Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 68)

U.S. Marines salute during a formation on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Sept 4, 2012. Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron held the formation to recognize Marines being awarded and promoted.
United States

Military sexual assault rates may be 2-4 times higher than Pentagon says, report finds

The report’s analysis of non-DOD data found that 24% of active-duty women and 1.9% of active-duty men experienced sexual assault over the course of the war in Afghanistan.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Harold 'Ed' Jarrell
Army

Army fires Command Sergeant Major of Fort Belvoir cyber unit

Command Sgt. Maj. Harold “Ed” Jarrell was relieved from the brigade-level unit Tuesday ‘due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead effectively.’

Navy tells aircrews to question ‘inappropriate’ call signs after lewd flight name
Navy

Navy tells aircrews to question ‘inappropriate’ call signs after lewd flight name

One of the Navy's 'Doomsday' planes was assigned an unintentionally lewd call sign for a recent flight by an automated process, officials said. The crew changed it over Texas.

Veteran women roll out the latest edition of the Pin-Ups For Vets calendar
Culture

Veteran women roll out the latest edition of the Pin-Ups For Vets calendar

The calendar features 13 women veterans with 117 years of combined military service across military branches.

Ranger Joe Thach assessing the driver he pulled from a burning car.
Culture

An Army Ranger saved a veteran from burning car, and it’s not his first time

The moment of heroism was the third time Army Ranger Joe Thach has come across a traffic wreck and leaped into action to help.

Roderick Vinson
Army

Army lieutenant colonel with 37 years’ service dies while exercising

Army Lt. Col. Roderick Vinson, 55, died on Aug. 11 while exercising near his home in Sumter, South Carolina.

Sunisa Lee
Culture

Olympic champ Sunisa Lee’s success rings deep in U.S. Hmong community

Gymnast Sunisa Lee, who earned Olympic medals, including two golds, in the last two games, was born and raised in the Minnesota Hmong community, which traces its roots to the Vietnam War.

U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training trainees carry weapons at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on August 2, 2024. Beginning on July 29, 2024, Col. Billy Wilson Jr., 737th Training Group commander, launched a weapons handling initiative. From now on, BMT trainees will carry weapons throughout their 7.5 weeks of training to instill a profession of arms and a warrior mindset into the future Airmen. JBSA-Lackland is home to USAF BMT where enlisted civilians are transformed into capable Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ava Leone)
Air Force

Seeking ‘warfighter mindset,’ Air Force basic trainees now carrying rifles through boot camp

Potential airmen and guardians will be issued the non-functioning rifles after a weapon familiarization course and carry them through the end of basic training.

Burger King Trailer Arrives In Afghanistan For Troops
News

Ditch fast food on base to reduce obesity, says Pentagon’s top senior enlisted leader

Removing fast-food restaurants from bases would cut obesity within the military, said Marine Sergeant Maj. Troy E. Black, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

10th Mountain soldier charged with murder of fellow soldier at Fort Drum
Army

10th Mountain soldier charged with murder of fellow soldier at Fort Drum

Both soldiers were assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Between Two T-Walls
Humor

Commanding general in Iraq and Syria goes ‘Between Two T-Walls’ with Task & Purpose

Army Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell spent a year as the commanding general of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica E. Knapp relieved of duty
Army

Army fires Command Sergeant Major for Military District of Washington

Command Sgt. Major Veronica E. Knapp was relieved on Aug. 8 as a result of an Army 15-6 investigation.

Riley Tejcek
Marine Corps

Marine training for winter Olympics bobsled team while in Iraq

Marine Capt. Riley Tejcek is training to be on the US 2026 winter Olympics Bobsled team while deployed to Iraq.

Combat engineers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division blast through a concrete wall during demolition training at Curry Demo July 17.
Air Force

Military to start cognitive tests for troops exposed to artillery, gunfire and explosions

The Pentagon also released new rules for safe distances troops should be from mortars, howitzers, rifles and breaching explosives.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a significant or extreme emotional or psychological response to a shocking or dangerous or traumatic event.
Military Life

FDA denies MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD treatment

Veterans, members of Congress, and many others advocated for the groundbreaking PTSD treatment, but the FDA declined it saying more research is needed.

Static line and freefall parachute operations require different approaches and skillsets.
Military Life

A guide to all the parachutes that American paratroopers ‘ride to work’

Whether on a special ops jump from 25,000 feet or with hundreds of paratroopers filling the sky, U.S. troops use a wide range of parachutes.

The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group sails through the Pacific Ocean with the Italian Navy's Cavour Carrier Strike Group on Aug. 8, 2024. (photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/U.S. Navy)
Around the World

USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group ordered to ‘accelerate’ to Middle East

The Pentagon ordered the carrier strike group and its fighter squadrons to hurry to the region as the United States prepares for a possible Iranian attack on Israel.

Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore (left) and Sunita "Suni" Williams stand next to a T-38 plane as part of testing for the NASA mission. (photo courtesy NASA)
News

Two NASA astronauts, both Navy veterans, could be stuck in space until 2025

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently on the International Space Station waiting for NASA to resolve issues with the Boeing Starliner.

An Army soldier sleeps while in transport at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany in February 2021. (photo by Sgt. John W. Todd/U.S. Army)
Active Duty

11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade tells soldiers on staff duty to get more sleep

The Fort Bliss-based unit is the latest Army command to issue guidance on the needs of some rest.

Crews dismantle a homeless veterans encampment on San Vincente Boulevard in Los Angeles on Nov. 1, 2021. The encampment was set up outside of the 388-acre West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus. (photo by Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images).
Veterans

VA changes rules, expands housing assistance for disabled veterans

Previously disability compensation pushed unhoused veterans above the income limit to receive federal housing subsidies. Updated rules end that Catch-22.