Army’s new battlefield command system ready to scale
Army officials said the Next Generation Command and Control, or NGC2, is “ready to scale” following an extensive prototyping phase that culminated at a joint force exercise at Fort Irwin, California, in July. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ellis, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division, called...
House Oversight Democrats seek records behind Pentagon changes to Iran war casualty database
Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are investigating changes made to the Defense Department’s official casualty database, demanding records they say are needed to determine why four U.S. soldiers briefly disappeared from the Pentagon’s public Iran war casualty count before being...
US Navy is reclassifying 19 Virginia-class submarines to reflect increased attack capabilities
The U.S. Navy announced on Monday that it is reclassifying planned nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines to differentiate them from past generations with a less lethal munitions package. The service changed the designation for 19 boats equipped with the Virginia Payload Module from “fast-attack submarines” to “guided...
TOPS Enchantor is a Portable Self-Defense Option
TOPS has another new fixed blade on shelves, the Colin Despins designed Enchantor. This one lands in the tactical knife genre, albeit with the intention of being low-profile and highly portable. As TOPS themselves point out in the copy for the Enchantor, a lot of...
Army offers bonuses topping $200K to keep aviation warrant officers in uniform
Eligible U.S. Army pilots can earn up to nearly $210,000 in retention bonuses under a fiscal 2026 program designed to keep experienced aviators in uniform, the service announced in a directive dated July 26. The program is open to Army aviation warrant officers who meet...
Navy fires commanding officer of USS West Virginia
The U.S. Navy relieved the commanding officer of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia on Thursday, the service announced. Cmdr. Joseph Sammur was relieved due to a “loss of confidence in his ability to command” and was reassigned to Submarine Group 10. Sammur...
Army approves service-wide wear of Jungle Tab
As focus shifts to the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. Army has approved service-wide wear of the Jungle Tab upon a soldier’s completion of the Jungle Operations Training Course, an Army spokesperson confirmed Monday. The skill tab will join the likes of the Sapper Tab, Ranger...
Trump’s new commission will target quality of life for military spouses
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a formal commission to address decades-old, persistent problems facing military spouses and families. “It’s an order that’s long overdue,” Trump said during a signing ceremony at the White House, flanked by more than a dozen military...
US Coast Guard had 14 suicides in 2024, the highest in a decade
Seventy-six members of the U.S. Coast Guard died by suicide between 2014 and 2024, with 14 — or nearly a fifth — occurring in 2024, the most recent data available. In the decade from 2014 to 2024, the number of suicides among active personnel and...
US Air Force jet engine manufacturing plagued by ‘significant challenges’
Dissatisfied with the quality of the engines for its fighter jets, the U.S. Air Force is looking for new engines — and perhaps new manufacturers. “The current industrial base has demonstrated significant challenges, including production delays, quality control issues, and critical obsolescence (i.e., diminishing manufacturing...
