Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 23)

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.

Stuart Scheller
Marine Corps

Marine who criticized leaders for Afghanistan withdrawal to head promotions review

The Pentagon’s review of how officers are trained, evaluated, and promoted will be led by former Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller.

A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress flies over Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, during Prairie Vigilance 25-1, April 11, 2025. Bomber generation exercises enhance the readiness and training necessary to deter or respond to any contingency or challenge across the globe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kendra A. Ransum)
Air Force

Air Force B-52 forced passenger plane to make ‘aggressive maneuver’ to avoid collision

"[...]nobody said ‘hey, there’s also a B‑52 in the pattern.’”

Comic book art depicting a panel from the book on Clint Romesha, Medal of Honor recipient. In it he is in combat gear holding his rifle.
Entertainment

Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha gets new comic book highlighting his actions in Afghanistan

The comic, the latest in an ongoing series honoring Army soldiers, illustrates the hours-long Battle of Kamdesh at Combat Outpost Keating in 2009.

Kyle Christopher Benton, in camouflage, holds a rifle while wearing a skull mask.
Army

Army veteran who gave tactical training to Neo Nazis gets two years in prison

Kyle Christopher Benton, who attended “hate rallies,” was sentenced on federal gun charges

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 02: Afghan refugees walk outside a temporary housing facility in Liberty Village on December 2, 2021 in Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. (Photo by Barbara Davidson-Pool/Getty Images)
United States

Two military bases set to house detained migrants

The Pentagon authorized the Department of Homeland Security to hold people in temporary facilities at bases in New Jersey and Indiana.

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, speaks to Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd MAW, after his final flight in command, at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California, June 12, 2024. Marking the occasion as exceptionally meaningful, Borgschulte’s first flight assigned to an operational squadron in 1994 was also at HMLA-169. He now has more than 3,800 career flight hours, including 700 combat hours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and during his time in command of the Marine Corps’ largest aircraft wing, he flew every aircraft platform within the MAW. Borgschulte is slated to relinquish command to Maj. Gen. James B. Wellons on July 2, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Emeline Swyers)
Marine Corps

A Marine general will command the Naval Academy for the first time

A former football player for the school, Marine Lt. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte will replace Navy Vice Admiral Yvette M. Davids as its superintendent. Davids was the first woman to hold the post.

U.S. Army Special Forces, from 7th Special Forces Group, perform an amphibious assault demonstration during the Hyundai Air and Sea Show and U.S. Army SaluteFest, Miami Beach, Fla., May 25, 2024. The events, held throughout Memorial Day Weekend, provided engagement opportunities for visitors from around the world to learn about the people, technology and equipment of the U.S. military. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Justin P. Morelli) (Components of image have been blurred to protect identity of the Soldier)
Army

Army warns special ops veterans in Florida of potential terrorist threat

U.S. Army Special Operations Command has warned of an unspecified terrorist threat against retired senior Defense Department officials who served in Iraq and Syria and now live in Florida.

The Army is rapidly advancing capabilities in the Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program by deploying cutting-edge Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (SUAS) to Trans-formation in Contact (TiC) Brigades. In April, the PEO Aviation, Project Office UAS, responded to an urgent request to deploy Tranche 2 SUAS to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division (Fort Campbell, Kentucky) in support of their rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Johnson, Louisiana. Both the Skydio X10D system and Teal Drones' Black Widow system will support Army TiC Brigades in developing and refining tactics, techniques, and procedures for employing networked reconnaissance and surveillance systems against emerging battlefield threats. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)
News

Expect to see more drones during training under new Pentagon rules

The Pentagon will soon allow local commanders to buy drones and authorize troops to fly them in training exercises, skipping steps that previously required higher-level approval.

Army M240B Machine Gun
Army

The Army wants to replace the M240 medium machine gun

The Army is looking for a new machine gun to replace the M240, which has been in service since the late 70s. Details about the new weapon are scarce.