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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.
US strikes Iranian underground missile storage with 5,000-pound penetrator
The newest bunker-buster bomb made its combat debut against Iran earlier this week.
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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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Air Force first to upgrade records for troops discharged over COVID vax refusal
Hegseth also announced that the active-duty obligation for troops who opt to return to service is slashed in half from four years to just two years.
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.
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.
High-speed combat drone production starts at new US Anduril plant in days
Anduril Industries will begin building its new loyal wingman drones in the coming days at a new facility in Ohio.
In other news
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.
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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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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House panel to mark up annual defense authorization bill this week
Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of July 14, 2025.
VA expects 30K voluntary job cuts by October, erasing need for layoffs
More than 17,000 Veterans Affairs jobs have been eliminated or vacated since the start of the year.
No ‘significant’ mover capacity problems expected for troops, DOD says
The DOD says a new task force is "fully engaged" in overseeing the process of troops' household goods moves during this peak season.
By Karen Jowers