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Marine Corps sets timelines for responding to missing personnel
Within three hours of a Marine not showing up for work, units are directed to make “reasonable” efforts to contact them and begin checking in with local police, hospitals and clinics.
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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.
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Specialist and sergeant win Best Ranger competition for first time in nearly 40 years
“We had each other’s back, and knew that when one of us was in trouble, the other was there to carry the load.”
The Iran war took a toll on the Air Force’s Reaper fleet
The service has lost at least 35 Reaper drones in combat and aircraft accidents over the last few years, according to news reports and Air Force investigations.
What we know about the US military’s blockade of Iran
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” according to U.S. Central Command.
World War II B-17 gunner awarded France’s highest military honor
Phillip Bruce Cook, 100, took part in some of the most dangerous bombing missions over Europe.
Man arrested after climbing up on and damaging an Air Force C-130 in Ireland
A man climbed onto the transport plane while it was parked at Shannon Airport and hit it repeatedly with a tool before being stopped.
USS Stockdale flies shaken, not stirred battle flag
The USS Stockdale returned to port flying its “007” battle flag in honor of its namesake, Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale.
Two destroyers cross Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine clearance mission
The USS Frank E. Petersen and USS Michael Murphy sailed into the Persian Gulf to start preparations for sweeping the waterway for explosives.
More than 300 Hawaii National Guard troops activated as a third storm hits the state
Last month’s storms saw thousands evacuated in flooded parts of Oahu, with military units carrying out extensive search and rescue efforts.
Navy divers, ship recover Artemis II crew after splashdown
Specialized medical divers made first contact with the astronauts of Artemis II after their spaceship returned to Earth on Friday.
The Army is testing out a robotic kitchen that can cook for soldiers downrange
The Army is testing out an automated kitchen that basically amounts to a chef-in-a-box.
A 2023 special ops exercise in Wyoming was a preview of the Iran rescue mission
In 2023, special ops cargo planes delivered commandos and folded helicopters to a Wyoming airstrip in search of a “missing pilot” — the same tactics behind the rescue in Iran.
Air Force names 2 bases that could host nuclear ‘microreactors’
Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, and Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, could have on-site nuclear microreactors by 2030.
Reserve officer in fight with Army for owning marijuana dispensary
“Being involved in some sort of commercial enterprise in my state — that maybe some still find morally reprehensible — is still legal in my state, and I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Air Force offers up to $50,000 annual bonuses to keep aviators in the service
Eligible aviators can receive up to $50,000 a year for a maximum of 12 years, or $600,000 total, to stay in the Air Force.
A boom operator on an Air Force tanker earned two DFCs for combat flights
Staff Sgt. Gabrielle Stallings was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross with a “V” device and a second with a “C” in a rare double-award of the military’s top aviation medal.
US troops downed ‘2 million’ energy drinks during Iran war, top general says
Troops in Epic Fury did some epic chugging of nearly a million gallons of coffee and two million energy drinks. “I am not saying that we have a problem,” said Gen. Dan Caine.
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.
