Speaking at a hearing before the congressionally created National Commission on the Future of the Navy on Thursday, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby said the Navy faced difficulties that weren’t all immediately visible when it came to sustaining and resetting after such combat demands.

“That’s the piece I think that we need to be better at articulating and demonstrating — what the cost of this extension will be two years from now,” Kilby said. “So people see that, and they sign that bill.”

Referencing Hegseth’s commendation of sailors on the Lincoln for their successful 321-day deployment, of which they spent 265 consecutive days without a port call, Kilby acknowledged that the crew had “delivered the goods.”

“So, it’s a little bit of a challenge for me to say you can’t do this when we keep delivering,” he said.

But, he said, readiness rates remain “artificially high” amid the combat surge because ships remain deployed or have yet to return to maintenance. When that happens, Kilby indicated, the “little bit of a false positive” readiness picture will change rapidly.

“The problem will come when eventually they do come home. The industrial base will not be able to swallow that pill, and so we’ll have to sequence that,” he said.

A standard solution to account for the additional cost: deferring maintenance.

“I’ll either squish the package into the bare minimum and not do modernization things I need to do, so that’s the bill that’s being paid there,” Kilby said.

Unmanned vessels, he added, present a promising future solution, but still one that’s a way off.

“When we get a combatant commander that’s willing to ask for a tailored force package, think a [littoral combat ship], an unmanned air vessel, and some unmanned surface vessels to do monitoring and maritime domain awareness and potentially action, it alleviates the request for him to ask for a strike group or an amphibious ready group. That will help,” Kilby said. “But that’s a long time coming because they don’t see that offer on the menu right now. We’ve got to act on that and produce that thing for them to ask for it.”

He suggested that a cultural change to give service leaders and key commanders more flexibility in how they meet requirements would help to sustain long-term readiness.

“They have very, very little flexibility in their basic phase to get through those gates, and we’re pressurizing that by saying, ‘Do it faster, so I can count you as combat-surge ready,’” Kilby said, “which prevents them from maybe doing some things that existed in what I maybe fondly remember from my youth, where we had a little bit more control of that culture.”

For now, Kilby said, the Navy is “in a system” where the geographic combatant commander is given a problem to address and will ask for whatever they need from the services to meet the requirement. The services, in turn, will do whatever it takes to meet the requirement, despite future costs.

“I think it’s a tough pill for us to swallow, because the Navy’s strength, the Navy and Marine Corps’ strength, is our weakness in that regard,” he said.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., visited the Middle East this week on a Congressional Delegation trip, speaking with Gulf region leaders and visiting American facilities to assess damage done by the Iran war. Murphy was denied access to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, which had suffered damage from drone strikes during the conflict.

“They are using every tool they can, including withholding information about damages, slow walking the pace of reports about casualties and denying us access to see the damage as part of a campaign of cover-up, so as to mask the true cost of the war,” Murphy told reporters on Thursday.

The “unprecedented” base denial prepared Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Defense Appropriations Committee, in the coming days to draft language that would explicitly require the Department of Defense to grant members of Congress access to military bases overseas under all circumstances if needed.

“I don’t have any illusions that that’s going to pass between now and the end of the year, but I think that’ll be a really important part of the discussion around an appropriations bill next year and the defense authorization bill,” he said during the press call.

Prior to his trip, Murphy requested access to the base through a letter and direct appeal to U.S. Central Command leadership. But he was denied access even as the Department of State supported his trip to the region, with the Defense Department saying it was due to previously imposed travel restrictions.

“Senator Murphy’s office was informed before his trip to the Middle East that he would not receive Department of War support to access Al Udeid Air Base, consistent with the Secretary of War’s directive on travel restrictions in the region ordered on March 3, 2026,” a senior Defense Department official told Military Times on Thursday.

“That decision was communicated in advance by the Office of the Secretary of War for Legislative Affairs,” the official continued. “The Department applies the Secretary’s guidance evenly.”

In early March, the State and Defense departments issued travel guidance, calling on Americans to depart areas in the region and updating its travel advisory to recommend against visiting certain countries, including Qatar.

“It is absolutely ordinary for members of Congress to travel to areas of conflict and get to talk directly to the military leaders and the soldiers that are involved in the conflict and see for ourselves the damage that has been done to our bases and equipment,” Murphy said, highlighting how during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars he was able to visit operating bases.

He argued that since Congress decides funding and authorization for war, it is necessary to see the consequences, but he was unable to visit Al Udeid or have a briefing on the war with American military officials while in the region.

On the same day the travel advisory was issued in March, the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was hit ​by two Iranians drones, resulting in building damage and a fire. Murphy said that the drones impacted multiple floors of the embassy and part of the space is now “uninhabitable” with permanent damage.

The U.S. previously announced in 2023 plans to build a new embassy compound in Riyadh, which Murphy attributes the lack of repairs to.

Even though no injuries or casualties were reported from the strike, Murphy said that if the attack happened during the day it would have killed many Americans.

“[Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth is determined to hide the cost and the consequences of this war from the American public, and it is absolutely outrageous that I and Republican senators are being denied the ability to see the damage for ourselves,” he said.

The corps, which provides medical care for the U.S. Coast Guard and the Indian Health Services and supports health services and research across the federal government and around the world, is one of the nation’s uniformed services.

But most Americans “don’t know who we are,” said Adm. Brian Christine, head of the USPHS Commissioned Corps and assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, in an interview with Military Times.

Given the agency’s role supporting national dietary guidelines, promoting fitness, protecting public health and preserving the nation’s wellness, Christine wants them to know.

Today I am proud to officially launch Service Workout Wednesday, a new weekly opportunity for Public Health Service Officers to train together as one Service. Service Workout Wednesday is part of PHS Mission Fit, focused on readiness, resilience, and whole-person wellness so… pic.twitter.com/v2ygnX9ebb

— ADM Brian Christine, MD (@ADM_Christine) January 7, 2026

The admiral, a urologist by training, launched a public outreach campaign to call attention to the corps the day he was sworn in, starting with increased visibility among members of the armed services.

In meetings with corps officers, Christine said he learned they didn’t feel respected by other uniformed service members. So with his brother, Army Judge Advocate General Maj. Gen. Bobby Christine, he pledged to increase integration with the armed services, starting with joint exercise with soldiers at Fort Myer, Virginia.

Last month, a Commissioned Corps team worked out with Christine and the Navy’s SEAL Team One in San Diego. And they are planning workouts in the coming weeks with Coast Guard men and women and hopes to team with the Space Force and other branches.

“Since we are preaching physical readiness, it seems natural for my officers to engage with and build bridges with the other uniformed services by doing physical training,” Christine said in an interview Wednesday with Military Times.

Members of the 5,400-member USPHS Commissioned Corps officers — doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, chemists, engineers, environmental health experts, veterinarians and more — who support public health and medical readiness in 38 government agencies.

They serve overseas — a team is currently in Kenya supporting the response to the Ebola outbreak — and deliver health care in remote locations, including the far reaches of Alaska.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, officers deployed to staff crowded clinics and supported vaccine distribution.

Their duties include deploying to crises, providing medical care to underserved populations, promoting prevention initiatives to fight chronic disease and supporting health education and “health diplomacy.”

But they also have a role in national security, promoting public health initiatives that encourage fitness among the recruit-age population, supporting the health of the armed services by promoting proper nutrition and fitness and ensuring the nation can respond to public health threats.

In that vein, Christine said he wants “my officers, PHS officers, to be out there as examples for diet and fitness and activity and wellness.”

He has instituted new physical fitness mandates, a program known as PHS Mission Fit, to ensure the Commissioned Corps is able to do their jobs.

“If we’re going to be advocating for Americans, men, women, and children, to be physically fit and ready to get the most out of life, then we need to walk that walk ourselves as the Public Health Service, as the Commission Corps,” Christine said.

Until last year, the officers were required to take annual fitness tests that required them to run or walk — or a combination — 1.5 miles “as quickly as possible.”

Alternatively, they could choose to swim, use an elliptical or stationary bike, and do push-ups and planks, with the ability to choose sit-ups or side bridges instead, and toe-touching for flexibility.

The new twice-a-year program includes a 2,000-meter row, expanded stationary bike options, and removal of the flexibility requirement.

The program also includes weekly physical training and motivational challenges.

The changes represent a cultural shift for the corps, Christine said, but “it’s a change we want.”

“I will get videos from my officers, literally around the world, and they’ll video a group out doing PT together,” Christine said.

