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A Grasshopper autonomous aerial resupply vehicle arrives at a landing zone during Exercise Trojan Footprint 26 near Krivolak, North Macedonia, May 18, 2026. Trojan Footprint is a key biennial training event, focused on posturing Allies to deter aggression and defend regional security through joint and multinational cooperation. The Grasshopper system is an aerial platform designed to expand long-range, low-cost, precision sustainment in contested environments. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Capt. Christopher Booker)
Drones

Green Berets tested glider drones for supply drops during a massive special operations exercise

Special Forces used expendable gliders to ferry supplies to units on the ground during the large-scale Trojan Footprint exercise in eastern Europe this month.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during Operation Epic Fury, March 29, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
Iran

US forces strike Iranian boats, launch sites in Bandar Abbas

Central Command said that the attacks were done in self defense in response to “threats posed by Iranian forces.”

ALBANY, NY - MAY 20: The Grand Union flag covers a casket containing the remains of a Revolutionary War soldier during a dignified transfer from the State Museum to be taken by motorcade to Lake George Battlefield Park on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Albany, N.Y. Forty-four people believed to have been associated with the Continental Army were taken by motorcade to be buried at the Lake George Battlefield Park. (Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
Past Conflicts

Dozens of Revolutionary War soldiers laid to rest after 250 years

The remains of 44 people from the Continental Army were found in 2019. This past weekend they were buried with full honors.

Military Police members with 89th Military Police, Fort Hood, Texas, receive a convoy brief June 4, 2018. They were assisting 504th Military Intelligence Brigade to complete a mission during a field training exercise. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Melissa N. Lessard)
News

One dead, others wounded in shooting at Fort Hood recreation area

Gunfire broke out after military police responded to a fight, with MPs getting into a firefight Saturday night.

A US Marines MV-22B Osprey aircraft flies over the city on its way to the US Embassy, in Caracas, on May 23, 2026, during an air evacuation drill. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images)
Marine Corps

Marines stage mock evacuation at Venezuela embassy

Four months after U.S. troops invaded Caracas to capture Nicolás Maduro , U.S. forces again flew over the city.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Gregory K. Anderson, commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps, conducts the oath of enlistment for 64 future U.S. Soldiers during the 85th National Airborne Day celebration at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, Fayetteville, N.C., Aug. 16, 2025. This event commemorated paratroopers past and present, celebrating 85 years of U.S. airborne history with events at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum (ASOM).
Enlisting

Army reaches its recruiting goal several months early

61,500 new recruits have signed contracts, the Army announced on Saturday.

The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz sails on Panama Bay, in Panama City on March 30, 2026. The ship reached the country alongside the guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), as part of the multinational maritime cooperation exercises "Mares del Sur 2026." (Photo by HUGE PERALTA / AFP via Getty Images)
Navy

Nimitz carrier group arrives in Caribbean amid Cuba tensions

The longest-serving carrier joins several other warships still operating in Latin American waters.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Scott, assigned to 7th Army Training Command, observes candidates moving through a trench during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa European Best Sniper Team Competition in the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Nov. 20, 2025. The USAREUR-AF EBST Competition held annually at 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area builds military readiness through realistic and challenging training scenarios, fosters military partnership and esprit des corps, and promotes NATO interoperability with Allied and Partner nations. (U.S. Army photo by Markus Rauchenberger)
News

Unaccredited VA claims company charged veteran $21,000 in violation of federal law, judge rules

A North Carolina judge ruled that Veterans Guardian VA Claim Consulting, LLC, acted as an accredited agent, even though it wasn’t.

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Air Force

Security Forces airman becomes first Air Force graduate of Army’s revived jungle school

Once known as the “Green Hell,” the 18-day course reopened last October on the eastern end of the Panama Canal.

U.S. Marines with Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct fast rope training aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, April 14, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
News

Most military branches don’t ‘fully’ check if suicide prevention training works, watchdog finds

The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps generally do not track or evaluate suicide prevention training effectiveness. The Air Force tracks data and has an evaluation plan, but there are gaps.

Mace Veit, a private first class in the Nevada National Guard, graduated four prestigious Army school since January: Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault and Pathfinder.
Army

19-year-old soldier completes Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault and Pathfinder schools

On top of that, he passed all of Ranger School’s notoriously taxing phases on his first try.

U.S. Army Spc. Riley Bowling, a mortarman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, conducts security measures around her Scorpion Light Mobile Mortar System during a counter landing life-fire exercise as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026 in Laoag City, Philippines, May 3, 2026. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military that represents the strength of our alliance, improves our capable combined force, and demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Hunter Carpenter)
Artillery

This GPS-guided mortar system is meant to automate the call for fire

The Scorpion Light 81mm mobile mortar system allows crews to digitally enter data needed to hit targets and automatically moves the tube into firing position.

The Polaris MRZR Alpha 6x6 is designed to fit inside transports like the MV-22B Osprey, allowing it to be transported to places other vehicles can't reach.
Vehicles

This 6-wheeled dune-buggy could be how troops get resupplied in the future

The Polaris MRZR Alpha 6×6 is designed to be able to carry vital supplies, be fitted with weapons, and medically evacuate wounded troops.

A photo of Anduril's EagleEye system.
Tech & Tactics

The battery for this next-gen headset is built into the ballistic plate

The EagleEye headset from Anduril is aims to give real-life soldiers access to a HUD akin to those seen by gamers in first-person shooters.

A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, operates a drone during a simulated raid exercise as part of the Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise at the Tier 1 Group compound near Memphis, Tennessee, Jan. 16, 2025. MEUEX is the 22nd MEU's first large-scale exercise as a composited Marine Air-Ground Task Force, focusing on split operations with consolidated command and control to enhance readiness for its upcoming deployment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tanner Bernat)
Tactics

AI in special operations will always have ‘a human in the loop,’ top officer says

“There’s no doubt that [AI is] changing and impacting and making us more efficient in many ways, but we have to also have a bit of a reality check,” said the head of U.S. Special Operations Command.

Maj. (Dr.) Erika Page receives the Hero of Military Medicine Award from Brig. Gen. Lance Raney (left), U.S. Army deputy surgeon general, and Joseph Caravalho, president and chief executive officer of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, May 7 at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The annual Heroes of Military Medicine awards recognize outstanding contributions by senior leaders, medical professionals, and civilians working in the Department of War.
Army

Doctor recalls treating dozens after Tower 22 drone attack

After treating more than 70 patients in the hours after the attack, the Army National Guard major pushed for Purple Hearts for many of the soldiers who suffered TBIs.

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Tech & Tactics

A US marine from Regimental Combat Team-8 walks between accommodation tents at Forward Operating Base Delaram in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on April 4, 2011. Around 140,000 foreign troops are deployed in Afghanistan within the UN-mandated, NATO-led, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the US-led coalition Operation Enduring Freedom, which overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. AFP PHOTO/Peter PARKS (Photo credit should read PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)
Drones

Drones could mean the end of sprawling bases seen during Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Training

Special operators need to be ‘lethal but also technically fluent,’ commander says

Aircraft

Air Force now has 18 of its new Skyraider II ‘Swiss Army Knife’ aircraft, official says

Tactics

SOCOM wants to move fast on new tech: ‘We’re not building aircraft carriers here’

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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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