If you are thinking about joining the Marine Corps, you will have to pass the initial strength test (IST). The IST is a shortened version of the physical fitness test (PFT). A recruit only has to do pull-ups, push press, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run. The IST is the first…
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Updated Sep 23, 2026, 12:40 PM EDT The following are the maximum and minimum scores for male and female Marines taking the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test. The following are the max./min. score charts for male and female Marines for each event of the Marine Corps’ Physical Fitness Test (PFT): USMC…
Fundamentals Series — Part 9In the last two articles, we’ve taken our fundamentals off the static firing line and started moving. We’ve discussed why movement belongs early in a shooter’s development, how to move without unnecessarily disrupting the gun, and how to control our pace based on the shooting problem…
The Marine Corps has strict height and weight standards. However, it is considered acceptable not to meet the height and weight standards as long as you meet the service’s body fat standards. Now, a recent change has been added. If you do not meet either the height and weight standards…
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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Space Force modernization efforts could slow if Congress doesn’t pass a full budget at the end of the year, the service’s leaders said. “We’re on this ramp-up, right, consistent with our overall strategy and the recognition that the space domain is a critical domain, in and of itself, but…
The federal government spent nearly $10 billion placing more than 100,000 federal workers on paid administrative leave for extended periods last year, a sixfold increase from two years prior driven largely by the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program aimed at encouraging feds to quit public service.A new report from the…
The Air Force spent 45 years without warrant officers, the last one retiring in 1980 and the ranks disappearing from an Air Force that decided senior NCOs and commissioned officers could cover the same ground. That changed in February 2024, when then-Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall announced that…
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The Air Force Test Center is prepared to keep up with the Pentagon’s calls to buy, develop, test, and field technology quickly—but safety remains the top priority, the center’s commander said. “We always want to proceed safely forward. The work that we do, as I’ve noted, is, can be…
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A petition to force a vote on the Major Richard Start Act reached 218 signatures on Wednesday, paving the way for a U.S. House vote on the bill. The Major Richard Star Act, introduced in the Senate and House by bipartisan lawmakers in March 2025, would allow certain veterans who…
Updated Sep 17, 2026, 2:35 PM EDT Here’s some useful tips to consider when you apply for an interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL). Did you know you can refinance your existing VA loan to lower your interest rate? This is called an Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan or IRRRL. Here…
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A man initially accused of being a high-profile al-Qaida figure and who was tortured in CIA custody appeared Thursday at a hearing to review his detention at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held for 20 years without charges.…
The waist-to-height ratio standard that every U.S. military branch adopted in 2026 governs body composition checks for people already serving, not the medical screening applicants go through to enlist at a Military Entrance Processing Station. Those are two separate standards, run under two separate Defense Department instructions, and it’s an…
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has avoided an impeachment vote after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called an early recess, canceling votes scheduled for Thursday. Hegseth’s political future was put in harm’s way after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY.), a frequent critic of President Donald Trump critic who lost his primary earlier…
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Dental pain is no fun. No one wants to find an emergency dentist on the…