Christine was appointed a four-star admiral during his ceremonial swearing-in as assistant secretary for Health and Human Services, a direct commission that is common for the position.

He earned his medical degree from Emory University and moved to Alabama to complete his residency in urology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He ran several urology clinics in Alabama specializing in erectile dysfunction.

With this background, he contributed to the development of the clinical practice guidelines to support Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s policies on testosterone screening and is part of an effort to draft clinical guidance on testing and hormonal treatment for female service members.

He is a committed supporter of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again initiative and believes the USPHS Commissioned Corps plays a role in ensuring that dining facilities in U.S. public schools, the military and the federal prison system provide healthy choices. Christine said the corps also has a place in determining that the Defense Commissary Agency’s stock also “reflects health foods and healthy choices.”

For now, the Commissioned Corps, he said, will lead by example.

“I think evangelizing to the members of men and women in uniform, like we’re doing with this format — to take these things seriously, to get out there, to get your exercise, eat the right diet, take your health seriously, hormonal health and otherwise — that’s part of the pathway forward,” Christine said.

The U.S. has six branches of the armed forces — the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard — and two additional uniformed services, the USPHS Commissioned Corps and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.

The latter is the smallest, with roughly 330 officers.

Both the USPHS and NOAA Commissioned Corps wear work uniforms similar to the Coast Guard operational dress uniform and service dress blues and dress uniforms that resemble Navy uniforms with insignia specialized for each service.

During his ceremonial swearing-in, Christine encouraged members to wear their uniforms at all opportunities.

“When someone says ‘Thank you for your service, use that time to explain who you are, what you are, and what public health officers do to keep America healthy,” Christine said. “Be seen, evangelize. Prove to Americans that when they see our uniforms, they see compassion, they see love, they see excellent service.”

In particular, a Congressional Research Service report, released Tuesday, pointed to the war in Ukraine, where armored vehicles have largely been driven from the battlefield by unmanned aerial vehicles and guided munitions.

“As ACVs are intended to provide organic, direct fire support to dismounted Marines in the attack, how vulnerable to these threat systems are ACVs during amphibious operations and when operating ashore to support combat operations?” the research service asked in its report. “Are the Marines considering additional ACV survivability modifications based on lessons learned in Ukraine?”

In fact, the Marine Corps did award a contract last month to Anduril for a counter-UAS system to protect the ACV from small drones. Anduril’s Pulsar-L is a sensor and jammer package designed to stop small Group 1 and 2 radio-frequency drones.

“The system is currently in use by the Special Operations Command due to the system’s low weight, proven performance in engaging multiple UASs, and simultaneous execution of the full kill-chain while static or on the move,” noted the Marine contract award.

The Congressional Research Service also questioned whether a possible plan to expand the Marine Corps would, in turn, require more ACVs, which cost about $6 million each, depending on the variant.

Last month, a Force Structure Review suggested adding more than 6,500 personnel by 2032, including additional slots in 19 infantry battalions and two Littoral Combat Teams.

If the plan is implemented, “would additional ACVs be required to accommodate growth in Marine infantry units?” CRS asked.

The ACV comes in multiple variants, including the ACV-P troop carrier, ACV-C command vehicle, ACV-30 fire support model armed with a 30mm cannon, and the ACV-R armored recovery vehicle.

Initially, the Marines envisioned buying 1,122 ACVs. But the current plan is for 608 vehicles, comprising 389 ACV-P, 33 ACV-C, 152 ACV-30 and 34 ACV-R, Marine Corps officials told CRS.

BAE was just awarded a $230 million contract modification for 32 ACV-Rs, which will be the final ACV variant. The order is scheduled to be fulfilled by November 2028.

For fiscal 2027, the Navy is requesting $237 million for ACV upgrades.

The ACV has already experienced teething pains. After two ACVs tipped over in 2022 while operating in surf up to 10 feet high, the Marines briefly suspended ACV operations in the open ocean, as long as significant breaker height doesn’t exceed four feet.

One issue is the weight of the ACV, which now stands at around 35 tons. In 2025, a Navy Small Business Innovation Research solicitation called for reducing the weight of all ACV variants, and particularly the heavier ACV-30 and ACV-R. The goal is to slim down at least 2,000 pounds per vehicle.

“Components identified as having potential for weight reduction include engine access covers, drive shafts, ramp door, ramp, hatches, external fuel tanks, external metallic and metallic/composite add-on-armor components, suspension, turret exterior panels, and bow plane,” the 2025 solicitation stated.

Saltwater corrosion of ACV struts has also created problems.

“The high deployment schedule combined with the high training tempo of the United States Marine Corps creates an extremely corrosive environment for the ACV not typically experienced by other vehicles,” claimed a January 2026 Sources Sought notice for more than 5,000 corrosion-resistant struts.

In addition, the weight reduction SBIR specified that any solution “must address corrosion issues expected from use in and around salt water. Weight reduction will improve fuel efficiency and can lower the Center of Gravity and Center of Buoyancy.”

The $1.1 billion program is the Pentagon’s effort to rapidly expand the domestic drone industry by having companies submit small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUASs, for competition and then building stockpiles of the systems that perform best for military use.

Erin Cherry, the program’s test lead, told Military Times in an email that DIU is looking to recruit about 100 pilots for the program’s next phase, known as Gauntlet III. But the larger goal is to create a standing registry of drone operators across the military services.

“There’s no cap on the registry,” Cherry said. “We want to hear from any warfighter with FPV experience.”

She explained that service members selected to participate will get “stick time” with some of the newest drones, including systems that are not yet in military service, and some will receive specialized training on one-way attack drones.

“Most importantly, Gauntlet results strongly inform which systems move forward, and these pilots are the ones flying,” Cherry said.

The DIU announcement specifically calls for troops with experience flying FPV drones, which are typically flown manually in “acro” mode and are used for missions ranging from reconnaissance and surveillance to kamikaze attacks and close-quarters combat.

But Cherry said DIU is looking for more than just experienced FPV pilots.

“‘Pilot skill’ isn’t just one thing,” she said. “Flying ability, tactical knowledge, payload experience, and specialized skills like long-distance navigation and urban flight are all distinct, so we look at each one.”

That variety is important because the drones will ultimately be used by more than just the military’s most experienced operators.

“A drone that only performs well in an expert’s hands isn’t ready for the force,” Cherry said, adding that “whether someone has been flying FPV for five years or five months, we want to hear from them.”

For service members interested in participating, DIU is asking them to complete a Pilot Interest Form. Officials will only respond to applicants using a valid .mil email address, and all pilot participation will be coordinated through the individual military services.

The Oct. 5 revision adds jets damaged in a September Iranian strike on a base in Jordan, helicopter losses drawn from a Pentagon inspector general report and a sharply higher count of lost Reaper drones.

CRS cautions that the total is not a count of destroyed aircraft, noting, “Some damaged aircraft may have been returned to active service.”

The research service works from public information, drawing on news reports and statements from the Defense Department and U.S. Central Command. This version also draws on the inspector general report published Sept. 14. CRS said its count “may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors, which may include classification, ongoing combat activity, and attribution.”

The deadliest loss on the list remains the March 12 crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker. Two of the seven KC-135s in the report were involved in an incident over friendly airspace. One crashed in western Iraq, killing all six crew members. The other made an emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, Defense News reported. Central Command said the loss was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

A Navy squadron commander was lost when one of the newly listed aircraft went down. An MH-60S Sea Hawk from the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1. The Navy said there was no indication of hostile action.

Three of the four crew members aboard were recovered. The Navy identified the fourth as Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, and suspended its search for him July 5 after more than 102 hours. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao directed that Edwards be posthumously promoted to captain.

Several of the aircraft on the list trace to the April mission to recover the two-person crew of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran. Both crew members were rescued in separate search-and-rescue operations. That jet is one of 12 Strike Eagles on the list.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II supporting the rescue mission crashed after taking enemy fire, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said. The pilot flew the damaged jet out of Iran and ejected over friendly territory, where he was quickly recovered.

An HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopter in the same task force was damaged by small-arms fire, Caine said.

The second crew member was rescued nearly two days later in a separate special operations mission. Two MC-130J Commando II transports that had flown the commandos into Iran suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off, Reuters reported.

U.S. troops pulled the rescue force out in stages and destroyed the two transports and four helicopters rather than leave sensitive equipment behind. The inspector general later said U.S. forces destroyed four AH-6 Little Bird helicopters during rescue operations, likely those four. The May version listed no Little Birds, a gap Defense News noted at the time.

