Author: Braxton Taylor

Decades-old defense contractors are leaning into the Pentagon’s new focus on startups, entwining themselves with emerging companies that have the technologies or even the contracts they seek.“We’re making bets in advance on specific capabilities and then going back to the market to say, ‘Who are the founders, and who are taking novel approaches to building something that is unique and different and can be applied within a military context?’” said Brian McCarthy, Booz Allen Hamilton’s managing partner of ventures.The trend reflects the Pentagon’s new urgency—after years of pleading by commanders, lawmakers, and even defense officials—to expand the military’s industrial base…

President Donald Trump Monday directed Tennessee’s National Guard deployed to the Democratic-led city of Memphis, following similar actions in the District of Columbia that Trump has said were needed to tackle crime. “We’re going to make Memphis safe again,” Trump said.It’s the latest test of Trump’s presidential powers in using the U.S. military domestically, despite a law that bars soldiers from partaking in local law enforcement. Trump said his efforts in the district – using the National Guard – would be replicated in cities across the country.In the Oval Office, flanked by Tennessee’s GOP Gov. Bill Lee and the state’s Republican…

A pair of senators are concerned that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard may have instructed spy agencies to stop disclosing intelligence on foreign adversaries’ attempts to undermine the integrity of U.S. elections and sway election outcomes through influence operations.Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Alex Padilla of California, the top Democrats on the high chamber’s intelligence and rules committees, asked Gabbard in a Monday letter to schedule a briefing with senators by Oct. 10 to provide an assessment of planned steps the intelligence community is taking to protect the security of upcoming elections in November, as well as next…

Another deadly boat strikePresident Trump ordered another attack on a boat in international waters, claiming that the strike killed three people who were “positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” In his post, Trump shared a clip of an explosion but no evidence to back up his claims.When reporters asked for proof, Trump replied, “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean — big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.” Associated Press: “The Trump administration has justified the…

I can still smell the gravy. It would wake me up in the early morning darkness, causing me to scramble out from beneath the itchy wool blanket on my cot and shuffle into the kitchen of the cabin. My grandmother would be there, bent over the stove as she stirred the bubbling pan. She’d smile at me and then hand me a plate of biscuits and sausage smothered in the white, tar-thick culinary magic she created. I’d wolf down my plate and with the gravy sticking to my ribs and the first rays of sunlight sparkling in the air, I’d…

Veterans are eligible for a comprehensive health care package that is completely portable across the entire Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. To receive health care, most veterans must first enroll.Application ProcessTo apply for VA health care benefits, including enrollment, veterans must fill out an application for enrollment, VA Form 10-10EZ, Enrollment Application for Health Benefits. You may obtain this form by one of the following means:The VA uses the 10-10EZ application to determine if you have qualifying service as a veteran and your status so you can be placed into one of the Enrollment Priority Groups. You’ll need:Your…

The Pentagon aims to get AI tools to its entire workforce next year, the department’s chief technical officer said one month after being given control of its main AI office.“We want to have an AI capability on every desktop — 3 million desktops — in six or nine months,” Emil Michael, defense undersecretary for research and engineering, said at a Politico event on Tuesday. “We want to have it focus on applications for corporate use cases like efficiency, like you would use in your own company…for intelligence and for warfighting.”Four weeks ago, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office was demoted from reporting to Deputy…

Andrew Seepe always dreamed of sitting behind the controls of an F-18 Super Hornet.When he was a boy and his mother — a medical officer in the Navy at the time — was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, his family attended air shows. The Blue Angels fascinated Seepe.Later on, Seepe was mesmerized by an article about what it was like for a fighter pilot to take off and land on an aircraft carrier.“It was just so vivid and emotional and exciting,” Seepe told Military.com. “That kind of bug blossomed more into a burning passion…

When Anna Gabulya saw a television report of a POW’s return to Hungary a half-century after he served during World War II, she noticed the resemblance immediately.She saw in András Toma a likeness that reminded her of her late father. As she described to a Los Angeles Times reporter a year after Toma’s release in 2000, she struggled with whether to contact authorities and list herself as a potential relative.Her husband strongly cautioned against it.Read Next: How the Men on a Navy Submarine Survived After Sinking 240 Feet in the Atlantic“Do you want to end up making a fool of…

Trijicon, Inc. is releasing a 3.25 MOA green dot version of the popular RMR Type 2 Adjustable LED reflex sight. The Trijicon RMR (Ruggedized Miniature Reflex) is well-regarded for its ability to provide fast, both-eyes-open target acquisition, accurate aiming and proven reliability on a wide variety of firearms platforms. The Trijicon RMR in made in the USA and has been proven in the harshest environments on Earth by U.S. Special Operations, law enforcement and outdoorsmen. Built from forged 7075-T6 aluminum to MIL-spec standards, Trijicon’s RMR Type 2 is one of the most rugged and durable reflex sights on the market.…