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US special operations leaders frustrated by inability to modify their own equipment
The military must wait for manufacturers to fix or upgrade equipment, leaving them with outdated capabilities as technology evolves quickly, they said.
Marines mandate servicewide AI training by year’s end
The Marine Corps will require all Marines to complete a basic artificial intelligence course by the end of the year.
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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
Iran military threat is diminished but not eliminated, CENTCOM chief says
Adm. Brad Cooper said the U.S. had severely degraded Iran’s warfighting capacity, including the elimination of roughly 90% of its inventory of naval mines.
Energy secretary: Iran ‘frighteningly close’ to nuclear weapon despite Operation Epic Fury
“They are weeks — a small number of weeks — away to enrich that to weapons-grade uranium," Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a Senate committee.
Trump’s Golden Dome missile shield estimated to cost $1.2 trillion
A national missile defense system would cost $1.2 trillion to build and maintain over the next 20 years, a nonpartisan federal agency estimated.
Coast Guard bans kratom, similar drugs immediately
Kratom is not a federally controlled substance in the U.S. and is available legally in 44 states in vape shops, other retail stores and online.
In other news
Arcade games satirizing Iran war appear at DC War Memorial
The game, “Operation Epic Furious: Strait To Hell,” was developed in response to the administration’s use of video game footage to share successes in Iran.
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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MORE STORIES
Poll: Americans don’t think Trump has explained Iran war goals
One in three Republicans and almost all Democrats said Trump has not “clearly explained the goals of U.S. military involvement in Iran.”
By Jason Lange, Reuters
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.
By Tanya Noury
Marines expand Arctic footprint with new Alaska rotation
The Marine Corps is moving deeper into Alaska with an initiative designed to build a more persistent presence in the Arctic.
By Eve Sampson
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.
By Hope Hodge Seck
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!"
By Tanya Noury
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.
By Daniel Terrill
The US Marine Corps is looking for a few good robots to build airfields
For Marines who have toiled over assembling airfields in austere environments, relief may be on the way.
By Michael Peck
Presidential Fitness Test to be required at Defense Department schools
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Presidential Fitness Test would soon be mandatory in the DoD's 161 K-12 schools.
By Patricia Kime
Military moves to issue medical disqualifications earlier in the recruitment process
The military will prescreen prospective recruits for 28 medical conditions that are highly unlikely to receive enlistment waivers.
By Tanya Noury
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."
By Tanya Noury
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