Iranian strikes on two air bases account for 15 of the aircraft on the list, all damaged on the ground.

An Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, damaged five KC-135s on the ground in mid-March, Defense News reported, citing two U.S. officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. Iran hit the base again on March 27, damaging an E-3 Sentry in what the CRS report, citing a September article, described as “a direct hit.”

The seven KC-135s on the list come from a fleet that was already stretched thin. As of March, the Air Force had 373 KC-135s and 103 KC-46As, the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, said in a June report. GAO found the fleet fell short of the Air Force’s own readiness goals every year from fiscal 2019 through 2025.

The E-3 fleet is far smaller. The Air Force operated only 16 E-3s before the war began, and six had deployed to Prince Sultan. CRS cites the E-3 as an example of aging, scarce aircraft where losses could leave the military short elsewhere in the world, and suggests Congress may want to weigh that risk.

The other base struck by Iran, Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, came under ballistic missile attack Sept. 8-9. The second A-10 on the list lost a wing, and eight F-15Es took light damage and were returned to service, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The official said U.S. forces fired roughly 30 Patriot interceptors to defend the base. Three Army soldiers were killed there in a separate missile attack in July.

Drones account for most of the increase since May. The report now counts 45 MQ-9 Reapers lost, citing an Aug. 13 article in which three U.S. officials said the military had lost “at least 45.” That is up from as many as 30 destroyed through June 30, according to the inspector general report.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach has called the Reaper perhaps the most valuable player of Operation Epic Fury. The Air Force had 135 MQ-9As as of May, down from 351 in fiscal 2022 as the service retired older models and lost aircraft to accidents and combat, according to a separate Sept. 23 CRS report.

The service had already stopped buying the drone in favor of a planned successor, and its fiscal 2027 request included no money for new Reapers, Military Times reported.

The remaining three of the 12 Strike Eagles on the list were the war’s first aircraft losses. A Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet mistakenly shot them down over Kuwait on March 1-2, Defense News reported. All six aircrew ejected and were recovered, Central Command said.

The list also includes an Army AH-64 Apache that the inspector general said was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials said a Navy drone boat rescued its two-person crew after the June 8 crash, calling it the first rescue of its kind.

Iranian ground fire also damaged an F-35A Lightning II during a combat mission over Iran on March 19, forcing an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the region. The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot was in stable condition, Central Command spokesman Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said at the time.

The report also counts three MQ-1 drones downed by Iran, one confirmed by Central Command in May and at least two more reported by U.S. officials in September. Central Command has not specified which variant was lost. The Air Force retired its MQ-1 Predators in 2018, but the Army still flies the related MQ-1C Gray Eagle.

A Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone crashed April 9 at an undisclosed location, according to Naval Safety Command data, which did not give a cause.

The revision leaves unresolved two discrepancies Defense News flagged in May.

The report still lists the E-3 as damaged. Multiple outlets reported the aircraft was destroyed. Photos published by The War Zone purportedly show tail 81-0005 with its rear fuselage burned through, and Air & Space Forces Magazine reported the damage likely renders the aircraft unrepairable.

The report also still counts one damaged HH-60W. At an April 6 news conference, Caine described two helicopters in the rescue flight taking fire, with a crew member on the trailing aircraft suffering a minor injury.

The war’s cost has also climbed significantly since May. Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst told House appropriators on May 12 that it was closer to $29 billion. The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, estimated in September that the war had cost the Pentagon about $38 billion through Aug. 1.

That total includes the cost of replacing equipment lost in battle, which CBO put at $1.9 billion, or as much as $3.3 billion if the Pentagon sought emergency funding to replace all of it. Among that equipment is a THAAD missile defense radar Iran destroyed. CBO said its estimate relied on government databases and public reports because the Defense Department did not respond to its requests for information.

The White House asked Congress in June for $87.6 billion in emergency funding, including $67.1 billion for the Pentagon. Congress has not approved the request.

“The execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday, December 3rd, 2026, at 1 p.m. CT.,” acting Army Secretary Adam Telle announced, confirming that the location would return Hasan to the site of the murders.

A memo Telle shared on X stated that President Donald Trump approved the execution order on Oct. 2.

“The execution officer will be the Commandant, United States Disciplinary Barracks,” the memo states.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell first announced the execution order on Monday, stating, “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009.

“He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attack,” Parnell wrote.

If the date and method of execution are carried out, it would mark the first such case for the service since Jan. 31, 1945, when Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik was executed by a U.S. Army firing squad in France for desertion during World War II.

The last death sentence carried out by the U.S. military was in 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was executed by hanging at the gallows in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after he was convicted of raping and attempting to kill a young girl.

Hasan, who was born in northern Virginia, walked into a Fort Hood readiness processing center on Nov. 5, 2009, and opened fire using a semi-automatic handgun.

Thirteen people were killed, including a pregnant soldier.

Former Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler, a two-time combat veteran, was shot four times in the attack and spent nearly a year recovering in various hospitals.

“He looked me straight in the eyes as he pointed the gun at me, and a split second later, I’m on the floor with a hole in my head,” he told the Killeen Daily Herald in 2023.

At his court-martial, Hasan, now 56, admitted to the shooting, and in 2013 said he carried out the attack in support of the Taliban.

At the time, Hasan requested a delay in court proceedings so he could ready a new legal strategy that would show he acted “in defense of others.”

Asked by presiding Judge Col. Tara Osborn who he was defending, Hasan replied, “The leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban.”

Hasan was convicted by a military jury in August 2013, which recommended he be sentenced to death.

He was subsequently transferred to Fort Leavenworth, where he has been incarcerated on death row.

The operation pause comes just days after local police arrested Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, for the suspected robbery and murder of Anna Yagi, a 39-year-old Naha resident.

All U.S. military personnel on Okinawa will execute an operational pause from noon on Wednesday to noon on Friday for a Period of Training in an effort to engage personnel with their responsibilities and reinforce expectations, according to a U.S. Forces Japan statement posted on social media by III MEF.

“Every member of this force must understand that individual conduct has consequences,” the Tuesday message, signed by Lt. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, Okinawa Area Coordinator and commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force, reads.

Watson ordered that during the 48-hour period, no off-base liberty is allowed, including a complete ban on alcohol consumption on and off base.

Commanders and senior enlisted leaders will train all service members on standards, discipline and troops’ responsibilities as members of the Okinawa community. The training will include discussions on liberty policy, enforcement mechanisms, alcohol awareness, Okinawan culture and alliance responsibilities, the statement says.

Following the training period, personnel will transition to a 30-day Period of Reflection beginning on Friday meant to implement restrictions on liberty to remind all service members that it is a collective responsibility and privilege to maintain.

Alongside enhanced supervision at the gates across all installations on Okinawa, U.S. Forces Japan is also implementing a midnight curfew during the reflection period, meaning all must return to their base in assigned quarters or their off-base residence from midnight to 5 a.m.

The release did not state what disciplinary measures would occur if the curfew is not abided by.

U.S. Forces Japan will use the reflection period to review its liberty policies and procedures and provide recommendations to the Okinawa Area Coordinating Committee for deliberation, per the memorandum.

The news of the training and reflection periods comes after Ballard’s arrest and the Japanese government lodging “strong” protests against the U.S., renewing tensions among Okinawa residents regarding the number of American forces on the island.

The Japanese government has demanded that the U.S. cooperate in the investigation conducted by Okinawa Prefectural Police and called for measures implemented to ensure crimes such as this do not occur again.

III MEF said it was cooperating with local authorities in response to the allegations, a stance reinforced by this recent memo.

This is not the first time that U.S. officials have had to issue sobriety checks, nor the first time the Japanese government has protested against the U.S. following criminal cases involving American service members.

In 2024, two American service members were charged with sexual assault in separate cases, causing a protest among the Japanese government and the Marine Corps to begin issuing sobriety checks.

The incidents reignited tensions from the high-profile 1995 case in which three U.S. service members raped a local 12-year-old girl, which led to mass protests and a 1996 agreement between the two nations to close a key U.S. air station.

“Serving on Okinawa comes with responsibility,” Watson writes in the memo. “We live, work, and socialize alongside the people of Okinawa; their home is our home.”

“Every interaction with our neighbors either builds or undermines the trust that is essential to our team,” he continued. “When that trust is damaged, it affects the strength of our alliance and the security of this region. Accordingly, we will take time to think hard about discipline, standards and our alliance responsibilities.”

