Read the latest articles from Task & Purpose (Page 84)

Army

Here are the first Army and Marine Corps units heading to the border

Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions and a Stryker brigade from the 4th Infantry Division have been told they are next up.

The Pentagon Rundown

‘This is just the beginning’: Pentagon enters Trump 2.0

The Pentagon sends 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border. The Air Force ends DEI efforts. Troops’ families are stuck in Afghanistan.

Air Force

Army and Air Force sweep out DEI-coded programs

Army officials were instructed to remove diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility communications and trainings. The Air Force shuttered groups that targeted professional barriers faced by Black and Native airmen, women, and others.

Air Force

Cancer rates in military pilots and other aviators could get a closer look

Previous studies military aviators have found higher rates of cancer than the general population. A new bill in Congress would further study what links those jobs with increased risk.

Army

Army recruits hoping for cav scout or armor jobs will have to wait for boot camp

Army recruits hoping for a job in a tank or other mechanized armor will now be assigned during basic training, similar tor recruits in air defense and infantry roles.

Air Force

Air Force planes will fly deportation flights under Trump order

A total of four C-17s and C-130s will be used to fly migrants in detention out of the United States.

Culture

Farewell to the GWOT spitter

As nicotine packets like Zyn rapidly replace dipping tobacco in the ranks, the spitter bottles of GWOT — gross, simple, everywhere — are gone but not forgotten.

Air Force

Two officers were fired for bucking their chain of command. Now they’re going to work at the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump has tapped two former lieutenant colonels, Stuart Scheller and Matthew Lohmeier, for Defense Department positions years after they were relieved of command for publicly criticizing senior military leaders.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.