Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose
The command that oversees U.S.

Joseph Trevithick, WarZone
Putting JDAM-LR into production will give the Navy an important new stream of lower-cost standoff munitions for its carrier air wings.

The Iliad and Odyssey have shaped Western ideas of heroism for nearly three millennia. Yet despite centuries of debate over whether they reflect historical reality or poetic fantasy, the Homeric world remains an internally consistent universe worth studying on its own terms. This isn’t about separating fact from fiction: it’s about understanding the warrior ethos that dominated the ancient Greek and Roman imagination, and how battles were truly fought in the world of Achilles, Hector, and Odysseus.

It is conceivable that in one blistering campaign, the People’s Republic of China could invade, occupy, and forcibly annex Taiwan. One question would dominate the post-occupation debate: “What more could have been done?” The obvious answers will be better intelligence, bigger exercises, more weapons. One underexamined answer is a different model for U.S. special operations forces advising.The United States has spent decades using rotational military teams to train foreign partners.

The Republic of China Army has for the first time deployed ground forces to the offshore island of Xiaoliuqiu as part of the ongoing Han Kuang 42 military exercises, marking a significant expansion of efforts to improve the military’s ability to rapidly reinforce outlying positions in the event of conflict. The deployment was conducted by the Fourth Theatre Command and focused on testing cross-sea mobility and the establishment of a forward combat outpost.

The Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet has deployed Su-30SM2 long range fighters to conduct a series of live-fire strike missions near the Kaliningrad exclave, practising precision attacks against simulated enemy targets by day and night. Ten fighter crews participated in the drills, which focused on improving strike capabilities against fortified ground positions while operating in a contested air defence environment.

The Republic of China Army has for the first time deployed newly supplied M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks to defend Taoyuan International Airport, as part of the annual Han Kuang military exercises, highlighting growing concern that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, with which the Republic of China remains in a state of civil war, could attempt to seize the key aviation hub during the opening stages of a potential hot war.

The Wellness Company

The “explosive diarrhea” outbreak – caused by a quickly spreading cyclospora parasite infection – has dominated the headlines over the last few weeks. However, up until this week, the cyclospora outbreak had simply been a concerning nuisance. That has changed now, with two Americans dead as a result of the parasite. This disturbing development is raising questions about where we stand with this outbreak and what will happen next.

Ukraine’s military authorities have disclosed the scale of the contributions being made by foreign combatants, with Military Ombudswoman Olga Reshetilova stating that approximately 16,000 foreign volunteers from at least 72 countries are currently engaged in the war effort. According to Reshetilova, nearly 40 percent of foreign volunteers serving with Ukrainian forces are citizens of Latin American countries.

Russia, according to a Reuters report this week, has been conducting a campaign of terror aimed at Zaporizhzhia, a city in Southeastern Ukraine.

Zaporizhzhia has been hit by Russia many times, going back to the original invasion in 2022, but Russia has stepped up the attacks lately, including its recent bombing of the processing center for a seafood business in that city.

Australia is sending 49 of its retired M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a move that bolsters Kyiv’s armored firepower but raises significant questions about survivability on the modern battlefield.

The struggle to protect the skies over Ukraine persists as NATO scrambles to deliver valuable Patriot interceptors to Kyiv.

Since the Patriot air defense system was first delivered to Ukraine, Kyiv has struggled with limited stocks of air defense missiles.

A 35th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon flies near the Korean peninsula during a dogfighting training scenario during exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield 25 at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Aug. 20, 2025.

U.S. Special Operations Command is looking for a new machine gun that weighs about 10 pounds and fires 5.56x45mm NATO rounds, said Navy Cmdr. Joe Vermette, a spokesperson for the command.
The Flyweight Assault Machine Gun would replace the Mk 46  — a special operations variant of the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon  — which has been in service for about 30 years, Vermette told Task & Purpose.

Do you know your bimble from your brolly?