“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced. “He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attack.

“The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution,” he continued. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.”

If Hasan’s execution is indeed carried out by a firing squad, it would mark the first such case for the service since Jan. 31, 1945, when Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik was executed by a U.S. Army firing squad in France for desertion during World War II.

The last death sentence carried out by the U.S. military was in 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was executed by hanging at the gallows in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after he was convicted of raping and attempting to kill a young girl.

Hasan, who was born in northern Virginia, walked into a Fort Hood readiness processing center on Nov. 5, 2009, and opened fire using a semi-automatic handgun.

Thirteen people were killed, including a pregnant soldier.

Former Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler, a two-time combat veteran, was shot four times in the attack and spent nearly a year recovering in various hospitals.

“He looked me straight in the eyes as he pointed the gun at me, and a split second later, I’m on the floor with a hole in my head,” he told the Killeen Daily Herald in 2023.

At his court-martial, Hasan, now 56, admitted to the shooting, and in 2013 said he carried out the attack in support of the Taliban.

At the time, Hasan requested a delay in court proceedings so he could ready a new legal strategy that would show he acted “in defense of others.”

Asked by presiding Judge Col. Tara Osborn who he was defending, Hasan replied, “The leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban.”

Hasan was convicted by a military jury in August 2013, which recommended he be sentenced to death.

He was subsequently transferred to Fort Leavenworth, where he has been incarcerated on death row.

Jonathan Lehrfeld contributed to this report.

LCpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, was arrested early Sunday morning, according to a local police statement to Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK.

Sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, Ballard, 20, allegedly killed Anna Yagi, a 39-year-old Naha resident, according to the NHK police statement, at a hotel in the city. Additionally, the police report stated that he stole her wallet, among other belongings.

An investigation of the body found that Yagi died from suffocation. Hotel security footage shows a person with hair and tattoos that resemble those of Ballard entering a hotel room with a woman and leaving with items.

Ballard was arrested early Sunday morning, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a social media post, calling the event “extremely brutal and heinous.”

Takaichi said it caused Japan’s government to lodge a “strong” protest against the U.S. while demanding cooperation with the investigation conducted by Okinawa Prefectural Police and measures implemented to ensure it doesn’t occur again.

The III MEF said it is cooperating with Japanese authorities in response to the Marine’s allegations.

“The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior,” a social media post reads. “The Marine is in custody of local authorities while the investigation proceeds. There is no further information to release at this time.”

Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan’s defense minister, announced that the Marine involved is a lance corporal, while also asserting the necessity of preventive measures going forward.

“In any case, incidents and accidents involving U.S. military personnel cause significant anxiety to the local community and must never occur,” he said. “The Ministry of Defense intends to continue demanding thorough prevention of incidents and accidents from the U.S. side on various occasions going forward. In the future, we will coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address this matter.

Japan has a large American military presence, with around 60,000 service members across the joint force. Okinawa specifically houses over 18,000 Marines, sailors and their families.

Following the murder and arrest, concerns rekindled among residents over the large number of American service members stationed on the island and their ties to criminal activity.

Recently, two American service members were charged with sexual assault in separate cases in 2024, causing the Japanese government to protest and the Marine Corps to begin issuing sobriety checks. The incidents reignited tensions from the high-profile 1995 case of three U.S. service members raping a local 12-year-old girl, which led to mass protests and a 1996 agreement between the two nations to close a key U.S. air station.

Keen Sword, the largest U.S.-Japan biennial joint drill, will feature two key systems of the Marine Corps’ littoral force: the anti-ship NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) and air-defense MADIS (Marine Air Defense Integrated System).

Yonaguni’s local government disclosed the deployment on Friday, a day after the Okinawa Defense Bureau relayed deployment plans on Oct. 1.

The systems will be deployed to Yonaguni for the first time, as this year’s iteration shifts to ground-based, multi-island, sea-denial operations aimed at distributing American and Japanese forces across the southwestern islands.

The deployment also reflects a broader shift by the United States and Japan toward mobile missile and air-defense systems that can operate from scattered islands.

NMESIS and MADIS form the cornerstone of the U.S. Marine Corps’ force design modernization and restructuring plan, which moves away from heavy armored platforms to focus on small-unit, expeditionary forces that can capture and defend islands.

NMESIS can strike targets at around 115 miles and could threaten ships operating in waters around Taiwan. The reported deployment, in turn, has drawn criticism from Chinese military experts even while China’s PLA Navy and coast guard vessels have increased activities around Taiwan.

The NMESIS and MADIS systems first arrived with the Okinawa-based 12th Marine Littoral Regiment 3rd Marine Division in June. The units were earlier deployed to the Philippines’ northern Batanes Islands and western Laoag province during the Balikatan drills.

The deployment comes as Japan tests what defense officials describe as standoff-strike capabilities, missile systems that can strike targets far from enemy weapons, while strengthening its southwestern islands for distributed military operations.

According to the Ministry of Defense, troops from nine countries, including the Australian and French armies, will join 45,000 Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel for this year’s exercise, which will run from Oct. 19 to 29.

The exercise will also bring together a number of U.S. and Japanese ground-based missile systems.

The U.S. Army will deploy HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) weapons to Camp Ishigaki, some 80 miles from Yonaguni.

The Army’s Typhon missile launcher will also be moved to Okinawa mid-month, although no disclosures have been made about whether the mid-range system will be used for the exercise.

In past iterations of the drill, the USS George Washington joined the exercises, but the carrier strike group was sent to the Arabian Sea in August to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which was returning home after a prolonged deployment.

That prominent naval absence is expected to emphasize the exercise scenario shift toward a land-based network of mobile systems.

Last year, exercises in Yonaguni focused on maximizing the island as a forward operating base. This year, Keen Sword will showcase the Ground Self-Defense Force’s three anti-ship missile systems, which are the core of Japan’s long-range standoff-strike capabilities.

The JGSDF will train with the new ground-launched Type-25 surface-to-ship guided missile system, formerly known as the upgraded Type-12, which was fielded across the Nansei Islands in late March. The Type-25 SSM has a strike reach of 1,000 kilometers.

The lineup also includes the Type-88 ground-to-ship missile and the upgraded Type 03 Chu-SAM Kai medium-range ground-to-air guided missile.

Keen Sword was originally planned as a much larger exercise, local government officials said, but opposition forced the ministry to scale it down to its current iteration.

Yonaguni is Japan’s last inhabited island in the Nansei, a chain of scattered islands in southwestern Okinawa and a fast-emerging flashpoint amid rising tensions around Taiwan.

The JGSDF set up a radar and surveillance system on the island in 2016 to fill a “surveillance vacuum” in the seascapes stretching from the island to Taiwan, according to officials.

The island has seen increased joint exercises between Japanese and U.S. troops while it faces incursions from Chinese ships.

In June this year, the government reported incursions by Chinese Coast Guard ships encroaching on Japan’s exclusive economic zone between Yonaguni and Taiwan. In 2022, China’s ballistic missile landed just 80 kilometers from the island.

While tensions surround the island, local officials have raised concerns about the use of civilian roads, ports, and airways.

Large equipment for the exercise will be transported by sea through Kubura Port, and local authorities have asked residents to avoid using roads during the movement of military equipment.

There are also concerns after a Japan Self-Defense Forces V-22 Osprey was involved in a ground-strike incident in the same exercise in 2024. The incident prompted then-defense minister Gen Nakatani to order the grounding of Japan’s 17 Osprey aircraft.

This year, however, the V-22 Osprey will not participate, Yonaguni Mayor Tsuneo Uechi told Mainichi Shimbun on Oct. 2.

While the island understands the need for military training, Uechi said it is not ready for large-scale exercises that exceed the island’s capacity. The local government remains opposed to the exercises and continues to hold talks with the defense ministry.

The Agriculture Department’s SNAP eligibility information did not accurately reflect changes affecting veterans and the program’s time-limited participation rules as of September 2026, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

GAO also found that veterans face misconceptions and other barriers to applying for benefits and recommended that USDA update its information and develop outreach materials specifically for veterans.

The issue centers on SNAP’s three-month time limit for certain able-bodied adults without dependents who do not meet work requirements. Veterans were among the groups exempt from that time limit from September 2023 through July 2025.

A 2025 law removed the categorical veteran exemption, meaning veterans can now be subject to the time limit unless they qualify for another exception. GAO found that USDA’s eligibility website had not been updated to reflect the change as of September 2026.

