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USS Boxer and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit deploy to Middle East
The Pentagon is deploying thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East.
Two US counter-mine ships based in the Middle East are now in Singapore, Navy says
The USS Santa Barbara and USS Tulsa, which are homeported in Bahrain, arrived in Singapore this week.
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Service members must prove sincere religious beliefs for facial hair waivers
Religious waivers that have already been approved will be reevaluated within 90 days, the memo states.
‘It takes money to kill bad guys’: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in new funding for war in Iran
The attacks against Iran had cost the U.S. about $12 billion as of Sunday, 15 days after they began.
US carrier Ford to go to port temporarily after fire
The USS Gerald R. Ford, deployed in operations against Iran, is expected to temporarily go to Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete, officials said.
Sailors aboard USS Gerald R. Ford reportedly lost their beds amid fire
Some sailors are sleeping on floors and tables because of the damage.
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Veterans
VA social worker dies following shooting at rural Georgia clinic
The Veterans Affairs employee died the day after being shot by an assailant who was in the clinic for a walk-in mental health consultation.
Marines test ‘cruise control’ swim feature on amphibious vehicle prototype
The vehicles vying to replace the Marine Corps’ aging light armored vehicle fleet swam for the first time earlier this year.
Marine lance corporal develops $10 solution to $5,600 antenna problem
The junior Marine's innovation has so far saved an estimated $600,000 and eliminated years of supply delays. Motivation intensifies.
Hegseth wants Pentagon to dump Claude, but military users say it’s not so easy
Pentagon staffers, former officials and IT contractors who work closely with the U.S. military say they are reluctant to give up Anthropic’s AI tools.
In other news
US F-35 forced to make emergency landing after Iran combat mission
CENTCOM confirmed the pilot made an emergency landing during combat operations. CNN sources told the outlet the aircraft was struck by an Iranian munition.
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The impact of US interceptors on the Iran war | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 3.17.26
Since the beginning, part of the war in Iran has been a contest of Iranian missiles and drones versus U.S. interceptors. How is the matchup shaking out?
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Master Chief actor condemns use of character in White House’s Iran war hype video
“I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war porn remove my voice immediately,” Steve Downes wrote in a post on X.
‘War Machine’ review: Finally, a training scenario with aliens
The sci-fi flick raises the premise: What if the final phase of U.S. Army Ranger selection suddenly involved fighting a giant alien robot?
By Clay Beyersdorfer
When veterans take the pen, war stories start to change
Hollywood has never lacked war stories. But it has often lacked veteran storytellers telling them.
How MREs inspired today’s meal-delivery industry
The MRE has to survive heat, cold, impact and time. And it has to do all of that at scale. Sound familiar?
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MORE STORIES
DoD denies claim for soldier who changed military malpractice law
The Pentagon denied a medical malpractice claim for the soldier whose name is attached to legislation that allows service members to file such claims.
NATO, US forces join Romania-led Black Sea military drills
The sea and air exercises involve 3,400 military personnel from 12 NATO member countries and some partner nations.
F-35 upgrades slip to 2024, drawing lawmaker’s ire
“We currently are paying for a great capability, but we’re currently only getting a good capability fielded,” subcommittee chairman Rep. Rob Wittman said.
Marine Corps rejects Pentagon’s pitch for new amphibious ship designs
The Marine Corps says several options for reducing the cost of future LPDs made the flight deck and vehicle stowage too small to meet requirements.
Cop who helped take down Nashville shooter served as Marine grunt
Michael Collazo, 31, helped take down the assailant who perpetrated a shooting that killed six.
Soldier found dead in Pentagon parking lot was a Joint Staff NCO
Master Sgt. Juan Paulo “JP” Bordador was found dead in the Pentagon parking lot on March 14, following a welfare check.
Bipolar disorder: my blessing and my curse
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin shares his battle with bipolar disorder.
By Gregg F. Martin
Transgender vets call for more protections from Congress, VA
Advocates want VA to move ahead with plans to provide gender-affirming surgery to transgender veterans, a policy change first promised in summer 2021.
The ‘Puerto Rican Rambo’ who went on 200 combat missions in Vietnam
He would deploy five times to Vietnam between 1961 and 1970.
By J.D. Simkins
The Coast Guard’s next feature film could be this tragic true story
The 2009 tragedy left three dead in the wake of a massive storm.
By Sarah Sicard