Task & Purpose. News, culture, and analysis by and for the military community.
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Soldiers remember a leader killed in Kuwait as ‘surrogate dad’
Soldiers and veterans who knew Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan are raising money to ensure dozens from his Iowa-based unit can attend his memorial service.
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Each week on Tuesdays and Fridays our team will bring you analysis of military tech, tactics, and doctrine delivered from a rank-and-file perspective.
More from Task & Purpose
The Reaper just won’t quit: Try as they might, the military can’t ditch the MQ-9
The military is turning the aging drone into an effective system, extending its life with new weapons, boosting its range and electronic warfare capabilities.
VA announces plan to put some veterans in guardianships
Veterans advocates expressed concern that the move could strip veterans of their agency and target those experiencing homelessness.
Navy F-18 that got the US’s first air-to-air kill in the 21st century is taking part in the Iran War
The Super Hornet, assigned to VFA-87 on the USS Gerald R. Ford, got a kill marking for taking out a Syrian Su-22 in 2017.
‘One-in-a-million’ malfunction caused Marine artillery round to explode over highway, report finds
The artillery live-fire demonstration caused California officials to close Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton at the last minute.
VA responds to worries about new focus on ‘telltale signs’ of fraud
VA officials said it will look for patterns that identify fraud, adding that “No veteran’s claim or benefit will be reduced or denied because of this effort.”
All 6 crew members of US KC-135 tanker confirmed dead after crash in Iraq
The crash occurred in “friendly territory” over western Iraq while the troops were flying a combat mission, said Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Air Force engineer found not guilty of cover-up in deadly Marine KC-130 crash
Jurors found James Michael Fisher not guilty of trying to cover up bungled safety investigations that could have prevented the crash.
VA ‘invented new reasons’ to deny GI Bill benefits, lawsuit claims
The lawsuit argues that the VA is using a new, overly restrictive rule that requires veterans to have had a “break in service” to access education benefits from the two main GI Bills.
Why the Army’s new M111 grenade uses blast overpressure instead of fragmentation
The M111 Offensive Hand Grenade is meant to be more effective and reduce the risk of injuring friendly forces when used in confined spaces.
Military families face waves of AI videos meant to sow discord and tug at heartstrings
Fake videos of soldiers grieving over fallen friends and AI-generated combat scenes are reaching families of deployed U.S. troops.
These are the US soldiers killed in Iran’s drone strike in Kuwait
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, has been identified as the sixth Army Reserve soldier killed in the March 1 Iranian drone attack on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
Sailor sports ‘Arrogant Bastard’ beer patch on carrier involved in Iran combat operations
Hated by many, loved by few.
US Apache pilots explain how helicopters are shooting down Iranian drones
The ability of AH-64 attack helicopters to shoot drones out of the sky over the UAE shows a new, air-to-air role for the venerable gunship. And U.S. Apache pilots love it.
It only took 2 weeks for the Iran war to cause a draft scare
It’s very unlikely.
US goes after Iran’s ability to lay sea mines, build drones, top general says
The U.S. military is targeting ships and storage facilities for Iranian sea mines, along with factories that build one-way attack drones.
Hegseth won’t say how long Iran war might last
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that President Donald Trump will decide when Operation Epic Fury’s objectives have been achieved.
Task & Purpose was founded in 2014 to cover the military and veteran community from a rank-and-file perspective, and continues to do so with accurate reporting and great storytelling to this day. Our journalists have reported on the front lines of the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota and the war in Afghanistan. We’ve uncovered American veterans being abused in Kuwaiti prisons, deported veterans being forced to work for Mexican cartels, and drawn national attention to a longstanding legal rule barring service members from suing the government — even in the face of gross negligence.