Stakeholders told GAO that some veterans believe their VA benefits make them ineligible, that applying would take benefits away from someone else or that the application process is too difficult. They also cited problems with technology, documentation, communication and completing required interviews.

“I lost my job 7 months ago, and I still haven’t found another one to replace it,” explained Derick Broadnax, an Army veteran who was denied SNAP benefits. “Food keeps getting more expensive and getting a good-paying job is tough for everyone to get right now.”

An estimated 1.4 million veterans lived in food-insecure households each year from 2015 through 2020, according to research cited by GAO. An estimated 6.9% of veterans lived in households receiving SNAP in 2024. That figure measures veterans living in households receiving SNAP, not the percentage of veterans eligible for the program.

Of 47 states with USDA-approved SNAP outreach plans for fiscal 2026, 39 identified veterans as a target population. Thirteen planned to provide information or application assistance at veteran facilities or centers, 11 planned to train government or nonprofit organizations that work with veterans, and six planned outreach at veteran events.

USDA issued annual outreach priority memorandums encouraging states to target veterans from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2025. USDA officials told GAO they did not plan to issue a similar priority memorandum for fiscal 2026 or fiscal 2027. Forty-four states identified veterans as a target population in their fiscal 2025 outreach plans, compared with 39 in fiscal 2026. GAO did not establish that the change in federal guidance caused the decline.

The VA-USDA partnership on veteran food insecurity also has not operated as planned. The agencies established a memorandum of agreement in 2023, but their collaborative efforts slowed after USDA lost key staff in April 2025.

Since then, the agencies have not held the workgroup meeting called for under the agreement and have not completed the agreement’s required annual review. Agency officials told GAO they consider the agreement to still be in place, but the agencies have not reviewed it as specified in the agreement.

VA continues to screen veterans for food insecurity and connect them with assistance. VA screened 4.4 million veterans in fiscal 2025; about 103,000 screened positive and roughly 78,000 accepted referrals to a VA social worker or dietitian. VA social workers can assist veterans with SNAP applications and interviews.

Beginning Oct. 1, federal reimbursement for allowable state SNAP administrative costs fell from up to 50% to 25%, shifting a larger share of those costs to states. GAO did not establish what effect the change will have specifically on veteran outreach.

GAO made four recommendations. USDA should update its SNAP eligibility website, develop and distribute veteran-specific outreach materials in coordination with VA, and establish a formal mechanism for working with VA.

VA received a corresponding recommendation to establish a formal mechanism for working with USDA. Both agencies concurred with the recommendations, and GAO lists all four as open.

According to a recent release, the Corps brought in 31,250 new recruits, along with 1,672 officers and 3,503 prior-service reserve Marines, in what the service calls a “historic, department-wide rebound.”

“Our success this year is a testament to the disciplined execution of our elite recruiting force on the streets of America,” Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command Maj. Gen. Walker M. Field said in the release.

“Likewise, it is emblematic of the legion of young Americans who are choosing, of their own volition, to serve this great Nation of ours,” he continued. “The few young Americans who earn the title of Marine espouse the rare trifecta of physical, intellectual, and moral fortitude to become elite warriors.”

The service emphasized that while recruiting is “challenging,” fiscal 2026’s environment was the most favorable the Corps has operated in the past five years, partly because of the country’s 250th birthday.

The high number of interested applicants and strong retention rates across the service allowed for the goal to be exceeded, per the release.

While the service did not state its starting goal for fiscal 2027, the release says recruiters have already contracted more than half of its 2027 mission.

In 2025, the Corps recruited 30,536 active duty and reserve enlisted Marines, only a handful more than the fiscal year prior, with 30,501 enlisted.

Across almost all the branches, the services have either met or exceeded their recruiting goals.

Other than the Marine Corps, the Navy exceeded its goals by adding 45,112 new sailors, while the Army met 61,500 new soldiers.

The Army’s Reserve and Special Forces also met their goal for the first time in over a decade with 14,322 and 2,940 soldiers, respectively. The Air and Space forces achieved their recruitment goal as well, with 31,950 airmen and 730 guardians enlisted.

The service is adding the evaluation following guidance issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who announced the Joint Warfighter Evaluation, or JWE, in late September.

Lt. Gen. Thomas B. Savage, commanding general of Training and Education Command, called the JWE “an objective data point that complements what we already know about an officer’s performance and potential.”

“The Marine Corps has always taken pride in its talent management and selection processes, which have historically produced some of our nation’s greatest leaders,” Savage said.

He added that the evaluation will provide “another opportunity for our rising leaders to confirm that they have assimilated the skills necessary to epitomize the next generation of general officers who will excel at the highest levels of command.”

Brig. Gen. Matthew Tracy, commanding general of the service’s Education Command and president of Marine Corps University, said the service’s JWE will provide “a complex, realistic environment” to challenge Marine officers’ capabilities on the evolving battlefield.

According to the service’s announcement, the JWE will complement existing performance evaluations by assessing an officer’s ability to develop and communicate plans and demonstrate critical thinking.

The evaluation will be administered through the Marine Corps e-Learning Ecosystem, allowing eligible officers to complete it from their assigned duty stations.

During the evaluation, an officer will assume the role of a senior Marine commander conducting an all-domain operation in support of a joint task force against a peer threat.

The officer will “respond to commander-centric requirements during planning and execution and provide written products and decisions,” the service said.

The work will then be evaluated by a hand-selected board of experienced subject-matter experts from across Marine Corps University. The board will be chaired by either a brigadier general or major general.

The Marine Corps expects to implement its JWE no later than February 2027.

About 48 Marines will work with Finnish forces to support Baltic Sentry, a coalition effort launched in Jan. 2025 to protect undersea infrastructure in the region after NATO leadership reported that saboteurs had damaged energy and communication cables.

The department said troops participating in the rotation will use small unmanned aerial systems and littoral sensors to gather data on the security situation for NATO. The Marines, assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will provide reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities, the release said.

“Working side by side with our Finnish allies strengthens our collective readiness, ensuring we can operate seamlessly as a cohesive, lethal team to deter hybrid threats in the Baltic littoral,” Maj. Gen. Daniel Shipley, of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa commander, said in the release. He did not include specific details about the threats.

The release characterized the military efforts of Baltic Sentry as “defensive vigilance activity” to protect “Europe’s critical maritime choke points.”

A memo from Assistant Secretary of War for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Timothy Dill increases hostile fire pay to $450 per month from its previous top rate of $250, and imminent danger pay to $275 monthly, or $9.16 per day, up from the prior cap of $225 or $7.50 per day.

The memo, released by the Pentagon, is dated July 14, but sets the change to take effect Thursday with the start of the new fiscal year.

It cites a Department of War Instruction updated in 2024 that gives the assistant secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs the authority to determine hazard pay amounts.

The Marine Corps had already announced earlier in September that it was updating its pay caps to the amounts set in the memo, but did not describe the move as a military-wide change.

“Those who face combat deserve higher compensation that reflects the risks that they willingly undertake on behalf of our nation,” Anthony J. Tata, undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness, said in a statement. “Raising imminent danger and hostile fire pays for the first time in two decades is a step toward recognizing that sacrifice.”

Hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay are mutually exclusive.

According to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, hostile fire pay is permitted for troops who meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Subjected to hostile fire or explosion of a hostile mine
• On duty in an area in close proximity to a hostile fire incident and the member is in danger of being exposed to the same dangers actually experienced by other service members subjected to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines
• Killed, injured or wounded by hostile fire, explosion of a hostile mine or any other hostile action

Imminent danger pay is authorized on a geographic basis according to a list maintained by DFAS. Last updated in May, the list includes 58 locations, ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen. Iran, the oldest location on the list, has been designated an imminent danger location since 1979; it’s also one of 19 regions newly designated in February as dangerous with the start of Operation Epic Fury.

“If an [Imminent Danger Pay]-designated area escalates into active combat, commanders can transition personnel from IDP to [Hostile Fire Pay] immediately,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a separate statement Thursday. “This provides a clear and timely mechanism to acknowledge heightened risk levels.”

The memo also noted that the changes include a decrease from $150 to $100 monthly in hardship duty pay-location, another pay governed by a separate list of regions — in order to keep from exceeding set maximums.

The Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request in May contained indicators that the services were seeking to increase hazardous fire and danger pays for troops, though officials at the time said a decision had not been made about doing so. Officials noted in announcing the change that, even at the old pay rates, service members rarely got the maximum allowed.