Ukraine continues its long-range drone and missile strike campaign against Russia, having struck two large oil refineries in long-range attacks overnight into August 6.

The strikes damaged critical Russian fuel infrastructure over 800 miles from the front lines as Moscow struggles to keep its domestic oil market supplied.

KEKAHA, Hawaii — U.S.

Into the Arctic.

Less than a month after Zelenskyy dismissed Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defense and Oleksandr Syrskyi as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Moscow seems to be conducting its own “shake-up” in the Ministry of Defense.

Yesterday, Vladimir Putin announced that some changes were being made in the command structure of the Russian Armed Forces “aimed at improving the systems of materiel and military-technical support for the troops.” The aim is to strengthen the Russian backline, logistics, and procurement systems to better support troops at the front lines.

Ukraine’s recent barrages of drone attacks have disrupted daily life in Russia, knocked oil refinery capacity offline, and even encouraged allied nations to change the way they think about warfare.

A new report also says they have affected Russians’ travel plans.

Tu-22M3 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Russia Tu-22M Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

According to the New Voice of Ukraine, citing the Telegram channel Astra and reports from the Russian newspaper Kommersant, passenger traffic on flights between Moscow and St.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country’s military has hit two Russian oil refineries in “long-range” attacks.

Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the Slavneft-Yanos refinery in Yaroslavl and the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Bashkortostan.

Putin Back in 2023. Image Credit: Russian Federation

In Yaroslavl, huge clouds of black smoke were seen over the city, as videos and photos have shown on social media.

At the beginning of this week, markets and the ordinary person breathed a collective sigh of relief as the forty-seventh President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, appeared to walk back his previous warning of “Military Terror” attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Most people were not sighing because they supported the Islamic Republic.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team pilot and commander, practices at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA, November 12th, 2025.

Royal Navy proves drone armada is within arm&#8

Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***IranOver the last two weeks, President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened major attacks on Iran. Going into the weekend, multiple news outlets reported that he was mulling a major bombing campaign — which would almost certainly result in retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases and allies around the region.

Vladimir Putin has a major problem, and it has to do with the availability of oil and gasoline.

The Ukrainians have come up with a stunningly effective tactic – hit Russia’s energy infrastructure with long-range loitering munitions that have crushed refineries and other fuel processing facilities.

Putin in May of 2021 Russian Federation Photo

This has created pain at the pump for citizens who are not used to paying significant amounts for petrol.

The attacks keep on coming.

Hegseth Shifts Blame Over Missile Shortage to Second-In-Command – The United States’ apparent long-range missile shortage is no longer a secret, and reports this week have revealed how President Donald Trump clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the matter during a meeting at Camp David last week. The president reportedly lashed out at the defense secretary and other administration officials after learning that U.S. stockpiles of several key long-range missiles and air-defense interceptors had fallen to levels lower than initially believed.

The Marine Corps will host a “hackathon” next month to develop AI tools for education, administration and training, the service said, an effort intended to test — and possibly scale — disruptive technology prototypes across the “defense education enterprise.”
The Marine Corps University and Naval Postgraduate School is inviting Marines, sister services, government civilians, vendors and academics to the “AI Learning Initiatives Hackathon” from Sept.

From quantum computing to biotechnology Nato ha

DAYTON, Ohio — With all Air Force mission areas now led by newly-minted portfolio acquisition executives, senior officials say the service is beginning to reshape how it oversees programs, exercises new authorities and delivers capabilities.
The Air Force announced July 27 that it finished reorganizing its acquisition structure earlier that month, officially consolidating all of its program executive offices into 17 new organizations led by PAEs.

On Thursday morning, Ukraine struck two oil refineries deep behind enemy lines.

The refineries in the Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl regions were struck along with Russian military and commercial vessels operating near the Black Sea.

Ukraine War TOS-2. Image Credit: X Screenshot.

Regional authorities in Yaroslavl reported that more than 90 drones were used in the attack, which was described as the largest drone attack the region has experienced since the war began.

