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Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 78)

Chef Robert Irvine visiting troops overseas.
Culture

Celebrity chef Robert Irvine wants to overhaul Army dining facilities. Will it work?

The Army's ambitious plan to overhaul its dining halls and the food soldiers eat may run into a roadblock: Army culture.

210822-M-TU241-1007 HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Afghanistan (August 22, 2021) A Marine with the 24th Marine Expeditionary unit (MEU) passes out water to evacuees during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 22. U.S. service members are assisting the Department of State with a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) in Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Isaiah Campbell)
Afghanistan

Trump immigration order stops Afghanistan exits, including families of US troops

“They've been vetted through and through and through, and mostly they've been vetted because we gave them guns and they saved our lives," said one Afghan advocate.

Trump Inauguration
News

Key takeaways for troops and vets from Trump’s first day in office

President Donald Trump has promised to deploy U.S. troops to the southern border, reinstate service members separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, and protect troops from “radical political theories and social experiments.”

Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) of the 3rd Marine Division, United States Marine Corps begin to land at Cape Torokina in Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville to attack the Imperial Japanese Army's Seventeenth Army during the Solomon Islands campaign on 1st November 1943 at Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).
Indo-Pacific

Army officers had to write haikus about Pacific theater of World War II during a leadership course

Instructors wanted soldiers to learn how to “simplify and communicate complex ideas” using the Japanese style of poetry.

A circular patch with the U.S. Capitol in the background. A minuteman soldier stands on the foreground.
National Guard

National Guard troops issued special identification patch for Presidential inauguration

The new patch is being issued so people “will know who is who.”

The USS Indianapolis at sea with two smaller boats in front of it.
Navy

The Navy is upgrading littoral combat ships to fight drones

The USS Indianapolis is the first Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be modified to fire Hellfire missiles meant to take out enemy drones and missiles.

A commanding officer stands over another's shoulder, pointing at a screen.
Air Force

Space Force officer who was relieved of command tapped for senior Air Force role

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Matthew Lohmeier for undersecretary of the Department of the Air Force.

Sgt. Manfredo M. Madrigal III, a paratrooper assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, catches his breath after completing a strenuous, 20 km ruck march to earn his Expert Infantryman Badge on Fort Bragg, N.C., Nov. 21, 2014. (82nd Airborne Division photo by Sgt. Eliverto V. Larios/Released)
Army

Army Ranger-turned-lawyer who recorded himself deleting files and lied about Russian contacts gets prison

Manfredo Madrigal also allegedly mocked his ex-girlfriend, who was a witness in the case, as "still a failure" for a negative pregnancy test he discovered after hacking into her phone.

Battalion Commanders Assessment Program
Army

Army program that includes peer reviews ahead of command selection is now permanent

The Army Command Assessment Program, or CAP, involves having selection boards consider peer reviews when deciding if soldiers are ready for command.

Navy EA-18G Growler
The Pentagon Rundown

Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing, enlisted troop pay and other military news

This week brought a blizzard of military news, from Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary confirmation hearing to the top Marine general’s concerns over plans to move Marines to Guam.

Cmdr. Sarah M. Quemada was relieved of command on Jan. 16, 2025.
Navy

Navy fires commanding officer of Naval Information Warfare Training Group Norfolk

Sarah M. Quemada was fired on Thursday “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command.” No specific reason for her relief was given.

Army trainee dies three weeks short of graduating from infantry training at Fort Moore
Army

Army trainee dies three weeks short of graduating from infantry training at Fort Moore

Pfc. McCallaster Foley, 20, from Iowa Falls, Iowa, was pronounced dead after a “non-training-related incident” at Fort Moore.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Joseph Rosamond and his crew.
National Guard

How California National Guard helicopter crews are fighting the LA wildfires

A California National Guard pilot describes how flyers perform a firefighting mission in the battle against Los Angeles’ raging fires.

A soldier deposits funds into a safe in a finance office, Nov. 4, 2013, at Bagram Air Field, Parwan province, Afghanistan. The 101st Financial Management Support Detachment, 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade (Lifeliners), in support of the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater), effectively manages millions of dollars throughout Afghanistan. The 101st Financial Management Support Detachment is a Massachusetts National Guard Unit. (U.S. Army Sgt. Sinthia Rosario, Task Force Lifeliner Public Affairs)
News

Paychecks for junior enlisted troops are better than 90% of civilian peers, report says

A report on military compensation found that average pay across the enlisted and officer corps “continues to compare well” relative to the salaries of civilians with similar education and experience.

Marines on Guam
Marine Corps

Top Marine general says moving Marines from Okinawa to Guam ‘puts us going the wrong way’

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said that plans to move 4,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam will put those forces far from where they are needed.

The front gate sign for Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Army

Army doctor sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for abusing patients

Maj. Michael Stockin, a doctor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, had pleaded guilty last week to abusing patients under the guise of medical exams.

Marine beards
Marine Corps

Top Marine general rules out beards ‘because we’re Marines and we’re different’

"We don’t have beards, and you knew that coming in,” said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith.

Pete Hegseth confirmation
News

Pete Hegseth grilled over leadership experience during defense secretary confirmation hearing

Democratic senators pressed Pete Hegseth on whether his past experience with veterans service groups qualified him to lead the Defense Department.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Little an electrician with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa, applies a tourniquet to a simulated casualty during a combat lifesaver course at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, August 4, 2016. During the four-day course, Marines learned to recognize injuries, perform the appropriate procedures and control the patient to prolong survivability until help arrives. U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa Command support operations, contingencies and security cooperation in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexander Mitchell)
Afghanistan War

This Navy SEAL doctor is a big reason US troops carry tourniquets in combat today

Dr. Frank Butler, a retired Navy SEAL doctor, was honored at the White House for his contributions to modern combat casualty care, which include standardizing tourniquet use across the military.

Stolen Humvees
News

Army recovers 2 of 3 stolen Humvees. Of course, the good one is still missing.

The two not-so-great Humvees have been recovered intact with nothing missing, but the up-armored variant stolen from an Army Reserve Center is still missing.