“Before the last increase in hazardous pay in 2002, pay rates varied by qualifying duty and the service member’s rank/pay grade — typically ranging from $100 to $240 per month,” officials said in a release. The new increases, they added, “are designed to appropriately compensate Service members for the varying levels of operational risk they face while serving the United States around the world.”

Reporting directly to Hegseth, the Office of Religious Affairs, or ORA, is meant to offer service members “first-class religious support,” according to the defense secretary. Hegseth first announced the office during his State of the Force address on Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, to junior officers and enlisted leaders.

“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual,” Hegseth said on Wednesday. “God is good. Evil is not. And America’s military must understand the difference.”

Hegseth announced the new office alongside a slew of other initiatives, such as the Autonomous Warfare Command, but he said all would be incomplete without faith, which he described as the “most essential part of our republic.”

Hegseth said that less than 5% of the joint force identifies as nonreligious, and the other 95% recognizes an “Almighty God.” The Pentagon has not released an official report of the religious makeup of the military since 2019, when the composition of active-duty personnel was 70% Christian, 2% atheist or agnostic and 24% reported as unclassified or unknown.

He said the force previously did not prioritize faith and instead emphasized “political correctness and secular humanism” and claimed that “secular careerists” and lawyers with red tape were dictating the spiritual life of service members, instead of military chaplains.

“The people who actually practice faith and religion, our chaplains, were buried echelons deep, waiting for permission,” he said. “We asked chaplains to serve and sacrifice, and then sidelined them with paperwork and process. And that ends now.”

Service chaplains will continue to serve as the department’s primary providers of religious support, with the office being their advocate, a Pentagon release says.

ORA’s First Steps

Effective immediately, the office will report directly to the defense secretary, according to a Sept. 30 memorandum. Its director, who has yet to be named, will serve as the principal advisor to the secretary and deputy secretary for religious affairs across the department.

The office’s core responsibilities, as outlined by the memo, will be to ensure that the Pentagon and military departments obtain sufficient funding and resources for religious affairs, such as chaplain-led programs and faith-based initiatives, as well as sponsoring and overseeing research and analytical tools to support and assess spiritual fitness and readiness across the military.

The office will also align and issue policies on religious affairs for the secretary; represent him on all religious affairs matters in engagements with Congress, religious endorsing organizations, and external governmental departments; and realign the Armed Forces Chaplains Board and its executive director under the office’s authority for chaplain advisement.

“This is not going to be a paper-pushing shop,” Hegseth said. “It’s going to have real teeth. It’ll protect budgets, demand infrastructure and strengthen religious support. The experts, our chaplains, will finally have an advocate at the highest levels.”

Within 60 days of the memo’s date, the office is expected to submit an initial baseline budget to Hegseth for fiscal year 2027 funding, the memo says, including permanent manning requirements. In the next 90 days, the director of Administration and Management will work with the office’s director to incorporate it into the Pentagon’s organizational framework and identify the initial allocation of senior executive service, civilian and military billets to stand up the office.

Within 90 days of the memo, the military departments’ secretaries are also expected to submit a baseline report of all unfunded and underfunded religious affairs requirements to the office’s director.

Pentagon’s Religious Overhaul

The announcement comes as the Pentagon has largely reduced the number of officially recognized faith affiliations from over 200 to 31, sparking criticism that most are Christian denominations and pressing the department to update the classifications by removing the subheading that grouped the Christian denominations.

In what the secretary described as a “top-down cultural shift,” he directed an overhaul of the Chaplain Corps and later required military chaplains to stop wearing rank insignia and to instead wear symbols of their faith.

To further align with the Pentagon’s policies, military services recently began requiring service members to update their Religious Affiliation Codes in their personnel records. The Department of the Air Force said the requirement exists only to improve chaplains’ knowledge of the force’s religious makeup.

In the past, Hegseth has faced backlash from advocacy groups for hosting monthly Pentagon Christian prayer services and his religious rhetoric in public appearances, raising concerns that he is associating the Christian faith with politics and the military.

“Our national motto is, after all, ‘In God We Trust,’” Hegseth said Wednesday. “Today, we reaffirm that trust. We’re placing spiritual health at the same level as physical health.”

The Autonomous Warfare Command, or AutoWarCom, will have service-like authorities and is intended to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the military, Hegseth said during his State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday.

Hegseth said the new command is intended to address an acquisition system that cannot keep pace with the speed of technological change on the battlefield.

“The pace of war is changing faster than the process to support it,” Hegseth said.

The announcement comes three months after Hegseth consolidated the Defense Department’s unmanned and autonomous systems under a new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems, or DRPM-UxS. The office reports directly to Deputy Secretary of Defense Steven Feinberg and was established to oversee the development, procurement, fielding and sustainment of unmanned and autonomous systems across the department.

The DRPM-UxS also assumed oversight of existing efforts, including Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group.

During his Wednesday address, Hegseth also announced Project Agincourt, an interim effort intended to prepare the way for AutoWarCom.

Hegseth named Owen West, the director of the Defense Innovation Unit, and Navy SEAL Senior Chief Max Strasiser to lead the initiative for the next year. He described the two as a “CEO, COO partnership,” with West focused on strategic risks, resources and scale, and Strasiser focused on operational problem-solving and the realities of employing the systems in combat.

Hegseth said a four-star commander will soon be named to lead AutoWarCom, while West and Strasiser will guide Project Agincourt as the department prepares to establish the command.

Agincourt will test what Hegseth called “warfighting acquisition,” bringing military operators, engineers and private companies into rapid development cycles and moving acquisition decisions and funding closer to combatant commands and frontline units.

“This model fuses operators with entrepreneurs in rapid adaptation cycles while distributing decisions and dollars closer to frontline units to combatant commands,” Hegseth said.

Realistic training exercises — and, when possible, combat — will be used to test autonomous systems and determine which technologies should be rapidly expanded, the secretary announced.

The department will also begin phasing in new military occupational specialty frameworks to support the military’s shift toward autonomous warfare, Hegseth said, creating career paths for a new generation of autonomous warfighters.

Hegseth said the Pentagon needs both sophisticated, high-end weapons and large numbers of lower-cost autonomous systems, describing the approach as a “high-low mix.” He compared high-end weapons to lightning and massed drones and other autonomous systems to the wind and rain of a thunderstorm.

“Today, we need both quality and quantity,” Hegseth said.

He went on to liken the establishment of the new command to an act of biblical significance, stating the department was “putting on the full armor of God. Because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual.”

Hegseth pointed to Ukraine as a lesson in the need for systems that can be adapted rapidly as battlefield conditions change. He said the United States must be able to develop, test and modify autonomous systems at a pace that matches the evolution of warfare.

The effort is intended to bring the military’s frontline leaders closer to the engineers and companies developing new technologies, which Hegseth described as the military’s greatest comparative advantage.

Miller is currently the deputy chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs and Requirements. He will, if confirmed, take over Space Command after his predecessor, Gen. Stephen Whiting, steps down from command toward the end of the year or the beginning of the next.

“Congratulations to Lt. Gen. Miller on his nomination to serve as Commander, U.S. Space Command,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess said in a social media post. “He is an exceptional guardian who has represented our service with distinction, and we believe he is a strong candidate for this critical joint leadership role.”

Prior to his current post, Miller served as the commander of Space Operations Command at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. He also served as the special assistant to the vice chief of space operations at Peterson and has held roles commanding guardians and airmen at the squadron, group and wing levels at various bases.

If confirmed, Miller will become the fourth commander of SPACECOM since its reestablishment in 2019, at a time when U.S. leaders are increasingly emphasizing the role of space in operations and the nation’s defense.

The nomination comes on the heels of Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink revealing that the department has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force from “hostile adversary action.” Keeping details sparse, he declined to say what type of weapon it is and reasserted its necessity for deterrence.

Officials have touted space’s role in recent missions, such as Operation Epic Fury, calling its capability essential to the joint force.

“During Operation Epic Fury, our components, notably at U.S. Central Command and Space Command with support from components at European Command and Pacific Command, demonstrated that guardians are not supporting from the sidelines as a ‘nice to have,’ but we are delivering spacepower directly into the fight as a ‘need to have,’” Schiess said during his keynote at the mid-September Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

As commander, Miller will be responsible for the space domain while providing space-enabled combat effects across the world, bearing combat command authority over joint warfighters operating ground and space-based systems.

Miller would succeed Whiting, who has held the position since January 2024 after being nominated by former President Joe Biden the year prior and confirmed in December 2024.

