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Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 74)

Asian man having a video call via smart phone while holding his baby on his lap. Father working from home. Sharing family responsibilities.

Deciding which savings product is best for you

Investments vs Savings.

Soldiers watch a sunrise during Eager Lion, a multilateral exercise in Jordan, Sept, 13, 2022.
News

If common mental health issues are labeled ‘incompatible’ with service, advocates fear troops will ‘go underground’

Advocates think the language of a recent executive order will have a chilling effect and drive some troops away from seeking the mental health care they need.

Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group receive flood victims arriving at the Big Sandy Regional Airport in Debord, Kentucky, Feb. 17, 2025. The evacuees were airlifted aboard Kentucky and Indiana Army National Guard helicopters from housing complexes in Martin County, Kentucky, that were surrounded by floodwaters. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Kyle Goins)
News

In a single day, National Guard troops in Kentucky airlifted 296 people trapped by floods

Counting this rescue, National Guard personnel and first responders across the state have rescued more than 1,000 people from flooding.

Kevyn Major Howard from the Vietnam War movie Full Metal Jacket
Entertainment

Remembering Full Metal Jacket’s Rafterman, and the actor who brought him to life

Kevyn Major Howard died on Feb. 14 at the age of 69. In addition to appearing in “Full Metal Jacket,” he also founded the non-profit group Fueled by the Fallen for veterans and first responders.

Navy SEAL veteran Robert O'Neill has launched a cannabis company.
Culture

Navy SEAL who shot Bin Laden launches cannabis company

SEAL Team Six meets SEAL Team Spliff.

Syria
Middle East

US strike kills a senior official of an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria

The airstrike in Syria's Idlib province killed a "senior finance and logistics official" from the militant group Hurras al-Din.

Two men in superhero suits, including Sam Wilson's Captain America, run on the deck of a battleship.
Entertainment

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ has the most confusing dogfight in Marvel history

Even after more than a decade, bad guys in the Marvel Cinematic Universe haven't figured out anti-air combat.

Aircraft fly ahead of several aircraft carriers and other ships in a deep blue sea.
Navy

This is what it looks like when you have 3 aircraft carriers from 3 countries at sea

The USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is currently drilling with French and Japanese ships and planes in a show of force projection in the Pacific.

Coast Guard Cutter 2024
Coast Guard

Coast Guard hit with data breach, impacting pay for more than 1,100 members

The Coast Guard Pay and Personnel Center’s Direct Access service is down until Feb. 19 as a result.

VA investigates, veterans affairs employee with El Paso, Texas VA who called veteran and left voicemail that prompted an investigation.
Benefits

A Marine vet thought he found a ‘home’ working at the VA. Now he’s one of 1,000 fired.

Marine veteran Andrew Lennox, who was let go Thursday, said, “I feel like someone from outside of our family is trying to tell us how to run it and telling me I don’t belong, and that’s really angered me.”

U.S. Army Reserve Master Sgt. Larry Sanders, the senior command career counselor for the 7th Mission Support Command, discusses career paths available in the Army Reserve with cadets from the Kaiserslautern High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, part of Veterans' Week. The 7th MSC maintains relationships with area schools and stays involved with extracurricular activities to showcase the Citizen - Soldier lifestyle. The 7th Mission Support Command is the U.S. Army Reserve presence in Europe. Comprised of 26 units across Germany and Italy, the 7th MSC provides logistical and sustainment resources in support of U.S. Army Europe - Africa missions across the theater. For more stories and information on the 7th Mission Support Command, connect on Facebook @7thmsc. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt 1st Class Jessica Forester)
Culture

‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ ‘Kite Runner’ among books being reviewed over ‘ideology’ concerns at on-base military schools

“Without this guidance, you cover your butt but you interpret it how you interpret it,” said one librarian at a Defense Department-run school.

Soldiers engage targets with a pair of high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) during a live fire event in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, May 19, 2023.
The Pentagon Rundown

US drifts away from Ukraine nearly 3 years after Russia’s invasion

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said it is unrealistic for Ukraine to join NATO. The remarks come as Russia continues fighting despite enormous losses while Ukraine faces a manpower shortage.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Meyers (center) began his career in the Army Reserve (left) and completed an enlistment in the Navy Reserve (right).
Military Branches

Soldier, sailor and now airman: This NCO has served in three branches in 12 years

Staff Sgt. Robert Meyers has served in three different military branches, with stints in the Army and the Navy reserves before the Air Force.

USS Harry S. Truman
Navy

Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and merchant vessel collide near Egypt

There are no reports of flooding or injuries aboard the Navy's USS Harry S. Truman after a collision with merchant vessel near Egypt.

An Alaska Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook assigned to 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, operates Feb. 2, 2025, at the Whitehorse airport, Yukon Territory, Canada. The Chinook crew supported the repair of a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk that had rescued two victims of a Jan. 26 ultralight plane crash near Faro, Yukon Territory. (Photo courtesy of Simon Blakesley)
Air Force

Alaska rescue units had a hell of week: 3 planes, 2 countries and 1 stuck helicopter

Units from the Alaska Air National Guard, Army Guard and active duty all pitched in to respond to three plane crashes, an avalanche victim and a long-distance recovery of one of their own helicopters.

Air Force promotions
Air Force

Air Force says delay in test cycle for 35,000 airmen shouldn’t impact promotions

Originally scheduled to take place from Feb. 15 to April 15, the staff sergeant promotion testing cycle will now run from March 3 to May 1.

Students in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL class 279 participate in a surf passage exercise during the first phase of training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Surf passage is one of many physically strenuous exercises that BUD/S class 279 will take part in during the seven weeks of first phase. The Navy SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the sea, air and land.
Navy

Navy SEAL candidates often swim in water with high levels of fecal matter, watchdog finds

Naval Special Warfare Command rarely moves water training events for Navy SEAL candidates despite high levels of fecal indicator bacteria in the ocean, according to the Defense Department Inspector General’s Office.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA - FEBRUARY 29: Images of cells dividing, on the walls at West Coast Fertility Centers, photographed February 29, 2024, in Fountain Valley, CA. (Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/for The Washington Post)
Military Life

Pentagon says it will cover travel costs for military families’ IVF treatments

The Pentagon announced it will cover the costs for military families to travel for in-vitro fertilization treatment, clarifying a previous policy decision.

Fort Bragg
Army

Hegseth indicates that Fort Bragg will not be the last base to be renamed

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that Fort Liberty’s name return to Fort Bragg. He said other changes are coming.

U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircrafts, assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin Air National Guard, being prepared for the morning flight during Sentry Savannah 25-1, at the Air Dominance Center, Savannah Air National Guard Base, Georgia, Jan. 21, 2025. Sentry Savannah is the Air National Guard’s premier fourth- and fifth-generation fighter integration exercise, with this year’s event involving more than 1,000 participants and 56 aircraft from eight flying units. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Xaviera Stevens)
Air Force

Airmen say ‘people first, mission always’ is falling by the wayside in DEI crackdown

Active duty airmen are grappling to understand the end of groups that have improved safety, recruiting and a canceled family conference that had put Narcan on the shelves of base stores.