Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 47)

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Jendrzejewski, middle, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing command chief, dons an Explosive Ordnance Disposal bomb suit with the help of Staff Sgt. Joshua McCoy, left, and Staff Sgt. David Knapp, both 386th Civil Engineering Squadron EOD team members, within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 29, 2025. An EOD bomb suit can weigh over 80 pounds, but leaves the hands exposed because of the requirement for maximum dexterity, precision and sensitive handling. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Timothy Leddick)
Air Force

Air Force rolls out age- and sex-neutral fitness test for EOD techs

All Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD, troops will be held to a new, four-event physical fitness test in August with gender-neutral scoring.

U.S. Army Spc. Luke Tilley, a shower and laundry specialist from the 1225th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 464th Quartermaster Company, Michigan Army National Guard, process laundry from service members in the field during Exercise Northern Strike 24-2 at Camp Grayling, Michigan, Aug. 10, 2024. Northern Strike 24-2, one of the Department of Defense's largest reserve component readiness exercises, is scheduled to take place at Michigan's National All Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) from August 3-17, 2024. Over 6,300 participants from 32 states and territories and several international participants will converge at the NADWC. Northern Strike is the premier reserve component training event designed to build readiness with joint and partner forces in all domains of warfare. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Scott Thompson)
Army

Army bids farewell to laundry specialists

Goodbye, you sudsy soldiers who waged a war against grime, grit and cammies starched with sweat. Wherever you went, better hygiene and higher morale followed.

Airmen from the 109th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, tune a receiver at the start of Resolute Space 2025 on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 8, 2025. Nested under the 2025 Department of the Air Force exercise series, Resolute Space 2025 demonstrates the Space Force’s preparedness for complex, large-scale military operations by exercising our ability to operate in a contested, dynamic environment against high-end threats on short notice across the service and with joint and international partners. (U.S. Space Force photo by Lt. Col. Victoria Hight)
Space Force

Space Force is training for ‘orbital warfare’ in its largest exercise yet

Hundreds of Guardians are taking part in the Space Force’s Resolute Space 25, meant to test readiness for space-based combat.

A man fishes in front of the Russian Navy Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier moored off the coast of the town of Limassol, in the Meditteranean island of Cyprus on February 27, 2014. AFP PHOTO / YIANNIS KOURTOGLOU (Photo credit should read Yiannis Kourtoglou/AFP via Getty Images)
Europe

Russia might finally be done with its perpetually broken aircraft carrier

The Admiral Kuznetsov, the seemingly cursed “ship of shame,” could be scrapped soon, after a troubled service. 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem awards Petty Officer 3rd Class Scott Ruskan, aviation survival technician, with the Coast Guard Distinguished Flying Cross Medal, July 11, 2025, in Kerrville Texas. Ruskan earned the award for his extraordinary heroism and rescue of over 165 people in the wake of the devastating flash flooding near Kerrville. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Hillard)
Coast Guard

Coast Guard rescue crew awarded Distinguish Flying Crosses, Air Medals for actions in Texas

The team aboard Rescue 6553 saved nearly 200 people trapped by the deadly flood this past week.

The CV90 is a great vehicle, so why doesn’t the US buy it?
Vehicles

The CV90 is a great vehicle, so why doesn’t the US buy it?

Foreign weapons like the CV90 are ready, able, and affordable, but U.S. policy and Pentagon preferences keep us from buying them.

Underwater footage showing the anchor from the sunken bow of the USS New Orleans
World War II

Missing bow of World War II cruiser found after 83 years

The USS New Orleans took heavy damage off of Guadalcanal. It avoided sinking thanks to the brave sacrifices of three sailors and then a clever use of coconut trees.

Air Force officers inspect the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar in January 2016.
Iran

More damage sustained than previously revealed in Iran missile attack on Qatar base

Pentagon officials had not previously acknowledged any damage at the base from an Iranian missile attack and had said that U.S. forces there "successfully defended against the attack."