Whiting previously served as commander of Space Operations Command and held numerous positions across U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force headquarters and the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

A formal confirmation hearing for Miller has yet to be set by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The operation — on the far-flung and strategically valuable island of Jan Mayen, Norway — reflects NATO’s increasing focus on the Arctic, where the alliance is worried about Russia’s ability to project power and disrupt critical infrastructure. The exercise also gave Marines a chance to practice defending “key maritime terrain” with tactics they refined in the Pacific.

Dubbed Operation Atlantic City, a reference to a WWII-era U.S. base on Jan Mayen, the Norwegian-led exercise ran from Aug. 26 to Sept. 4 and marked the first instance of “rapid insertion of military assets to remote and austere locations,” the Marine Corps said.

A news release described the exercise as focused on developing expeditionary advanced basing capabilities and on testing participants’ ability to conduct combined fires missions, provide maritime domain awareness and deny adversaries the use of nearby sea lanes. It was a demonstration of the militaries’ ability to “integrate multinational sensors, command-and-control nodes, and precision fires into a unified, joint kill web.”

Training with weapons that could challenge enemy air and naval movements appeared to be a major element.

At the start of the exercise, a U.S. Air Force C-17 transported a U.S. Navy Containerized Launching System — a 40-foot container with four launch cells for anti-air and anti-ship missiles — to Trondheim in central Norway in a strategic airlift mission to demonstrate “rapid projection of joint logistics and interoperable communication assets.”

U.S. and British cargo aircraft also transported vehicles and equipment — including U.S. Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, a Norwegian National Maneuver Air Defense System, and an Australian Strikemaster anti-ship-missile system operated by Marines — to Jan Mayen as part of the rapid-insertion training.

The vehicles were moved around the island to test troops’ ability to position and protect assets on rough and contested territory. Those platforms were also employed to relay targeting data and communications as part of what the Corps calls “a resilient kill web” comprising dispersed weapons and command-and-control nodes. Other drills, like the delivery of medical supplies using an aerial drone, underscored the exercise’s expeditionary focus.

Holding ‘key maritime terrain’ at risk

A mountainous island 620 miles from mainland Norway with an active volcano and partially covered by glaciers, Jan Mayen is uninhabited except for a few dozen Norwegian military personnel and Norwegian Meteorological Institute staff.

But it is a strategic outpost in waters “vital to NATO in terms of securing international sea lines of communication and transatlantic supply routes,” a Norwegian official said after Operation Atlantic City 2025.

The 2025 version of the exercise was the first time Marines operated on Jan Mayen, according to Lt. Col. Kurt Stahl, communications director for US Marine Corps Forces Europe. That came after an apparent lull in U.S. activity there since late 2019, when airmen visited to do an airfield assessment.

This year’s Atlantic City was “quite significant” because it was the second consecutive year Marines ventured to the island, Stahl added.

Jan Mayen provides a “true austere island location” where Marines can train on inhospitable but important terrain, said Lt. Col. David Palacio, fires officer for Marine Corps Forces Europe.

“This year it was absolutely an integrated force, whether that was in targeting, intelligence, communications, also medical capabilities, which will be a concern in any type of austere and isolated environment like this,” Palacio said in a video released after the exercise, adding that troops were “really integrating significantly more than last year.”

Atlantic City 2026’s content and location were reminiscent of Marine Corps exercises with allies in the Western Pacific.

Over the past several years, Marines have deployed to Philippine and Japanese islands with sensors and weapons — notably the NMESIS anti-ship missile — that would allow them to monitor and control sea lanes and airspace around Taiwan that China would need to use in a conflict.

Atlantic City 2026 was meant to ensure Marines in Europe could do similar tasks.

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle delivered to the island on a British cargo plane “was really being used as a surrogate for” NMESIS, Palacio said in another video. “So we were validating that this vehicle can fit on this aircraft and can be delivered rapidly to this location, which we did flawlessly.”

The message of Atlantic City 2026 was also similar to that of the exercises on Japan’s southwest islands and in the northern Philippines: “It’s important for the adversary to know that, ‘Hey, this is a thing out here as well, too, so you’re not going to get sanctuary in areas that you thought,’” Palacio said. “‘That key maritime terrain that you thought you could just bypass? You now have to understand that you’re being held at risk.’”

Approaching Russia’s ‘bastion’

Atlantic City 2026 also reflects NATO’s shift toward the Arctic.

The exercise ran concurrently with Northern Viking, a NATO exercise focused on defending Iceland and sea lanes between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK — a chokepoint known as the GIUK Gap — and was part of NATO’s new Arctic Sentry initiative, which is a response to “Russia’s increasing military activity and China’s growing interest in the Arctic,” the alliance said.

“Over the last three, four, five years, allied activity in the Arctic has more than doubled, so there’s a lot of interest in the Arctic,” Maj. Gen. Øivind Gunnerud, chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, said during an event at Norway’s embassy in Washington, D.C., in mid-September.

Russia “is the most important military factor shaping our planning in the High North. It retains strategic, significant capabilities close to Norway,” including the powerful Northern Fleet, long-range aviation forces and advanced air and missile systems, Gunnerud said.

NATO also has growing concerns about Moscow’s ability to disrupt critical infrastructure, particularly undersea data cables, in the Arctic and North Atlantic.

NATO used the GIUK Gap as a vantage point to track Soviet submarines during the Cold War, and Moscow’s investment in its submarine force over the past two decades has given the chokepoint new relevance, but the interest in Jan Mayen is a sign that the alliance’s focus is moving farther north — closer to the Barents Sea, a “bastion” from which Russian subs could potentially strike targets in Europe with conventional and nuclear-armed missiles.

Norway has led the way amid NATO’s shift to the north.

In the coming years, the country will field new coast guard vessels designed for the Arctic, as well as new frigates and submarines. Paired with P-8 patrol planes that are already “flying constantly,” those ships will help in the “cat-and-mouse game up there to keep track of the submarines,” Gunnerud said.

Norway is also investing more in Jan Mayen. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Oslo invited allies to visit the island, and since then it has made plans to bolster its military posture and authority on the island. A planned undersea-cable project will also improve connectivity with mainland Norway.

“Norway has unquestionably escalated” its presence on and funding to Jan Mayen, wrote Klaus Dodds and Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, professors and Arctic security experts, in a recent report for the Royal United Services Institute.

“This was in part brought about in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it has seen a distinct change in the character of presence on the island,” they added. “From its long-standing duties as a meteorological outpost, it is now a crucial site of Norwegian security activity.”

In a memorandum signed Tuesday, Hegseth directed the secretaries of the military departments to immediately terminate the practice of appointing civilian faculty to tenured positions and develop hiring plans that prioritize institutional flexibility and faculty contributions to the warfighting mission.

“The primary purpose of our Military Service Academies (MSA) is to prepare the next generation of officers to lead the men and women of the greatest military on Earth,” Hegseth wrote.

Hegseth said tenure can contribute to “academic stagnation” and “faculty complacency” and make institutions less able to adapt to emerging needs.

He also argued that tenure can contribute to curricula drifting from the mission of educating future warfighters toward the research priorities of tenured faculty.

In military academies, civilian faculty have been part of the academic structure for decades. In 1992, Congress enacted legislation that expanded the ability of the academies to employ civilian faculty.

Academy leaders have previously cited tenure as a factor in recruiting and retaining civilian faculty. During a March 2025 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland said tenure gives civilian faculty opportunities to advance within their disciplines. Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Yvette Davids described tenure as a recruiting tool and an incentive for civilian faculty to stay, while Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind said tenure was part of the academic progression for civilian faculty.

The directive does not say that existing tenured civilian professors will lose their tenure, nor does it specify what employment structure will replace tenure for newly hired civilian faculty or how the departments will implement the change.

Hegseth framed the policy as part of a broader effort to reshape the academies around their military mission.

“To ensure our educational institutions remain firmly focused on this warfighting mission, we must address the structural mechanisms that have allowed civilian academic norms to dilute our focus on lethality,” the secretary wrote.

Hegseth will give a speech on Wednesday in front of hundreds of junior officers and enlisted officials, updating them on his priorities for the military.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hegseth would say that he plans to cut the billets for general and flag officers by 20%. Those are one- to four-star generals and admirals. That is an increase from the minimum 10% cut Hegseth laid out last year.

Rather than firing people, one of the officials said, the rank of some future jobs would change while billets for others would be canceled.

Hegseth has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing senior officers across the military and dealing with niche personnel issues. Last year, he ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star officers.

