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Task & Purpose. News, culture, and analysis by and for the military community.

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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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Airman Mia Marquez, 802nd Security Forces Ssquadron installation access controller, fires an M18 handgun at paper targets while U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Justin Hains, 802nd Security Forces Squadron noncommissioned-officer-in-charge of training, observes the firing range while during sustainment firing training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, April 9, 2024. Students participate in this training to better understand the weapons systems while also completing drills that require different firing positions to maintain proficiency and develop their firearms skills. (U.S. Air Force photo by Brian Boisvert)
Air Force

Air Force plans to keep its M18 pistols

The Air Force’s small arms budget is focused on “older and higher priority weapons,” a service spokesperson said.

Lasers
Army

Army expected to add counter-drone laser weapons to base defenses

If fielded, the Enduring High Energy Laser would protect bases from drones.

The Army is changing its policy for reporting harassment and definitions that govern related behaviors.
Army

Army ends anonymous reporting for harassment complaints

Soldiers will only be able to make “confidential” reports and the Army will aim for more mediation and facilitation instead of full-blown investigations.

Fort Irwin food.
Army

After specialist contacts congressman, Army admits soldiers got ‘sub-optimal’ food

“Due to high employee turnover and staffing shortages, the meal service was sub-optimal for 4th Infantry Division soldiers,” an Army colonel wrote to a member of Congress.

Arkansas Air National Guard airman Ty Bishop completed the service's grueling signal intelligence training course with a perfect 100 percent average, the first in the course's history.
Air Force

New airman records perfect score at a top Air Force intelligence school

Signals intelligence, or SIGINT, is one of the hardest jobs in the Air Force to qualify for. A perfect score in the training course is unprecedented, officials said.

Ribbons stream around the dry dock at the christening of the USS William Charette.
Korean War

Navy christens new destroyer named for corpsman who earned Medal of Honor

The future Navy destroyer honors William Charette, who as a Navy corpsman risked his own safety to protect Marines during brutal combat.

Image: The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS West Virginia (SSBN 736) returns to its homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., following a strategic deterrent patrol. The boat is one of four ballistic-missile submarines stationed at the base and is capable of carrying up to 20 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Katherine Diener)  The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia at port in 2018. Navy photo by Lt. Katherine Diener.
Navy

Navy relieves USS West Virginia submarine commander for ‘loss of confidence’

Cmdr. Joseph Sammur led the submarine’s Blue Crew since August 2025.

U.S. Soldiers from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, position their M1A2 Abrams into a berm fighting position and fire at targets using the main gun, near Boleslawiec, Poland, July 23, 2026.The berm fighting position is a pit that has been dug out in order to sink the tank below ground level leaving only the turret exposed, minimizing the exposed profile by using cover and concealment. U.S. Army V Corps, headquartered in Fort Knox, Kentucky, is the Army’s only forward-deployed corps in Europe, providing command and control of rotational forces in support of NATO allies and partners. V Corps enhances regional security, strengthens interoperability, and supports deterrence efforts across the European theater. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Logan Ubaldo Lechuga)
Culture

We salute the soldiers who named their tank ‘Big Man Blastoise’

The M1A2 Abrams isn’t a water-type Pokémon but the thought counts.

Image: A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber assigned to the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Nov. 15, 2024. The B-52H provides strategic options and flexibility to U.S. and coalition senior leaders with the aircraft's ability to employ a wide range of weapons with precision and deliver a decisive response to adversaries who threaten peace and security across the region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zeeshan Naeem
Air Force

B-52 modernization effort sees delays, rising costs, watchdog finds

A new Government Accountability Office report found “performance challenges” in the program to keep the aging bomber in service through 2050.

A U.S. Army service member, a candidate of Jungle Operation Training Course - Panama, high crawls during the green mile at Aeronaval Base Cristóbal Colón, Panamá, July 2, 2026. U.S. Southern Command is focused on increasing partner nation capacity and interoperability in the region and reflects the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership and solidarity with the Panamanian people. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Carolyn Dodge)
Army

Soldiers can now wear the Jungle tab Army-wide

Soldiers who completed the jungle school in Panama or Hawaii or Jungle Operations Training Center at Fort Sherman in the 1990s are retroactively eligible.

U.S. Marines with Alpha Company, Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry - West, conduct a hike during a Warfighting Field Exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 9, 2026. The WARFEX serves as the culminating event at ITB, evaluating students’ proficiency in decision-making and physical capabilities that will familiarize them with the skills of a Marine Corps Basic Infantryman. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Haley Fourmet Gustavsen)
News

VA to test whether GLP-1s can treat alcohol use disorder

The new Cessation or Reduction of Alcohol Consumption in Veterans trial, or “CRAVE trial,” will see if the popular weight loss drug can curb alcohol use.

U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 214, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing taxi the flight line after arriving at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, March 8, 2025. VMFA-214, an F-35B squadron from MCAS Yuma, Arizona, deployed to augment MAG-12, 1st MAW under the Unit Deployment Program, which provides U.S.-based units with operational experience in the Indo-Pacific. Their arrival marked the start of the Marine Corps’ transition from the F/A-18 Hornet to the F-35 for rotational deployments to the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha Rodriguez)
Marine Corps

Marine Corps F-35B crashes on runway of California base, pilot safe

A Marine Corps F-35B was involved with a Class A mishap in California on Friday. The pilot has been recovered.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Calvinita Alston, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot with the 3rd Battalion, 501st Attack Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) in support of Operation Ardent Vanguard, prepares for air extraction operations near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., July 9, 2026. The operation strengthened air-ground integration by rehearsing the air insertion, tactical employment and extraction of personnel and Infantry Squad Vehicles. U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection within narrowly defined authorities to provide unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border. (Dept. of War photo by Cpl. Mhecaela Watts)
Army

Army offers up to $200,000 in bonuses to keep senior pilots

The Army has overhauled its aviation corps over the last year, cutting thousands of aviation jobs, including junior pilots.

Marines
Marine Corps

Marines to get new anti-drone round for M4 and M27 rifles

The Drone Round 5.56 L Variant cartridge separates into five distinct projectiles after it’s fired. It was built specifically for small drones.

Patriot Missile Launch
Army

It could take the US military 3 years to restock its missile defenses

Experts say it will take years for the U.S. military to replenish the Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missiles that it has used for the Iran war.

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade Combat team board an aircraft to begin the first leg of their deployment in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
News

New rules for troops leaving the military miss mental health obstacles, experts say

A revamp of Pentagon rules for troops leaving the military misses veterans outside the mental health system as they enter a vulnerable year, experts say.

More Stories

The Iran War

Aircraft is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 3, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
Iran

Tracking America’s latest conflict: The Iran war timeline

Iran

Iraq once again becomes a battlefield in the Iran war

Air Force

How ‘Wild Weasel’ missions became essential in the fight with Iran

Iran

The US is in another asymmetric war in the Middle East

SEE MORE

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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