Retired lieutenant colonel pleads guilty in Ukrainian ‘honeypot’ spy case
United States

Retired lieutenant colonel pleads guilty in Ukrainian ‘honeypot’ spy case

David Slater worked as a civilian Air Force employee at U.S. Strategic Command where he attended top secret meetings on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Army repairs
Army

The Army and Navy want the ‘right to repair’ their own equipment

Service members can often not fix a variety of equipment because of terms in the warranty under which it is used, or when defense contractors retain the intellectual property rights to the gear.

The Air Force updated uniform rules to require all combat boots to be between 8 and 12 inches tall. Above, Tech Sgt. Erick Sowinski, 911th Security Forces, practices a rope climb at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania, May 1, 2021.
Air Force

Air Force updates uniform standards including new rules for boots

Shorter, sneaker-style boots are out, as are eyelash extensions. All officers will now have to maintain a set of OCPs, even if they rarely wear them on the job, like pilots.

A Pentagon inspector general found that an Air Force colonel illegally restricted an Army Major from contacting a member of Congress over contaminated water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii.
Navy

Toxic water on base made her family sick. Then her command tried to silence her.

“Had I remained silent, I would have been a lieutenant colonel two years ago,” Maj. Amanda Feindt said. A watchdog found that her senior rater restricted her speech during the Red Hill water crisis.

Medical Marijuana For Veterans
News

Legislation would allow VA doctors to talk to veteran patients about medicinal cannabis

Florida Congressman Brian Mast has introduced legislation that would allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to discuss medical marijuana with patients in states where it is legal.

coast guard draws sky penis
Coast Guard

Coast Guard ‘looking into’ aircrew that drew remarkably detailed genitals in the sky

It happens every now and then, and it may have happened again Monday. A military aircrew on a long flight appears to have passed the time by sketching genitals across the sky.

U.S., Canadian, and Netherlands ships steam in formation during exercise Atlantic Alliance 2025, July 4, 2025.
Navy

The Navy wants more ships, but can it get them built?

The Navy wants to order more ships than it has in decades. But with aging shipyards and program delays, is that realistic?

U.S. Paratroopers assigned to Chaos Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, fire an M777A2 during a live fire exercise following a heavy drop airborne operation at Grafenwoehr, Germany, Oct. 05, 2023. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility. (U.S. Army photo by Kevin Sterling Payne)
Army

Army lays out policy to search deceased soldiers’ phones for classified info

The policy was issued to “keep up with the pace” of evolving technology and the “understanding that these devices have capability to transfer sensitive information.”

(From left) Col. Paul Lashley, Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Van Epps, and Col. Stephen Walker stand in front of the 75th Field Artillery Brigade formation ready to conduct the 75th Field Artillery Brigade Change of Command and Responsibility Ceremony June 26, 2025 at the Fort Sill Old Post Quadrangle. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Erick Schneider-Cuevas)
Army

Army will look for false accusations, consider ‘credibility’ in misconduct cases

New rules will send misconduct complaints to a “credibility assessment” before a full investigation is launched, and removes negative flags from personnel records during investigations.

The painting, “Operation Phantom Fury — Fallujah 2004,” is intended to capture the uncertainty of urban combat.
Marine Corps

A Marine veteran recreated a hell house from the Battle of Fallujah on canvas

Kristopher Battles interviewed veterans of Operation Phantom Fury to capture their experiences in his painting of house-to-house combat in Fallujah.

U.S. Army Spc. Christian Giraldo rides a horse during a demonstration at Fort Hood.
Army

The Army has realized that horses are no longer good for ‘warfighting’

Most of the Army’s horses, donkeys and mules are being donated “to align more resources with warfighting capability and readiness.”

Texas flooding
News

Veterans disaster relief group rushes to Texas after floods

Team Rubicon, a veterans-led disaster response organization, has volunteers in Texas assessing the damage from flooding as it plans its response.