Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 21)

Marine with folded flag
Veterans

Marine veteran’s body was hidden in a closet for eight months

Michael S. Blankenship's corpse was stashed away while his cousin allegedly stole his benefits.

DAABDAMALE, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA - JANUARY 25: Soldiers with the Puntland Defense Forces walk back from a cave where Islamic State fighters lived until recently being flushed out on the frontline near Daabdamale, Puntland, Somalia on January 25, 2025. Islamic State in Somalia recruits foreign fighters and brings them into Somalia to try to gain ground in what is becoming a key nerve center for the Islamic State. (Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Africa

US forces capture ISIS finance chief in Somalia

Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf had overseen extortion for ISIS-Somalia since 2019.

BJ Blaskowicz in Wolfenstein.
Entertainment

World War II horror will come to life in new ‘Wolfenstein’ show

“The story of killing Nazis is evergreen.”

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Flosi
Culture

Top Air Force enlisted leader apologizes for uniform slip-up

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi has apologized after a picture of him in his dress uniform showed that his tie was not the length specified by uniform regulations.

U.S. troops in Syria
News

‘Senior ISIS leader’ killed during US military raid in Syria

U.S. troops killed a man identified as a senior leader with ISIS and his two adult sons during a raid in Bab, Aleppo Governorate, Syria.

Crews install a three-ton, 30-foot barrier panel at the Barry M. Goldwater Range along the U.S.-Mexico border near Yuma, Arizona, March 3, 2020. BMGR 10-27 includes 31 miles of border barrier. USACE is providing direction and oversight for Department of Defense (DOD)-funded construction of border barrier projects from California to Texas. These projects are being executed by USACE, as directed through the U.S. Army by the Secretary of Defense, in response to the Presidential national emergency declaration dated Feb. 15, 2019, requiring the use of the armed forces and authorizing the use of Title 10, U.S. Code, § 2808. (Some personal and corporate identifiable markings have been masked for privacy reasons. No one in this photo crossed the international border).
Mexico

Pentagon shifts $200 million from barracks, schools, facilities to border wall

The Pentagon notified Congress in a letter that it plans to repurpose $200 million from Army, Navy, Air Force and “defense-wide” programs to fund a permanent barrier at a test range in the desert.

Soldiers in the Philippines
Army

War with China ‘would result in large-scale casualties,’ Army general says

The U.S. military would face immense challenges treating the volume of casualties and moving them to medical centers far from the front lines in a conflict with China.

A soldier's laptop caught a contractor allegedly stealing money from a barracks room. Officials said it's under investigation.
Army

Soldier catches contractor allegedly stealing from barracks on video

A soldier recorded the maintenance call with the a laptop camera after previous contractors had broken items and left trash in a barracks room. Fort Gordon officials said it’s under investigation.

An M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank at Bergen-Hohne Training Area, Germany, equipped with Abrams Reactive Armor Tiles and the Trophy Active Protection System, July 10, 2020.
Tanks

What the Army is doing to keep its tanks alive against drones

Armor isn’t enough anymore. The Army wants new tech — from radar jammers to thermal paint — to save its tanks from obsolescence.

Geb Galle
Navy

Pearl Harbor survivor gets letter from top Navy admiral for his 104th birthday

Geb Galle served on the battleship USS Nevada during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and he later saved four sailors from a sinking ship.

(MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Ozzy Osbourne Band, live, Moscow Music Peace Festival 1989 at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, USSR, 12th and 13th August, 1989. Ozzy Osbourne (vocals). (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
Culture

Ozzy Osbourne gave us the closest thing we have to a GWOT anthem

“War Pigs” was aimed at Vietnam but rang through all 20 years of the Global War On Terror, as the war machine just kept turning.

Air Force M18 pistol
Air Force

Air Force Global Strike Command suspends use of M18 pistol after airman’s death

Air Force Global Strike Command has paused using the M18 for training and operations pending investigations into the death of a Security Forces airman.

Car dealer

Buying a car? Here are some great questions to ask before you start

Let NFCU streamline your process, whether online or at the dealership.

Soldiers assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division Downed Aircraft Recovery Team (DART) conduct recovery operations on a simulated downed UH-60 Blackhawk on April 2, 2025. DART teams are responsible for recovering aircraft after they crash or become disabled and can no longer fly. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Vincent Levelev)
Culture

An Army pilot and mechanic switched units for a week. Here’s how that went.

A colonel who did ground convoys early in the Iraq war dreamed up the idea when he returned 22 years later as commander of an aviation unit.

Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, prepare equipment prior to entering “the box” during Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) rotation 25-08 at Fort Johnson, La., June 5, 2025. JRTC training includes live-fire exercises, force-on-force battles and after-action reviews designed to enhance unit performance. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Armani Wilson)
Army

Army blames showers left ‘wet after use’ for mold in barracks

Iowa National Guard soldiers found mold in the barracks they were assigned to during a training rotation prior to a deployment.

Navy enlistment
News

Pentagon updates medical conditions that disqualify new recruits

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a memo that specifies medical conditions that disqualify recruits from joining the military, and others that require a waiver from service secretaries.

West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare (NSW) operators transit and clear a passageway aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25) during nighttime visit, board, search and seizure training while underway in the Pacific Ocean, June 10. NSW provides maritime special operations force capabilities to enable Joint Force lethality and survivability inside denied and contested areas. Somerset is currently underway conducting routine operations in U.S. 3rd Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Evan Diaz)
Navy

Former Navy SEAL accused of being part of CIA plot freed from Venezuela

Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Wilbert Castañeda was released on July 18 after being detained in Venezuela for nearly a year.

PUERTO ALDEA, Chile (September 10, 2024) A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) assigned to Assault Craft Unit 5 departs the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) during an amphibious landing exercise with multinational forces as part of UNITAS LXV, September 10, 2024. UNITAS is the longest-running multinational maritime exercise in the world, focused on enhanced interoperability in maritime and amphibious operations in order to build on existing regional partnerships and to create new relationships that will promote peace, stability, and prosperity. U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet is the maritime component of U.S. Southern Command and the trusted maritime partner for Caribbean, Central and South America maritime forces leading to improved unity, security and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Operations Specialist 2nd Class Trevonte Jasper)
Navy

Complacency led to Navy landing craft collision that injured 36, investigation finds

A head-on collision between two landing craft left three dozen Marines and sailors with broken bones, lacerations, and traumatic brain injuries.

U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, attached to Task Force 51, guard a federal area in Los Angeles, July 4, 2025. U.S. Northern Command is supporting federal agencies by providing military forces to protect federal functions, personnel, and property in the greater Los Angeles area. On June 7, the Secretary of Defense directed USNORTHCOM to establish Task Force 51 to oversee Title 10 forces supporting this mission. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jaye Townsend)
Marine Corps

The Marines are ending their Los Angeles mission

The Pentagon said that the hundreds of Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment will start heading back to base.

Two U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors fly in formation with two Norwegian F-35A Lightning II fighters during an air refueling over Norway, Aug. 15, 2018.
Aircraft

Why NATO is betting big on the F-35

The much-maligned fifth-generation fighter is the aircraft of choice for 14 of the 32 member nations, which might not be a good thing.