Task & Purpose

A Marine Corps fighter squadron received a rare Air Force award this month for actions in the Middle East in the spring and summer of 2025. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 542 received the Department of the Air Force’s Gallant Unit Citation for actions between March 15-Oct. 7, 2025, according to an Aug. 19 Marine Administrative Notice on new awards.  The Gallant Unit Citation was created in 2004 to honor “Air Force active duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard units for extraordi

The Acting Secretary of the Navy is advising sailors and Marines to “harden” their online profiles and hide ties to the military, as part of a wider call for Department of the Navy personnel to be “vigilant” against adversaries.  In an Aug. 19 notice to members of the Department of the Navy, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said that hostile actors are carrying out a “coordinated, multi-domain campaign” that includes direct attacks, harassment operations, and the release of personal

The number of U.S. troops wounded in the Iran war passed 750 this week, as the Department of Defense updated its casualty report. Nearly half of those were service members wounded since fighting restarted last month. The Department of Defense’s casualty database was updated this week, showing dozens more troops wounded. The latest figure, as of Friday, Aug. 21, shows 341 service members listed as wounded in action since July 7. The casualty database lists those as part of “Overseas Operations

Seven years after it was established, Space Force has a new, original ceremonial dress uniform. Guardians in the Space Force Honor Guard will debut the new uniform publicly on Sunday, Aug. 23 at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar event in Washington, D.C. For much of its early years, Space Force — including its honor guard — has used modified Air Force uniforms for its service members, as the force worked to establish itself and develop its own identity. Now it has a wholly distinct outfit fo

Reports of food shortages and other serious issues on a major U.S. aircraft carrier have shocked many in the public, even as the Pentagon has rushed to insist sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln are well-supplied. But for the Navy, the situation aboard the Lincoln is larger than just one ship and underscores the strain that attacks on logistics hubs can place on a fleet when supply chains are interrupted. Iranian missile and drone attacks on a major U.S. base in Bahrain and a port in the Un

The United States military hasn’t operated a seaplane, or amphibious flying boat, since the Coast Guard retired the HU-16 Albatross in 1983. For 73 years, this kind of aircraft had been essential for everything from search and rescue to resupply. With the vast expanses of the Pacific theater in mind, an argument can be made that the versatile seaplanes of yesteryear should return to their former glory. United States Pacific Command is made up of over one hundred million square miles of territ

A New York National Guard mobilization that put soldiers into state prisons to work as guards was so expansive that at least a handful of soldiers were airlifted by Black Hawk from a baseball field in the Bronx to report for duty at a small prison 250 miles away. The flight was part of a strikingly large-scale mobilization that tapped thousands of New York National Guardsmen to work as replacement prison guards in 42 of the state’s 45 prisons last year, according to a 2025 annual report on th

A small number of gamblers have made $8 million placing military and defense-related bets on the Polymarket prediction site, most placed by about 150 accounts that almost always bet correctly. The researchers say they suspect the accounts are linked to military insiders who could be flagged for law enforcement as “the most likely potential insiders,” researchers said in a new report. When the most successful of those accounts bet on unlikely military events, researchers found, they won virtua

The crew of a malfunctioning MQ-9A drone worked for more than 7 minutes last August to keep their stricken aircraft aloft, but a damaged wire in the fuel system had irreversibly killed its newly installed engine, dooming the $23 million drone after a day-long mission in the Middle East. Flying from a base in South Dakota, the Reaper’s pilot guided the powerless drone for nearly 10 minutes before making a “forced landing” that buckled the landing gear. Rather than recover the

Security teams at an Air Force nuclear base may soon be training with Chinese-made drones, which are now so widely used in war zones that one expert called them ‘the new AK-47.’  According to a federal contract solicitation, nuclear security airmen at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, need the Chinese-made drones so they can train with the “exact devices adversaries are most likely to employ.” First reported by Stars and Stripes, the solicitation specifically seeks “brand name DJI” dr

More Reserve and National Guard troops who serve long stints on active duty orders may get access to healthcare after a sailor’s class action lawsuit. A new Pentagon policy released Aug. 10 could make tens of thousands of troops eligible for six months of healthcare coverage and pay back out-of-pocket costs incurred by thousands more, advocates told Task & Purpose. Pentagon officials did not give a reason for the changes, but the policy addresses a loophole in eligibility behind a pending

A major joint exercise between U.S. and South Korean troops will end a week earlier than originally planned after President Donald Trump directed that it be scaled back, a Pentagon official confirmed. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise began on Monday shortly after Trump posted on social media that he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the U.S. military’s involvement in the training event, which he described as “costly.” The exercise had originally b

When first responders rushed to the scene after a Marine Corps F/A-18 crashed in Washington State in June, they were greeted by the pilot. The Marine walked towards them, holding up a phone and calling 911, with blood smeared across his face.  On Friday, the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage of the moment responders found the aviator on June 13. Shortly beforehand, around noon, the F/A-18 Hornet was flying near Rimrock Lake, near Mount Rainier, approximate

Soldiers at a Georgia combat engineer unit can get official time off to play the new “Grand Theft Auto” game when it drops this fall — if, and only if, they sign up for more years of service.  The offbeat incentive is being offered to soldiers by the commander of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, according to a memo circulated on social media that was confirmed by Army officials.  According to the memo signed by Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson, the 9th Bri

Navy officials are investigating how the destroyer USS Benfold lost power for several days last month, prompting the ship to be towed to Subic Bay, Philippines, for repairs, said Cmdr. Matthew Comer, spokesperson for the 7th Fleet. “There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response,” Comer told Task & Purpose. USNI News first reported on the power outage aboard the Benfold. A U.S. official confirmed to Ta

U.S. troops launched a major joint exercise in South Korea on Monday, just hours after a last-minute social media post from President Donald Trump that the annual event would be drastically curtailed.  On Sunday evening, Trump posted on Truth Social — a social media service in which he owns a majority stake — that he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the American involvement in joint military exercises in South Korea. The post came on the eve of a major

The top commander of a special operations training wing in the New Mexico Air National Guard was relieved of command on Aug. 14, and the wing’s deputy commander was transferred to another unit, state officials confirmed to Task & Purpose Monday. Col. Christopher George was fired as the commander of the 150th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, wing officials said. The wing’s deputy commander, Col. Jeffry Heggemeier, was “reassigned to Headquarters,

Air Force cargo planes began flying supplies into Colombia over the weekend, after a massive earthquake devastated large parts of the country and killed at least 285 people. U.S. airmen are helping to move resources into the country, as the State Department, which is leading the response, announced a humanitarian assistance program. The first plane, an Air Force C-17 Globemaster, arrived in Bogota overnight on Aug. 14. Another C-17 landed in Medellín on Sunday, with airmen unloading pallets o

As the U.S. military works to develop tactics to defend against small and cheap one-way attack drones, one of the top commanders for U.S. Northern Command says that domestic bases are “ill-equipped” to deal with drone swarms. The military is actively building out tactics and procedures to deal with the threat, but the U.S. is “not there yet” when it comes to dealing with attacks on bases, according to Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard. Jarrard, who serves as the deputy commander of U.S

The top officer for U.S. Central Command visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, as families of sailors onboard continue to report poor conditions and low morale.  Adm. Brad Cooper’s visit to the Lincoln was part of a 10-day tour in the region, meeting with troops and commanders, as well as allies in the Middle East. He spent several hours on the ship, according to a CENTCOM spokesperson, the one ship he visited during the tour. The stop on the Lincoln, which happened midday Saturda