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Marines to phase out F/A-18 maintenance jobs as Hornet era ends
Enlisted Marines with Hornet specialties will be offered retraining, reassignment or career dead ends.
Trump administration releases first tranche of ‘never-before-seen’ UFO files
“With these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’” Trump wrote, adding, “Have Fun and Enjoy!"
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Defense News is covering the evolving military, strategic, and regional implications of tensions and operations involving Iran.
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Military Times has outlined helpful information about car insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance for troops.
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Read up on tips and tricks in Military Times’ 2025 Permanent Change of Station Guide.
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Learn how your military benefits — including health care, retirement pay and more — have changed in 2025.
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Pentagon & Congress
Trump says war on Iran not ‘done’ — but concerns rise about munitions shortages
While Trump notified Congress on May 1 that Epic Fury had been terminated, he later said it was procedural and didn't mean an end to all military actions.
Epic Fury has Navy rethinking carrier deployment tempo
The record-breaking deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford has reopened the debate about how the Navy should structure deployments and time at home.
Military spouses head to the Hill, push for removal of barriers to small businesses to boost retention
Advocates aim to introduce the Military Spouse Small Business Recognition Act, arguing it could improve access to capital, national security and retention.
White House casts cartels, jihadists and left-wing extremists as ‘significant and pervasive’ threats to US
The Trump administration asserted that politically-motivated violence is driven by individuals who have "espoused extremist transgender ideologies."
In other news
Pentagon turns to AI targeting to help troops shoot drones
The technology can detect threats and distinguish them from non-threats, such as birds, faster than a human operator can.
Sailor reportedly finds dead rat in finished energy drink
The sailor said medical personnel informed him, “with the chemicals that are in Monster, that it should be OK.”
That time the Air Force proposed making a ‘gay bomb’
The Air Force once explored the idea of a chemical weapon that would make enemy soldiers sexually irresistible to one another — striking a blow to morale.
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?
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The shape of shipbuilding for the US Navy | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 5.12.26
Prominent shipbuilders lay out their ideas for meeting the U.S. Navy’s demand for faster production at Sea-Air-Space 2026. Plus, Anduril’s new subsea drone.
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MORE STORIES
Lawmakers introduce bill to lower drug costs for service members, veterans
The proposal would allow Tricare beneficiaries and VA patients to pay the lowest government-negotiated price for prescription drugs.
By Tanya Noury
Commissaries reverse decision to charge for single-use bags
The decision came only one month after the bag fees went into effect.
Life or death centered around a canteen for this AEF soldier
While under a hail of machine gun fire, William Sawelson crawled through the mud to deliver water to a wounded soldier.
By Jon Guttman
Danger pay for US troops could double, expand to more regions
The U.S. defense budget request for Fiscal Year 2027 has raised the prospect of an increase in the monthly stipend paid out to troops in dangerous regions.
By Hope Hodge Seck
Marine promoted to gunnery sergeant after beating lymphatic cancer
Despite being diagnosed with cancer, Alejandro Abrego decided to stay in the Corps.
Refusing evacuation, this Marine packed dirt into his wound and continued to fight
The patch of contested real estate known as the Battle of Getlin’s Corner is also remembered for an officer who stood out in a field full of valor.
By Jon Guttman
Defense Department proposes splitting military health system budget
The Defense Department wants to split its funding for the military health system to protect military facilities and care.
By Patricia Kime
Pentagon says Iran ceasefire holds despite exchanges in Strait of Hormuz
Gen. Dan Caine characterized the hostile actions as “all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.”
By Tanya Noury
Corps overhauls reconnaissance pipeline to better prepare Marines
Freshly minted recon Marines were showing up to their first units less prepared than expected, service leaders said. The Marine Corps is out to fix that.
By Eve Sampson
US, Iran launch new attacks as they wrestle for control of Gulf waters
It was the first apparent attempt to use military force since last month’s ceasefire announcement.
By Parisa Hafezi, Ahmed Tolba and Phil Stewart, Reuters
US destroys six Iranian small boats, shoots down missiles, drones, admiral says
Adm. Brad Cooper said Iran was trying to interfere with a U.S. military operation to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic.
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, Reuters
Impacts of Strait of Hormuz tensions stifle searches for US missing in Laos
The ripple effects of the Iran war have spread to Laos, where fuel shortages have forced the cancellation or curtailment of searches by U.S recovery teams.
By Richard Sisk
Trump says US operation will aid ships stranded in Strait of Hormuz
It was not immediately clear which countries the U.S. operation would aid or how the operation would work.
By Reuters
2 US troops reported missing amid African Lion exercise
The Moroccan army said the service members went missing near a cliff. The incident remains under investigation and the search is ongoing.
By Reuters
US withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, US officials say
The move comes as a rift over the Iran war widens between President Donald Trump and Europe.
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, Reuters
Marine Corps fields 3,500 first-person view attack drones
The U.S. Marine Corps had zero first-person view drones in service as of October 2025.
By Riley Ceder