Military Times

Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, issued a sole-source contract to Teamworks Tactical Solutions, the maker of a nutrition app.According to the statement of work, the app will provide dietitian services to SOCOM troops by coordinating with dining halls to develop meal plans that “optimize human performance and lethality.”The platform will connect a team of up to 55 performance dietitians to provide “personalized, mission-specific nutrition plans” for more than 18,000 tactical troops across ge

President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to 32% — the lowest of his political career — as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living amid the unpopular Iran war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.The poll, completed on Sunday, was conducted over a four-day period that saw Trump throw three major news organizations out of the White House and muse that Washington’s iconic Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — named after slain President John F. Kennedy — could be torn

About six months after rolling out a tougher, more combat-centric, entry-level U.S. Air Force training program, leaders of the change say they have one big concern: that follow-on training will let trainees’ new skill sets go to waste. Col. Kellie Courtland, commander of the 37th Training Wing out of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, said the Air Force’s Basic Military Training Next’s evolution, now in version BMT 3.0, is turning fledgling airmen into strategists by orienting them to the fight ea

A Nevada Air Force Base was picked to house General Atomics’ FQ-42, a week after the U.S. Air Force dubbed the Collaborative Combat Aircraft as Vengeance.On Friday, a new FQ-42 Vengeance aircraft was delivered to Creech Air Force Base, according to a Monday company release, and will continue regular test and evaluation operations to experiment with the new jet.“Every week, the Air Force is pushing forward with new and more impressive accomplishments using Vengeance. It’s amazing to think of how

The U.S. Air Force is on track to graduate 1,500 new pilots in fiscal 2026 after a year of modernizing the service’s flight-training model.The Air Force began a new initiative in 2025 called the Future of Undergraduate Pilot Training, shifting flight training from traditional military pilot training to civilian flight schools. The ability to add 1,500 pilots this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, confirms the validity of the FUPT to bridge the gap of the service’s 2,407-pilot shortfall, accordin

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and Carrier Strike Group 3 pulled into Guam on Saturday for a short logistics stop, officially marking the 10th month of its deployment.The Lincoln left Naval Station North Island in San Diego, California, on Nov. 21, 2025, and joined U.S. Naval forces in the Middle East to support combat operations during the Iran war. “The stop on Naval Base Guam marks CSG-3 personnel’s first return to American soil in nine months, during which personnel wi

Air Force Maj. Jason Watson asserted that “discomfort is not contempt” in an unsworn statement at his Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 32 hearing, as his defense argued for the case to be referred to a special court-martial.In his first statement since being charged with 10 specifications under three UCMJ articles, Watson shared that his oath to the Constitution made him act, saying that it was nonpartisan and he would’ve protested any office that violated the law.Chris Mutimer, Watson’s

Twenty-six days after the Pentagon’s deadline for defense companies to propose faster weapons production, the Defense Department has not publicly disclosed how many companies responded or what production timelines they offered.Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg gave industry leaders until Aug. 26 to submit plans for “significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities,” according to his Aug. 5 memo.Feinberg directed companies to ide

The United States is watching China’s presence in its Arctic zone “very closely” amid concerns regarding the security of the U.S. homeland, a senior U.S. Arctic military official said.So far in 2026, four Chinese research vessels have conducted work offshore in the U.S. Arctic, compared to a total of five in 2025, Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic District, told Reuters.The Chinese ships sailed in the maritime zones off the U.S. state of Alaska, including the Aleut

The Army is throwing its weight behind new and emerging construction methods to cut building costs by 30%, according to a recent memo obtained by Army Times. But it’s also halving building lifespans, with a plan that calls for new builds to last just 25 years instead of the traditional 50.The memo, published July 31 and signed by W. Jordan Gillis, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, directs “the adoption of installation resilience through Industrialized Con

After overseeing a purge of Pentagon advisory committees last year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is adding a new one to the list, focused on homeland security and defense.Announced in the Federal Register Sept. 11, the Homeland Defense Board aims to fill a gap Hegseth sees in providing military guidance to homeland security missions.“The specific, integrated advice required by the SecWar regarding the military’s mission of defense of the Homeland and Homeland security cooperation is not availa

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the triumphal arch he plans to build near Arlington National Cemetery in Washington would double as a “military complex” housing drones and snipers, as well as storing large quantities of ammunition.The president cited national security concerns for the move, echoing the rationale offered for the roughly $400 million ballroom complex being built on the site of the White House’s former East Wing, which was demolished to make way for the project. He

The Department of Defense on Thursday released clinical guidelines for testing and treating low testosterone in male service members.The initiative, first announced in a July memo by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is part of the agency’s Warfighter Performance Optimization program, which Hegseth announced in May.On Sept. 3, the Pentagon temporarily rescinded its published clinical guidance for a new, mandatory testosterone-deficiency screening policy, with an official telling Reuters, “The draf

The Army has identified the soldier killed during a rollover incident Monday at Fort Hood, Texas.Pfc. Ethan Brewer, a 20-year-old from Apex, North Carolina, was killed and another soldier injured during a training exercise, which involved a Humvee modified to perform medical evacuations. The injured soldier has since been released from the hospital, according to a Fort Hood release. Brewer, who entered the Army in 2025 as a medic, was assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is seeking to exhume and identify the remains of the Korean War service member buried as one of the Unknowns next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. The reason: advances in DNA technology. During a Sept. 1 webinar, Kelly McKeague, the director of the DPAA, told Stars and Stripes that “We will petition Arlington National Cemetery to disinter the remains at the Tomb of the Unknown simply because the probability is high that we w

The U.S. Coast Guard is taking steps to address sexual assault in the ranks but continues to fall short in implementing its plans and reporting to Congress — shortcomings that hamper the “long-term cultural and procedural changes” needed to address the problem, a federal watchdog has warned.The Government Accountability Office released a two-page brief Friday criticizing the service for failing to provide timely updates to Congress on sexual assaults as well as some information that is required

Soldiers in units participating in the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness program returned to duty faster after musculoskeletal injuries than troops not involved in the program, according to a study published this week.The study found that soldiers in brigades with the program spent 5.9% less time on limited duty after an injury.The Army started implementing the fitness program — which is in some ways similar to methods used in other high-level athletics — in 2021. More than 50 brigades were sch

The Army issued a policy on Friday to promote some noncommissioned officers who complete drill sergeant and recruiting courses. Sergeants who complete the Army Recruiting Course or Drill Sergeant Course will be promoted to staff sergeant. Sergeants serving in drill sergeant positions who meet promotion requirements will also be promoted, effective Sept. 10. The Army said the policy was intended to acknowledge the noncommissioned officers’ part in building the enlisted force. “Drill sergeants are

The system designed to assist sailors’ mental health aboard deployed U.S. Navy aircraft carriers is unable to meet the demand of prolonged combat deployments, according to current and former military personnel.Sailors and U.S. Navy mental health professionals told Military Times that long wait times to see a provider, along with an insurmountable caseload for therapists and misguided treatment, stressed a system that was never built to handle the mental toll of extended military operations in co

The U.S. Department of State said on Thursday it had approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom is drawn deeper into war in the Middle East.A sale would mark a significant policy shift from the U.S., potentially altering the balance of military power in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining its ally Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal for the jets in early 2025 to