Month: January 2019

The number of active-duty soldiers who took their own lives reached a five-year high in 2018, an Army spokesman confirmed to Task & Purpose on Thursday. The Army had 138 active-duty suicides during calendar year 2018, according to spokesman Lt. Col. Emanuel Ortiz, an increase from the 116 active-duty suicides the service reported in 2017, […]

The relationship between Ukraine and Israel dates back to 1947, when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. It was more widely recognized back then as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Ukraine was one of 33 states that pressed for a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine during the U.N. Partition Proposal in 1947. The Soviet […]

A top Democratic lawmaker was first to announce on Thursday that 3,500 additional U.S. troops are deploying to the southwestern border amid official silence from the Pentagon. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is “deeply troubled” that defense officials did not mention the upcoming deployment while testifying on Tuesday, Smith […]

Reuters published a bombshell story on Wednesday, January 30, based on interviews with participants and leaked documents, revealing how former National Security Agency contractors set up an offensive cyber-espionage unit in a converted mansion in the United Arab Emirates. The targets of this computer hacking unit included journalists, human rights activists, and a number of American […]

The Army has issued a formal call for industry partners to send in their prototypes for the Next Generation Squad Weapon program, a major step towards finally testing out a replacement for the M4 carbine and M249 squad automatic weapon. On Wednesday, Army Contracting Command dropped a formal Prototype Project Opportunity Notice calling on industry […]

After photos surfaced online showing a Ralph Lauren sweater with a logo that bore a striking resemblance to the Marine Corps’ Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem, the service issued a response, and now it’s gone from the designer’s site. Earlier this week in a raucous corner of Twitter, a number of veterans and service members […]

A drone that can fit in the palm of a soldier’s hand will be flying with Army infantrymen sometime later this year. The ultra-light Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System — known as a “nano-unmanned aerial vehicle” — will be fielded to Army platoons after the service awarded a $39.6 million contract to Flir Systems, Inc. […]

As soon as word hit the media about the Pentagon applying pressure to the U.S. Air Force to look into procuring new F-15X aircraft, defense officials and even defense industry journalists have lamented the idea of purchasing new fourth-generation airframes in the era of stealth fighters like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Critics argued there’s […]

Incidents of sexual assault and other unwanted sexual contact at the three military service academies have spiked nearly 50 percent since 2016, defense officials announced on Thursday. The term “unwanted sexual contact” is used to describe behaviors that constitute sexual assault under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including rape, aggravated sexual contact, and abusive […]