Top 5     Routine testosterone screening of US troops may require extensive follow-on care, study finds (Military Times) A quarter of troops measured below testosterone thresholds, a study of Army personnel found, with similar results compared to the general U.S. population.       Execution of Nidal Hasan will not be livestreamed, Trump says (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan would not be livestreamed but that immediate families of the victims would be able to view it in person.       US Army to address parents’ blocked access to teen medical records (Military Times) To military parents who are frustrated because they can’t get access to their teenagers’ medical records, the U.S. Army Surgeon General has a message: “We share your concern,” and are working to address it.       Pentagon seeks expertise to develop brain injury assessment standards (Military Times) The Pentagon is looking to create standards to assess the impact of blast-induced mild traumatic brain injuries.       Ukrainian officials blame Pentagon for withholding life-saving intel from Kyiv (Military Times) The U.S. appears to have stopped sharing some forms of key intelligence with Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, dealing a blow to the country’s capacity to defend its skies and to continue its highly effective mid- and long-range strike campaign.   Operation Timeline     The human impact of policy changes at the DOD and VA (The War Horse) An ongoing timeline of the Trump administration’s actions focusing on the military and veterans.   Congress & Politics     Report to Congress on North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs (USNI News) The following is the Oct. 13, 2026, Congressional Research Service report, North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs.   Your Military     Pentagon schools drop annual flu vaccine requirement for students (Stars and Stripes) Tens of thousands of students attending the Pentagon’s schools won’t be required to get a seasonal flu shot this year for the first time in at least 10 years.       US ‘economic supremacy’ key in the Western Hemisphere, top US Army general says (Military Times) The U.S. Army’s top commander for the Western Hemisphere described American “economic supremacy” as an overarching goal of Washington’s regional security strategy, outlining plans to expand its military footprint in Central and South America on Monday at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting.       Military service members to square off against AI in ‘Mindgame’ tournament (Defense Scoop) Human participants will also be given access to an after-action review tool that features a large language model.   Army     ‘Who doesn’t want to be first?’ Best Squad, NCO and Soldier named at AUSA (Military Times) After a multi-day gauntlet of obstacle courses, ruck marches and technical trials that tested human endurance and proficiency, the five-soldier squad from the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment was named the Best Squad during a ceremony at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition on Monday.       Expanded dining options popular among soldiers, US Army officials say (Military Times) The U.S. Army is continuing to roll out pilot programs aimed at improving soldiers’ diets, including expanded, campus-like dining hall options and partnerships with restaurant franchises — and reporting high soldier satisfaction with the changes.   Navy     Navy civilianizes six former flag Billets, reduces six to captains (USNI News) The Navy quietly changed six billets held by flag officers to civilian posts as the service looks to follow Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call for “less generals, more GIs.”   Defense Industry     US Army to stand up second expeditionary cyber battalion in coming months (Military Times) The Army will soon double the number of battalions it uses to train and deploy expeditionary cyberspace and electromagnetic warfare teams, according to the Army.       Honeywell Aerospace’s counter-drone software unites data from multiple sensors into one (Military Times) Counter-drone systems can combine radar, cameras, radio-frequency sensors and other equipment to detect, track and identify potential threats. Honeywell Aerospace’s SAMURAI system is designed to bring information from those disparate sources into a single interface.       France to go it alone on next-gen combat aircraft after FCAS collapse (Defense News) France will develop a next-generation combat aircraft domestically as a successor to the Rafale, after a joint project with Germany and Spain for a future combat air system collapsed earlier this year, Air and Space Force Chief of Staff Jérôme Bellanger said.       Kratos combat drone completes first Euro flight, advances turbojet engine production (Military Times) The California-based defense company Kratos announced this week the first test flight of the uncrewed combat aircraft known as the U740 Valkyrie over European skies, as well as the first successful flight tests of a new turbojet engine designed for small aerial systems.       ‘Revolutionary’: Bell touts MV-75 Cheyenne II as combat game changer (Military Times) The U.S. Army’s MV-75 Cheyenne II is expected to bring increased capability to the service, not just through its boosted speed and range but also with its “digital backbone.”       US Army eyes developing soldier-worn drone detection gear (Military Times) The Army is in the early stages of developing and testing a wearable or lightweight device that could alert soldiers to the presence of hostile drones without substantially adding to their combat load, officials said in a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.       Thales Australia tackles heavy battlefield logistics with new big-rig robot (Defense News) Imagine an unmanned ground vehicle large enough to cart a 20-foot container around the battlefield, as well as possessing sufficient power to run a radar or launch a barrage of missiles.       Killer balloons an option as US Army seeks to ‘exploit the stratosphere’ (Military Times) On the heels of an experimentation ramp-up that has seen the U.S. Army’s high-altitude balloons deployed to Europe, the Pacific and the Middle East, a missile defense official said Wednesday that all options were on the table as the service seeks to make the most of the capability.       New Montana 'super range' complex could add critical weapons testing capacity (The War Zone) Trump announced a new facility aimed at testing autonomous weapons, space, and electronic ?warfare technology, supersonics and ?hypersonics.   International     Drone strikes in the Black Sea raise fears of Russian escalation to test NATO’s response (The Associated Press) A string of drone attacks on at least seven cargo vessels in the Black Sea this month, off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, has some members of the alliance wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking escalation to test their support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow’s full-scale invasion.       North Korea’s ‘hunchback’ submarine makes first at-sea appearance for missile tests (The War Zone) North Korea claims to have launched two cruise missiles from its bizarre modified Romeo class missile boat.   Video     Lockheed invests $300M in Texas plant to feed missile surge (Defense News) Lockheed Martin is investing $300 million to expand its plant in Grand Prairie, Texas, which supports all programs across its Missiles and Fire Control business, including the PAC-3 MSE and THAAD interceptors, the Precision Strike Missile and the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile.       How Silvus Is Connecting Soldiers and Systems Across the Battlefield (Defense News) Silvus explores how tactical radios, threat detection and anti-jamming capabilities can help the Army maintain communications in contested environments.       Pentagon looks for $50B for mass drone production, Hegseth says (Defense News) The Pentagon wants to build its stockpile of autonomous weapons from thousands of units to the millions — and needs congressional funding to get it done.       Lockheed Martin unveils new PAC-3 Edge interceptor for Patriot systems (Defense News) With demand rising for advanced interceptors, Lockheed debuts a missile it says improves on earlier generations of weapons.   Commentary & Analysis     In Afghanistan, I put the mission ahead of everything — even a lump in my breast (The War Horse) I was lying on my rack in a crowded tent in Afghanistan, watching an old episode of Project Runway on my computer. I rested my hands on my chest and felt something unfamiliar through my shirt: a lump in my left breast that had seemingly appeared overnight.       What Beijing calls open, Washington should call an operation (The Cipher Brief) China is about to run the largest influence operation in history. It will not have to run it. The world will download it.       Washington cannot outsource Saudi security to the Mecca Pact (The Cipher Brief) The Houthis have significantly escalated their airstrike campaign targeting civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, with two consecutive attacks at Riyadh’s international airport, killing 12 and injuring 300 others between October 10 and 11.       The next war of attrition is in Yemen (The Cipher Brief) Battlefield dynamics in Yemen shift quickly, but Houthi aims do not. A movement organized around radical ideology and perpetual conflict now shares a border with a state organized around modernization and prosperity.