News

Sexual assault reports increase again despite Pentagon urging troops to not assault each other
May 13, 2021 4:50 PM
News
US Marine officer arrested for assaulting federal officer at Jan. 6 Capitol riots [Updated]
May 13, 2021 3:12 PM
News
‘Diplomacy failed,’ ‘bye Felicia,’ and 27 other incredible tank names
May 13, 2021 3:05 PM
Mandatory Fun
Review: Why the KA-BAR Mule will always be part of my EDC
May 13, 2021 11:56 AM
Reviews
‘It got stupid’ and the many other reasons troops chose to leave the military
May 13, 2021 11:13 AM
Culture
This photo of Marine recruits on their first day at boot camp is begging for a caption contest
May 13, 2021 10:06 AM
Culture
The Air Force is using virtual reality to teach airmen how to… paint
May 13, 2021 9:12 AM
Military Tech
‘You’re ridiculous!’ — Lawmakers yell at Trump’s last defense secretary during hearing on Jan. 6 Capitol riots
May 12, 2021 4:33 PM
News
The Defense Travel System’s days are numbered. Here’s why it sucks
May 12, 2021 10:27 AM
News
Review: Staying sharp with the Morakniv Garberg
May 12, 2021 9:49 AM
Reviews

Featured in Books

By Feb 25, 2021
Reviews

The best survival books that will make you harder to kill

Take your survival skills from Michael Scott to Hugh Glass (minus the bear incident).
By Feb 18, 2021
Culture

The acclaimed author of ‘The Things They Carried’ tells us what he carried in Vietnam and carries with him still

An M16, letters to a girl, fear, pride, love. He's left some burdens behind in exchange for others.
By Nov 25, 2020
Entertainment

11 of the best military books we read this year

Here's a brief list of some of the best military books we read here at Task & Purpose in the...
By Nov 2, 2020
Mandatory Fun

The iconic Vietnam War novel ‘The Things They Carried’ is getting a film with a star-studded cast

Tom Hardy will embrace his third major military role after Black Hawk Down and Dunkirk as he leads an ensemble...
By Oct 21, 2020
Mandatory Fun

‘Starship Troopers’ is off the Marine commandant’s reading list, but ‘White Donkey’ by Terminal Lance is in

There are so many good f--king books in here.
By Oct 2, 2020
Mandatory Fun

An Iraq War veteran has delivered a ‘beautiful, violent and almost perfect’ new novel about the American military machine

'Missionaries' is horrifying and refreshing, challenging us to reflect not just on the destruction of our own national institutions but...
By Sep 22, 2020
News

A new memoir follows a Night Stalker pilot’s epic journey through the War on Terror

"This book is not about the 160th or me, they are stories about our tribe, trials, and tribulations on and...
By Sep 22, 2020
News

A new memoir follows a Night Stalker pilot’s epic journey through the War on Terror

"This book is not about the 160th or me, they are stories about our tribe, trials, and tribulations on and...
By Jul 29, 2020
History

The lies and mistakes that led the US into Iraq, laid out in a new book

President George W. Bush launched a ruinous war in Iraq based on an intelligence failure that saw the CIA, Pentagon...
By Jun 21, 2020
Entertainment

A Navy’s SEAL’s list of post-apocalyptic novels that should be movies

All five of these books could do with a modern-day cinematic treatment, on either the big screen or small.
By Feb 19, 2020
popular

For years he sold the military’s version of the Iraq War. Now he’s on a mission to convey ‘the chaos and absurdity of that experience’

​With his new memoir, "Attention Servicemember" Army veteran and former conflict photographer Ben Brody shows war the way he saw...
By Oct 18, 2019
popular

Good Boyfriend Cory Booker read a WWII novel to Rosario Dawson over the phone and I’m here for it

Boyfriends can do some really weird shit, but this...this is adorable
By May 28, 2019
popular

13 titles for James Mattis’s upcoming book that are better than ‘Call Sign Chaos’

Former defense secretary James Mattis plans on dropping a book in July, and we couldn't be more excited
By May 4, 2019
popular

Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter is coming out with a book he says ‘will truly help people’

Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter announced a new book on Thursday that he believes "will truly help people" when...
By Mar 22, 2019
popular

The man behind ‘Lt. Dan’ is all patriotism, no politics

Gary Sinise just published a new memoir called Grateful American, and it's every bit as modest as anyone who has...
By Jan 16, 2019
popular

A New Book Reveals The Secret Plot To Assassinate George Washington

had a small group of pro-British conspirators had their way, the American Revolution might have lost its essential leader —...
By Jan 11, 2019
The Long March

3 Tips On How To Make It Through A Serious History Book

3 Tips On How To Make It Through A Serious History Book
By Dec 4, 2018
The Long March

An Insurgency Reading List From Max Brooks, Author Of ‘World War Z’

Too often the impulse when going through a reading list is to critique it, and point out the holes. I’ve...
By Nov 12, 2018
The Long March

5 New Military History Books Worth Reading

Yesterday the New York Times Book Review ran my new survey of books about military history. Here are some highlights:...
By Oct 17, 2018
The Long March

The Guantanamo Mystery Novel That Captures Military Life Between The Cold War And 9/11

How does the old joke go? “Nostalgia is heroin for the middle class.” Which explains why recent war-related fiction and...
By Oct 3, 2018
The Long March

What Should Foreign Countries Read About How To Work With The US Military?

Here's a pretty damn good pre-deployment reading list from an Australian Defence Force officer. I hadn’t heard of this one, which...
By Oct 1, 2018
The Long March

5 Little-Known Facts About Washington And That Winter In Valley Forge

2. George Washington was fighting a two-front war — against the British and his own Continental Congress 1. Valley Forge was not...
By Sep 26, 2018
Code Red News

Mattis: This Is The One Book Every American Should Read

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis thinks every American should read Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius. After giving a speech to cadets at the...
By Sep 25, 2018
History

‘On Desperate Ground’ Explores One Of The Greatest Battles Of The Korean War

On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle by Hampton Sides, Doubleday, 416 pages The...
By Sep 19, 2018
History

How A Failure Of Decision-Making Put The US On A Road To Disaster In Vietnam

The first step in avoiding future quagmires is to acknowledge the hazards of high-level decision-making. Fiercely ambitious and self-confident people,...