Pentagon adds new ‘warfighter’ evaluation for officers seeking first star

The event on Wednesday comes a year after Hegseth slammed “fat generals” and diversity initiatives in front of U.S. military generals and admirals during a speech at Quantico.

Last year, President Donald Trump also delivered an address at Quantico and floated the idea of using deployments to U.S. cities “as training grounds for our military.”

The remarks by Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, and Trump, a former reality television star, resembled a reality TV format, as top U.S. military officials were summoned on short notice.

Addressing an auditorium full of top brass who flew in from around the world at the time, Hegseth defended his firings of flag officers, including the top U.S. general, who is Black, and the Navy’s top admiral, who is a woman. He said the officers he relieved were part of a broken culture.

“If the words I’m speaking today are making your hearts sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth said.

The order was directed toward U.S. Cyber Command and the Defense Intelligence Enterprise in a Sept. 22 memorandum, which says the Defense Department will use its capabilities to protect the reliability of U.S. voting mechanisms from “external manipulation and disruption from foreign actors,” while maintaining the fundamental freedoms that characterize the country.

The memo does not identify a specific foreign actor or any particular election system or voting jurisdiction. Hegseth describes the effort as part of a “whole of government” effort to protect free and fair elections. The midterms will take place Nov. 3.

“Our Nation’s ability to conduct free and fair elections is a steadfast principle of our democracy,” Hegseth wrote. “Assuring and protecting this ability is a no-fail mission and the DoW will do its part in supporting this whole of government effort.”

The memorandum directs the commander of U.S. Cyber Command and the directors of the National Security Agency, Chief of Central Security Service, Defense Intelligence Agency and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to carry out their respective roles to counter foreign threats to the elections.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the directive is intended to protect the integrity of the election process from foreign interference.

“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our republic,” Parnell said. “By working in lockstep with federal, state, and local partners, U.S. Cyber Command and our defense intelligence teams, we will defend the integrity of America’s voting systems, expose foreign malign influence, and ensure our democratic processes remain secure from external manipulation while protecting the fundamental freedoms of the American people.”

Hegseth directed Cyber Command to collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security to counter potential cyber threats from foreign actors targeting the elections.

Hegseth also ordered the Defense Intelligence Enterprise to ensure that every lawful voter can cast their ballot “free from foreign intimidation, coercion, or fear.”

“In America, the people rule,” Hegseth wrote, “and we must ensure that their voice remains sovereign, secure, and entirely undiluted.”

Iraqi security experts say the withdrawal — agreed to in 2024 under U.S. President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump’s administration even as it wages war against Iran — could give Tehran and its allies free rein, while also allowing other U.S. enemies, including the Islamic State, to stage a comeback.

“Iran stands to benefit strategically from the coalition’s departure because it removes a military presence that for years acted as a counterweight to Tehran’s influence in Iraq,” said Jasim al-Bahadli, an Iraqi security analyst specialising in studying armed Shi’ite groups aligned with Iran.

He predicted that the pro-Iranian militia groups would not only portray the departure as a victory for their movement, but also “seek to translate that momentum into greater influence over security and political decision making.”

Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an ‌umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, described the U.S. withdrawal as “a historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis, and a crushing defeat for the American project.”

“On Sept. 30, we will celebrate the turning of a black page in Iraq’s history and the failure of the occupation to impose its will on our country,” he told Reuters. “Iraq has proven that its sovereignty cannot be secured by foreign forces, but by the resistance and the will of its people.”

NOT READY

While the eventual departure of U.S. forces is broadly popular among Iraqis, those who worry about the strength of the Iran-backed groups fear the withdrawal is premature.

“We believe Iraq is still not fully ready to take over the security file at this time,” Abdulrahman al-Zobaie, a Sunni tribal leader in Fallujah, once a bastion of anti-American resistance, told Reuters.

“All Iraqis aspire to full sovereignty, and no Iraqi would dispute that. But I believe that the [U.S.-led coalition] leaving in this way and creating a vacuum is what all Iraqis fear.”

American forces invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Sunni Muslim dictator Saddam Hussein, and went on to occupy the country, install a Shi’ite-led government and fight a years-long counterinsurgency before withdrawing at the end of 2011.

They returned less than three years later to help Iraqi forces defeat the Sunni militant group the Islamic State in a major war from 2014 to 2017.

Around twice as many Americans died in “Operation Iraqi Freedom” as in the parallel war in Afghanistan, which ended with an abrupt U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

In recent years, Iraq has been the only country to maintain close political and military alliances with both the United States and Iran, which sometimes used Iraqi territory as a proxy battlefield.

The United States killed a top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, with a strike on the Baghdad airport in 2020. Iran’s allies repeatedly fired on U.S. bases, sometimes drawing reprisals.

In this year’s war against Iran, seven of the U.S. service members listed as killed were in Iraq, the last an Army sergeant who died during the controlled detonation of a drone at a base near Erbil in July.

VICTORY FOR IRAN’S AXIS

Iran, which says its ultimate aim is to force American forces to leave the entire Middle East, casts the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as a victory for its “axis of resistance” of allied armed groups across the region.

“Lasting security will prevail in Iraq” once the Americans leave the country and the region, the deputy chairman of the National Security Commission of Iran’s Parliament, Amir Hayat Moqaddam, said on Monday.

Iran “welcomes the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and will undoubtedly support it,” he told Iran’s parliamentary news service. “Resistance groups are currently taking action, sometimes targeting and confronting American troops.”

Washington has accused Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq of playing a role in the wider Middle East conflict by launching attacks on neighboring countries at the direction of Tehran, most recently hitting a major Saudi oil pipeline this month. The Baghdad government says it is trying to curb their influence.

NEW LIFE FOR THE ISLAMIC STATE?

Some Iraqi security officials, both in the federal government and the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, say the U.S. pullout also risks giving new life to Islamic State fighters, who, despite the defeat of their self-proclaimed caliphate nearly a decade ago, retain a sleeper cell network.

At their height, the fighters occupied a third of Iraq and killed thousands of people, including hundreds they videotaped themselves gunning down inside a former U.S. military base.

A lack of U.S. intelligence, logistical support and drones will give the Islamic State a chance to regroup, said Kurdish commander Sirwan Barzani.

“For more than two weeks, we have noticed movement by [Islamic State] sleeper cells, after it was announced in the general media that there will be an official withdrawal of the international coalition from Iraq by the end of September,” he said. “This has boosted, in my opinion, the morale” of the fighters.

Iraqi security forces said a suspected Islamic State cell was preparing suicide attacks to coincide with the pullout. The plot highlighted concerns that the militant group remains capable of exploiting security gaps despite years of military setbacks, said four Iraqi security and army officials.

The Islamic State “is seeking to send a message that the group is still powerful and capable of launching bloody attacks,” said Col. Khalid al-Bayati, a senior security official in the strategic oil town of Kirkuk.

Licensed Professional Counselor Kevin Curry, 64, of Frisco, Texas, was convicted last week for his role in health care fraud involving Tricare, the Defense Department’s health program.

According to the Justice Department, Curry, who ran three purported mental health clinics in Texas and Florida, billed Tricare for transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, therapy services for troops and their families that they either never received or were ineligible for.

Curry falsely portrayed himself as a doctor, used fake doctor credentials and paid more than $5.5 million in kickbacks to persuade eligible Tricare beneficiaries to sign up for the therapy, a treatment for severe depression that involves using magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain.

“This defendant exploited a critical health care program serving active-duty service members and their families, diverting taxpayer dollars to bankroll personal luxuries ranging from hotel stays to a casino-themed party and even a gold‑plated Tesla Cybertruck,” National Fraud Enforcement Division Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said in a release. “Such conduct is an affront to the military community and the American public.”

According to the Justice Department, Curry directed employees to fabricate medical records, which he submitted to Tricare as proof of services and billed the program more than $26 million in “false, fraudulent and kickback-tainted TMS claims.”

Tricare paid Curry $17 million, which he used to finance his lavish lifestyle.

A jury convicted Curry of three counts of health care fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal kickbacks and three counts of “engaging in monetary transactions in criminal derived property.”

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

“Kevin Curry shamelessly preyed on the trust of service members, veterans, and their families, siphoning millions from Tricare through lies and coercion,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in a statement. “This conviction sends an unmistakable message that those who manipulate our military community and defraud federal healthcare programs will face the full force of federal prosecution.”

The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, in addition to the Justice Department.