The Navy is establishing a direct reporting portfolio manager for robotic and autonomous systems and is considering moving RAS-focused staff out of the Washington, D.C. area, the service announced Wednesday.
The Department of the Navy is investing billions of dollars into developing and procuring a variety of uncrewed systems and AI-enabled technologies to boost the capacity and capability of the fleet and keep sailors and Marines out of harm’s way. Such tools are part of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle’s so-called “hedge strategy.

President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reportedly clashed during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David last week over the accusation that Hegseth misled him about US munitions shortages that could affect military operations against Iran, according to the Washington Post.

According to the report, which cited two people familiar with the exchange, Trump told Hegseth he thought the problem – a shortage of long-range and interceptor missiles – “had been fixed.”

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

Forces advocate Sarah Atherton says new allegat

Ukraine’s drones on Thursday struck the Russian city of Yaroslavl, and the strikes ignited a fire at Slavneft-YANOS, one of the largest oil refineries in Russia, United 24 Media reported.

That refinery, the United 24 report said, produces 15 million metric tons of crude oil annually, placing it among the top five refineries in the country.

Tu-160 Bomber Russian Air Force Photo

Tu-160 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Ukraine had also struck Rosneft’s Bashneft-UNPZ oil refinery the day before.

South Korea’s decision to begin large-scale unmanned ground vehicle deployment reflects a response to declining military recruitment

Tiberius Aerospace has entered a CRADA agreement with the US Army to develop the 155mm Sceptre artillery munition.

The United States and Iran appear to be edging closer to a new deal designed to prevent continued strikes and pave the way for a new deal, with Iranian officials now claiming that Washington is prepared to return to commitments made under the failed June memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The news comes after negotiators in Oman and Iran spent weeks working on a new shipping arrangement for the Strait of Hormuz, with the last several days spent finalizing the details.

President Donald J.

An Iran Deal Is Reportedly Close; What Do We Know About It: There is a supposed deal between Iran and Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that is “on the verge of being finalized” after both countries confirmed they had agreed on coordinates for shipping routes through the critical waterway.

There is, in several places, a growing sense of optimism that a peace deal will be reached and the current conflict will end. But as always, the devil is in the details.

U.S. Air Force Maj.

One of the biggest challenges in getting homeless veterans connected to resources, advocates say, is often simply staying in touch with the thousands who live on the streets. 
“It’s not uncommon for veterans to be qualified into programs, but then for the outreach worker to struggle to find them for weeks,” said Kathryn Monet, CEO of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. “That is a big and seemingly preventable struggle. Surely there should be a way if we can find people to get them the benefits that they’re entitled to.

In 2025, Matthew Fuhrmann wrote, “U.S. Allies and Adversaries Are Attempting Nuclear Deterrence Without Weapons – Will It Work?,” where he argued countries don’t always need to go as far as actually building nuclear weapons to reap the benefits of nuclear deterrence. A year later, we asked Matthew to revisit his arguments.Image: MidjourneyIn your 2025 article, you argued countries don’t necessarily have to follow through with building nuclear weapons to reap the benefits of nuclear deterrence, a strategy you called latent nuclear deterrence.

Projecting power is a core mission of the U.S. Navy. Park a carrier battle group in the international waters off the coast of North Korea and Kim Jong-un tends to put away his rattling saber—but that kind of move can be provocative in a way that could literally blow up in your face.
A less overt method of naval power projection is provided by America’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines. Part of the nuclear triad that includes land-based missiles and bombers, these underwater missile silos are the most survivable of the three.

Sailors and Marines who have medical waivers for shaving will receive counseling after six months, according to the latest updates to the Navy and Marine Corps’ grooming standards.
The latest guidance was announced in recent Navy and Marine Corps administrative messages. The Air Force also recently updated its policy on how long service members can have medical waivers for facial hair before facing administrative separation.

