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

Reaper
Marine Corps

Marines send Reaper drone unit to South China Sea

The unarmed drones were sent to the Philippines, in support of maritime security patrols over the disputed region.

Two senior men sitting and talking on porch

A Shared Mission: Humana and USAA Join Forces to Support Veterans’ Health As They Age

As more veterans enter retirement, Humana and USAA are collaborating to make healthcare simpler and more personal for those who have served.

ELWOOD, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 07: Members of the Texas National Guard stand guard at an army reserve training facility on October 07, 2025 in Elwood, Illinois. The Trump administration has been threatening for more than a month to send the guard to Illinois to address Chicago's crime problem and to support ICE and CBP during Operation Midway Blitz. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has been outspoken in his opposition to the move, accusing the president of using the guardsmen as political pawns. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
National Guard

National Guard begins drawdown in Portland, Chicago

Approximately 700 National Guard troops will remain in active duty under federal control, but will return to their home states.

CARIBBEAN SEA – U.S. Marines with the Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), enter a board a U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea hHawk helicopter with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 26, Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, during fast rope insertion drills while aboard the U.S. Navy Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), IWOARG, while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Oct. 23, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tanner Bernat)
Marine Corps

Marines begin a week of exercises miles from the Venezuelan coast

Troops from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will be conducting nighttime training operations in Trinidad and Tobago. 

251107-N-UI581-1002 PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Pierre (LCS 38) arrives in Panama City, Fla. ahead of her commissioning ceremony on Nov. 7, 2025. Pierre is the second U.S. Navy ship to bear this name and will be the final Independence-variant LCS to be commissioned in the U.S. Navy. Pierre will be commissioned in Panama City on Nov. 15. (U.S. Navy photo by Eddie Green)
Navy

Navy commissions the USS Pierre, last Independence-class littoral combat ship

The Pierre enters service as the Navy continues to look for new roles for the troubled littoral combat ships.

The US embassy is pictured in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on August 9, 2023. (Photo by RICHARD PIERRIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Marine Corps

Marines got into a shootout with suspected gang members in Haiti

The gunfight started on Nov. 13 after suspected gang members opened fire on Marines guarding the embassy in Port-au-Prince.

dpatop - 13 September 2025, Puerto Rico, Ceiba: A Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey takes off during an exercise at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, a former US Navy base. Puerto Rico belongs to the USA as a foreign territory, but is self-governing and is not a federal state. For many decades, there were several US military bases on the island. Photo: Kendall Torres Cortés/dpa (Photo by Kendall Torres Cortés/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Americas

The US military’s plan to revive old bases in Latin America

Deactivated bases in Panama, Puerto Rico, and potentially Ecuador are coming back to life as the U.S. military builds up forces in the region.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, Air Mobility Command commander, places a nametag on the wall of a facility at Altus Air Force Base (AAFB), Oklahoma, Aug. 25, 2022. Aircrew members occasionally practice the tradition of adding their name tags to the walls of facilities they have visited. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kayla Christenson)
Culture

Air Force greenlights colored T-shirt and callsign name tags on Fridays

So, we're doing pieces of flair now?

B-2 combat mission
Air Force

Air Force publishes photos of B-2 bomber squadron flying ‘to conduct combat missions’

At the time the pictures were taken, the U.S. military was launching air and missile strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Walter Ising, left, and U.S. Marines with Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group, Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center pose for a photo with camouflage gear designed to enhance realism and effectiveness during Service Level Training Exercise 4-25 at MCAGCC, Twentynine Palms, California, July 21, 2025. SLTE provides integrated training across the Marine Air Ground Task Force to improve combat readiness and lethality. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Micah Thompson)
Mandatory Fun

There are 6 Marines hiding in this photo

"I need a volunte— where'd everyone go?"

guess who's back? Santa Claus agreed not to cancel Christmas for the entire US Air Force after officials at two bases gave the go-ahead for residents to decorate their homes.
Air Force

Air Force families given the go-ahead for early Christmas decorations after outcry

Officials with the privatized housing company says its guidelines on when Christmas decorations can be displayed were “never meant to be strictly enforced.”

The football uniforms that West Point's team will wear in the Army-Navy game next month include script that mirrors the Constitution, a white-marble pattern based on headstones in military cemeteries, and a little-known ceremonial weapon.
Army

Here are the Easter Eggs built into West Point’s latest Army-Navy football uniform

A little-known ceremonial weapon is one of several hidden details in the uniforms that will be worn by the U.S. Military Academy in next month's Army-Navy game.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Coronado, a diver assigned to Coast Guard Regional Dive Locker Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, prepares to descend below the surface in the Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii Sep. 26, 2025. Coast Guard Regional Dive Locker Pacific members and a Coast Guard Station Honolulu 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew worked together to inspect and service channel marker buoys in Honolulu harbor, Hawaii. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Robertson)
Coast Guard

Coast Guard looks for another boot camp location as recruitment booms

The Coast Guard is looking for a new recruit training facility that can hold 1,200 recruits and be operational within the next year.

Four F4U Corsair fighter airplanes return from a combat mission over North Korea and circle the aircraft carrier USS Boxer while waiting for the planes in the next strike force to launch from the deck, September 1951. US Navy photo. (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images)
Korean War

That time the Air Force held a Marine hostage for steak

A helicopter rescue crew decided the usual ransom for recovered pilots wasn’t enough. 

The USS Gerald R. Ford sails towards the Caribbean.
Navy

Ford Carrier Strike Group arrives in Latin America

The aircraft carrier and three destroyers join several other ships and a Marine expeditionary unit deployed to the region.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Mason Weasel, a member 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, crosses a rope bridge at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, Panamá, Oct. 27, 2025. U.S. Southern Command is focused on increasing partner nation capacity and interoperability in the region and reflects the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership, and solidarity with the Panamanian people. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Trey Woodard)
Americas

For the first time in decades, Marines and soldiers are back in Panama to train

Welcome back to the jungle.

Marines conduct full military funeral honors with escort for U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Harlan Chapman at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
Marine Corps

Vietnam War pilot and longest-held Marine POW laid to rest at Arlington

Harlan Chapman spent more than seven years in a prison camp during the Vietnam War when he was a Marine captain. On Oct. 20, 2025, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

A U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle and Marines assigned to Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, secure a beach during a simulated amphibious assault at Hwajin-ri, South Korea, Sept. 2, 2024, as part of exercise Ssang Yong 24. Exercise SY24 strengthens the Republic of Korea-U.S. Alliance through bilateral, joint training, contributing toward combined amphibious capability in defense of the Korean Peninsula. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Amelia Kang)
Amphibious Operations

This is how the Marine Corps storms a beach

Amphibious assault is still a core Marine Corps mission, but in 2025, it’s not Higgins boats and flamethrowers.

U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (April 10, 2025) U.S. Sailors handle line aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) during a replenishment-at-sea with the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (TAO-E 8) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
Navy

Sailors can voluntarily extend Navy service as government shutdown continues

Sailors preparing to leave by Dec. 5 can now extend their contracts in order to ensure they can get full separation benefits from the Navy.

U.S. Marines with the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon execute their "long line" sequence during a half-time performance at a Gainesville High School football game during Marine Week Atlanta in Gainesville, Ga., Aug. 29, 2025. The year 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, a milestone that highlights the legacy, transformation and enduring spirit of the Corps since 1775. Throughout the year, Marines across the globe will commemorate this anniversary by honoring the service and sacrifice of those who served before them and by remaining faithful to the motto Semper Fidelis. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christopher Prelle)
Mandatory Fun

All the ways Marines will let you know it’s the Corps’ birthday

Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.