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Retired lieutenant colonel pleads guilty in Ukrainian ‘honeypot’ spy case

Retired lieutenant colonel pleads guilty in Ukrainian ‘honeypot’ spy case

David Slater worked as a civilian Air Force employee at U.S. Strategic Command where he attended top secret meetings on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Army repairs

The Army and Navy want the ‘right to repair’ their own equipment

Service members can often not fix a variety of equipment because of terms in the warranty under which it is used, or when defense contractors retain the intellectual property rights to the gear.

The Air Force updated uniform rules to require all combat boots to be between 8 and 12 inches tall. Above, Tech Sgt. Erick Sowinski, 911th Security Forces, practices a rope climb at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania, May 1, 2021.

Air Force updates uniform standards including new rules for boots

Shorter, sneaker-style boots are out, as are eyelash extensions. All officers will now have to maintain a set of OCPs, even if they rarely wear them on the job, like pilots.

A Pentagon inspector general found that an Air Force colonel illegally restricted an Army Major from contacting a member of Congress over contaminated water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii.

Toxic water on base made her family sick. Then her command tried to silence her.

“Had I remained silent, I would have been a lieutenant colonel two years ago,” Maj. Amanda Feindt said. A watchdog found that her senior rater restricted her speech during the Red Hill water crisis.

Medical Marijuana For Veterans

Legislation would allow VA doctors to talk to veteran patients about medicinal cannabis

Florida Congressman Brian Mast has introduced legislation that would allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to discuss medical marijuana with patients in states where it is legal.

coast guard draws sky penis

Coast Guard ‘looking into’ aircrew that drew remarkably detailed genitals in the sky

It happens every now and then, and it may have happened again Monday. A military aircrew on a long flight appears to have passed the time by sketching genitals across the sky.

U.S., Canadian, and Netherlands ships steam in formation during exercise Atlantic Alliance 2025, July 4, 2025.

The Navy wants more ships, but can it get them built?

The Navy wants to order more ships than it has in decades. But with aging shipyards and program delays, is that realistic?

U.S. Paratroopers assigned to Chaos Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, fire an M777A2 during a live fire exercise following a heavy drop airborne operation at Grafenwoehr, Germany, Oct. 05, 2023. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility. (U.S. Army photo by Kevin Sterling Payne)

Army lays out policy to search deceased soldiers’ phones for classified info

The policy was issued to “keep up with the pace” of evolving technology and the “understanding that these devices have capability to transfer sensitive information.”

(From left) Col. Paul Lashley, Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Van Epps, and Col. Stephen Walker stand in front of the 75th Field Artillery Brigade formation ready to conduct the 75th Field Artillery Brigade Change of Command and Responsibility Ceremony June 26, 2025 at the Fort Sill Old Post Quadrangle. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Erick Schneider-Cuevas)

Army will look for false accusations, consider ‘credibility’ in misconduct cases

New rules will send misconduct complaints to a “credibility assessment” before a full investigation is launched, and removes negative flags from personnel records during investigations.

The painting, “Operation Phantom Fury — Fallujah 2004,” is intended to capture the uncertainty of urban combat.

A Marine veteran recreated a hell house from the Battle of Fallujah on canvas

Kristopher Battles interviewed veterans of Operation Phantom Fury to capture their experiences in his painting of house-to-house combat in Fallujah.

U.S. Army Spc. Christian Giraldo rides a horse during a demonstration at Fort Hood.

The Army has realized that horses are no longer good for ‘warfighting’

Most of the Army’s horses, donkeys and mules are being donated “to align more resources with warfighting capability and readiness.”

Texas flooding

Veterans disaster relief group rushes to Texas after floods

Team Rubicon, a veterans-led disaster response organization, has volunteers in Texas assessing the damage from flooding as it plans its response.

every marine corps rifle all time

Here is every rifle Marines have used in the last 250 years

The Marine Corps posted a new website that reviews every standard rifle issued to Marines in the service’s 250 year history, from muskets to M4s.

An 8th Air Force B-17 bomber flies over a bombed target in 1943.

The Army Air Forces tried to use remote-controlled bombers as attack drones in World War II

The 8th Air Force converted B-17 bombers into early drones, packed with explosives and intended to use to take out fortified targets.

Pentagon sets up interservice counter-drone task force

Pentagon sets up interservice counter-drone task force

The Army will lead the new group, which will try to coordinate the different service branches’ efforts to develop ways to take out enemy uncrewed vehicles.

Army combat patch

Army authorizes combat patches for soldiers in parts of Africa, the Middle East

Soldiers who deployed in 14 countries between October 2023 and June 2025 are eligible to wear the patches on their uniform sleeves.

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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.

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