According to multiple media reports, a deal is nearing between Iran and Oman that would, at least to some degree, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, marking a significant step toward an end to the war in Iran.

CBS News reported Thursday morning that Iran and Oman were “nearing a new arrangement” for managing traffic for the crucial waterway, but noted that Iranian state news agency IRNA is characterizing the agreement as “a new security model” for the Strait, rather than a full reopening.

The US Department of State has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Norway for the supply of 155mm High Explosive M795 projectiles.

An airport ground worker discovered an explosive-laden drone sitting on the secure cargo apron of Leipzig/Halle Airport early Wednesday.

The unmanned aircraft had landed directly beside a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 freighter and had come to rest on the tarmac undetected.

Eurofighter Typhoon Upgrade. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Eurofighter Typhoon on the Runway. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

German and NATO officials are calling the incident an escalation to a “next step” in both drone incursions into NATO airspace and Russian hybrid sabotage against European infrastructure.

Europe continues to show how out of step its response is with the growing threat from Moscow, writes famous chess master, champion, and exiled Putin critic Gary Kasparov in an op-ed for the London Daily Telegraph.

The European Union just recently enacted its 21st package of sanctions against Russia as a response to Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Tu-160 Up Close. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

With wars in the Middle East and Europe ongoing, worries about global energy have shifted from concerns about the price of oil per barrel to the ability of oil facilities around the world to process it. Several factors have converged, including Russia’s constrained refining capacity, China’s reluctance to export the fuel it has abroad, and disruptions to previously regular supplies of Middle Eastern energy caused by the war in Iran.

According to an official with Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service (HUR), a missile unit from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has begun deploying its personnel, missiles, and launchers into western Russia.

Estimates reportedly put the unit’s strength at as many as 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers. They will be employed for missile strikes against Ukraine, said the same HUR official.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Vladivostok, Russia April 25, 2019.

The news comes at a more than inopportune moment.

Planet Labs / Wikimedia Commons

Reuters reported Wednesday that Andrii Cherniak — a spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence — is claiming that a dedicated North Korean ballistic missile unit has begun positioning in Russia’s Voronezh Oblast, potentially fielding 120 ballistic missiles and six mobile launchers, with approximately 90 North Korean troops already on the ground. Reuters added the standard caveat: it could not independently verify the Ukrainian intelligence official’s claims. Moscow and Pyongyang did not respond.

Few, if any, movie stars achieve the level of celebrity of Paul Newman without good fortune. No one recognized that more than the screen legend himself.
Newman’s luck did not begin with his three-year stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He understood during his years in the Pacific (and then in Hollywood) that fate fell in his favor more than once.
Also Read: Why it took 2 decades for ‘Patton’ to make it to the big screen
While serving his country, forces beyond his control likely saved Newman’s life.

“Vladimir Putin has a big problem: He needs more bodies to throw into the Russian war machine in Ukraine,” reads an essay today from the Francis Fukuyama-founded American Purpose magazine.

The problem for the former KGB Lt. Col., who is now Russia’s president, is that it is not clear where those soldiers are coming from—and how fraught with danger another mobilization might be.

Russian T-90 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-90M. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

This week, recently retired US Navy Adm. Mark Montgomery and his co-authors, Bradley Bowman and Elaine Dezenski, spoke to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) about their recent book, Axis of Aggressors.

Their theme is that the growing strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Russia, Iran, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is turning into the most pressing security challenge facing the United States and its allies.

China’s Xi Jinping. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

On 25 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the beginning of a 40-day pressure operation headed by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).

The objective of the campaign is to hit enough facilities of the oil industry and other strategic targets that Russia would be forced to sit down at the table to negotiate a peace settlement.

Ukraine Cruise Missile Ministry of Defense Photo

Unfortunately for Ukrainians, the 40 days were up on 4 August, but there are no indications that the Russian side is ready to sit down and agree to a settlement to end the hostilities.