persistent, combat credible force contributing to deterrence and crisis response in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Trent A. Henry)
News

Pentagon considers doubling monthly combat pay for troops

The current maximum monthly pay for troops in combat is $225, but a budget proposal could raise it to $450 next year.

Sgt. 1st Class Marcelina Hansen, 43rd Adjutant General Battalion (Reception) senior drill sergeant, gives instructions to Soldiers in training Feb. 24 at Fort Leonard Wood’s Grant Hall.
Army

Army drill sergeants get prison for ‘prohibited’ trainee relationships

A trainee reported that the two drill instructors targeted her and a second recruit during basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Nhien Do shaves during Artillery Relocation Training Program 23.3 in the North Fuji Maneuver Area at Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Japan, Nov. 26, 2023. Marines continue to maintain good hygiene and grooming standards while in field conditions. The skills developed at ARTP increase the proficiency and readiness of the only permanently forward-deployed artillery unit in the Marine Corps, enabling them to provide indirect fires. Do, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an artilleryman with Alpha Battery, 3d Battalion, 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alyssa Chuluda)
Marine Corps

Marines now have 12 months to meet shaving rules

Just released rules give Marines seeking treatments for skin conditions, including laser removal, one year.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Taylor Britain, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team leader with the 74th EOD Company, conducts pre-flight checks for the 25th Infantry Division Kestrel First-Person View (FPV) drone during a First-Person View (FPV) drone live-fire exercise at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Oct. 17, 2025. Britain developed the firing system, including a mechanical and electronic safety feature on the Kestrel FPV drone. The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) will conduct Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) Rotation 26-01 from Oct. 28 to Nov. 16, 2025, in and around the Hawaiian island chain. This exercise is designed to validate the combat readiness of the 3rd Mobile Brigade (3MBDE), 25th Infantry Division Artillery (DIVARTY), and the 125th Division Signal Battalion in a joint, multinational, multi-domain training environment. JPMRC 26-01 will integrate U.S. forces, multinational partners, and joint capabilities to train tactics, techniques, and procedures required to dominate jungle and archipelagic terrain during large-scale combat operations. The exercise underscores the U.S. Army’s commitment to ensuring regional security and strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Duke Edwards)
News

Pentagon’s drone strategy calls for putting $54 billion DAWG in the fight

The Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, which oversees developing drones and other unmanned systems, could get a huge budget increase.

Green Beret's assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) conduct security for a routine training exercise in which 1st SFG (A) teams train in simulated real-world combat scenarios at Okinawa, Japan, March 21, 2026. 1st SFG (A) conducts special operations throughout the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility, in order to support command objectives and U.S. national interests. The group maintains and employs units of action to execute the full spectrum of special operations at a moment's notice with allies, partners, and the joint force. Committed to excellence and pursuit of tactical mastery, the group aims to uphold the legacy as the Indo-Pacific’s preferred, and most lethal special operations entity. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)
Tech & Tactics

Special Operations Command lays out high-tech wish list

SOCOM’s ANCHOR Initiative wants to “accelerate” how new technologies are integrated into operations, including augmented reality, drones and lasers.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 13: Eli Heidenreich #22 of the Navy Midshipmen runs the ball during the first half of the 126th Army-Navy Game against the Army Black Knights at M&T Bank Stadium on December 13, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
Culture

Two Navy football players picked in NFL draft

Landon Robinson and Eli Heidenrich were the first pair of Naval Academy midshipmen to be drafted in decades.

Cameroonian soldiers take part a counter-terrorism training session during the Flintlock 2023 military training hosted by the International Counter-Terrorism Academy with United States Special Forces in Daboya, in the Savannah region of Ghana, on March 11, 2023. - The United States Army launched a counter-terrorist drill with African armies. (Photo by Nipah Dennis / AFP) (Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Army

Army nurse accused of actively helping separatist militants in Cameroon

The officer, a nurse assigned to Fort Belvoir, allegedly presented himself as a combat veteran and shared Army documents with separatists, even getting on the “war council.”

1st Lts. Christopher Barrett and Bryce Sullenger, from the 75th Ranger Regiment, were the winners of this year's Best Sapper competition.
Army

Rangers win Best Sapper competition for second year in a row

1st Lts. Christopher Barrett and Bryce Sullenger were declared the top combat engineers after several days of grueling challenges.

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Bravo Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command demonstrate how they prepare the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system for use during the FORSCOM commanding general's visit to Fort Bliss, Texas, Sept. 20, 2023. The THAAD is designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. David Poleski)
Army

The Army is creating a new job for air defense soldiers

Soldiers who train as Air and Missile Defense System Repairers will join some of the most in-demand units in the Army.

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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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