Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 236)

Air Force

An Air Force base’s secret weapon against invasive plants? Sheep

Tactical sheep keep Travis AFB clean and ready.

Guns

Special Operations Command finally found its next-generation personal defense weapon

After five years of searching, U.S. Special Operations Command has settled on Sig Sauer's lightweight PDW.

Air Force

An Air Force general wants to ‘robust’ Guam. What the hell does that mean?

Robustin' makes me feel so good.

Navy

Navy warship named for Medal of Honor recipient who saved fellow sailors from deadly inferno

“He let his actions speak for himself. And I suppose that's why he did what he did."

Air Force

‘There’s an Air Force base here,’ say annoyed cops to people calling 911 about jet noise

“Enjoy the sound of freedom."

Mandatory Fun

No, tattoos in the military don’t count as ‘defacing government property’

Your butterfly tramp stamp isn't hurting anyone but the person sitting behind you.

Army

Army awards WWII veteran medals he earned after 250 days of hellish combat and 78 years

Better late than never.

Navy

Sailors are deserting the Navy at a ‘staggering’ rate

“It is much to the dismay of sailors that mental health awareness is such a low priority in today’s Navy.”

Iraq War

President Bush may find it funny but the Iraq War is no joke

“Laughing it off as a gaffe was the worst part about it.”

Entertainment

No, Hollywood is not required to screw up military uniforms

This is your chance to become a military adviser to Hollywood.

Analysis

Do beards actually break the seal of gas masks?

"They may have anecdotal evidence of 1 to 5 people who they see fail the fit test, but that can’t be extrapolated to hundreds of thousands of airmen.”

Air Force

Leaked Air Force memo teases longer mustaches for airmen

Hairpower!

Air Force

Why the Air Force uses the mother of all swords to honor generals

That is one big ol' sword.

Army

Why the US Army will be ‘vital’ in a fight against China

“Everything that happens, happens on the land … That’s where the problems exist."

Marine Corps

‘My war just kept going’ — How this Marine veteran became the voice of a generation fighting a forever war

Phil Klay writes with passion and clarity on what it means to be a veteran and a citizen.

Army

US troops are going back to Somalia, but not for ‘combat’

“Our forces are not now, nor will they be directly engaged in combat operations.”

World War II

The unlawful detention of Asian Americans during World War II remains disturbingly relevant

When the U.S. entered the WWII, Americans of Japanese descent were targeted for mass imprisonment.

Navy

The Navy is eyeing a drone that can fly for a week without refueling

What comes up can take its sweet time before coming down.

Air Force

The Pentagon can’t explain the ‘spherical object’ in this video

"We want to know what’s out there as much as you want to know what’s out there.”

Navy

The Philadelphia Experiment: The bizarre WWII urban legend about an invisible Navy destroyer

The Office of Naval Research “has never conducted any investigations on invisibility."