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

Latest Videos

More News

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy E. Black, the 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, observes a forward area refueling point demonstration at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Jan. 13, 2022. The demonstration was part of a three-day Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Force Level Summit. The summits are held quarterly to support force level sergeants major at their respective commands. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Victoria Ross)

Marine in top enlisted spot leaving the Pentagon after just 2 years

Marine Sgt. Maj. Troy Black will not be reappointed as Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He will leave in late summer, early fall.

Staff Sgt. Raycel Dasher, an infantryman assigned to A Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, U.S. Army South performs the standing power throw during an Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) during the U.S. Army Futures Command Best Squad Competition at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., June 4, 2024. The ACFT was one of the various events during the week-long competition designed to assess the competitors’ technical and tactical proficiency, as well as their ability to work as a disciplined and cohesive team. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joshua Taeckens)

End of the ‘yeet’: the standing power throw is out as new Army fitness test goes ‘sex-neutral’ for combat jobs

Army fitness test changes will mean “sex-neutral” standards for soldiers in 21 combat jobs. Meanwhile, the standing power throw will be eliminated.

Army Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez suspended

Fort McCoy garrison commander’s suspension ‘not related to misconduct’

Army Reserve officials say missing photos on a command board at Fort McCoy were ‘corrected’ and Baez Ramirez’s suspension “is not related to any misconduct.”

A black and white photo showing several U.S. Army tanks moving through the rubble of a bombed out German city.

80 years ago, American soldiers captured the center of Nazi Germany

The five-day Battle of Nuremberg ended on April 20, 1945, taking one of the Nazi’s remaining strongholds and cutting off a route of escape.

A soldier looks on as troops march into a CH-47 Chinook in a desert plain.

US military to pull more than 1,000 troops out of Syria

The drawdown in the coming months will cut the American footprint in the country by half.

A soldier in heavy camouflage holding a rifle crouches in a wooded and grassy area.

Army announces latest unit rotations, including soldiers from Lithuania heading home

The end of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division’s deployment to Europe was marked by a tragic accident that killed four of its soldiers.

USS Gerald R. Ford

How much of a threat are Chinese hypersonic missiles to US Navy ships and sailors?

Hypersonic missiles fly at least five times the speed of sound and can change course in flight, posing a challenge to defense systems on U.S. Navy ships.

Pentagon Rundown

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

The U.S. military resumed attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen on March 15. So far, the Houthis are still fighting back..

Marines killed

Two Marines killed in crash while on southern border duty identified

Marine Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera and Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino were assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

The Navy may revive this forgotten Alaskan base that sits halfway to Russia 

The Navy may revive this forgotten Alaskan base that sits halfway to Russia 

Three military leaders have expressed interest in reviving a World War II-era military base on Adak Island as part of the U.S. Arctic Strategy.

{filenamebase) WASHINGTON (Sept. 16, 2011) Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) the Honorable Ray Mabus speaks at a ceremony recognizing Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota Meyer in an induction ceremony at the Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon. Sgt. Meyer received this award for his brave actions in Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2010 when he left his safe post and coming under enemy fire continuously ove the courese of six hours to recover the fallen and provide aid to wounded Afghan and U.S. service members. Sgt. Meyer saved 13 U.S. Marines and Soldiers and 23 Afghans. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kevin S. O'Brien/Released)

Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer reenlists in Marine Reserve

Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer is joining the Marine Corps Reserve after leaving active duty in 2010. He was awarded the Medal of Honor the following year.

Air Force pilots 'step' to an A-10 for a flight with the Airus device, a new system designed to let pilots — particularly women — relieve themselves safely and easily during flight.

Air Force pilots get a new way to pee at 30,000 feet

The new system came from a private/public innovation challenge aimed at women who fly jets and say they often won’t drink water for hours to avoid the ‘mess’ of traditional relief systems.

‘The Mandalorian’ was actually about a burned-out NCO trying to get his kid to daycare

‘The Mandalorian’ was actually about a burned-out NCO trying to get his kid to daycare

He wasn’t picked because he was the best. He was picked because he was available. Strip away the blasters, and “The Mandalorian” is about a guy who just wants to hand this kid off to someone more qualified.

Navy SEALs move out of a courtyard in the movie 'Warfare,' aiming guns high to cover all points of contact as they move out of a courtyard through a gate.

How the memory of a single Iraq War battle led to ‘Warfare’

The director talks about the new film that recreates a SEAL team’s single firefight in Ramadi in 2006. Filmed in near-real-time style, “Warfare” is being lauded by veterans of the war as the closest vision of reality yet filmed.

Command Chief Master Sergeant Anthony Green was fired Monday as the top enlisted leader of Air Force Special Operations Command for a 'loss of confidence.'

Top enlisted leader of Air Force Special Operations Command fired amid investigation

Command Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green was fired as the top enlisted leader of Air Force Special Operations Command for a “loss in confidence.”

Rich McCormick, now a Republican member of Congress from Georgia, appeared in the “Chess” Marine recruiting ad from the 1990s.

The Marine in one of the most famous recruiting commercials is now in Congress

Rep. Rich McCormick was a young lieutenant when he was cast in the Marine recruiting ad “Chess.”

The Pentagon Rundown

The 104th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron conduct riot control training, August 20, 2024, at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts.

Pentagon faces deadline on recommending whether to invoke the Insurrection Act

Did the Army actually listen to soldiers’ complaints about mandatory training?

When are classified war plans neither ‘classified’ nor ‘war plans’

Campaign against the Houthis will not be ‘an endless offensive,’ Pentagon says

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