Top 5     US military deploys over 900 personnel to Venezuela for earthquake response (Reuters) The U.S. military has established a robust footprint of U.S. forces in and around Venezuela to support relief operations, with more than 900 personnel inside the country and another roughly 800 in Caribbean hubs Puerto Rico and Curacao.       In a first, Trump will travel aboard Qatari-donated Air Force One (Military Times) President Donald Trump will travel for the first time on the new Air Force One aircraft Wednesday, according to the White House.       Thousands of veterans’ disability claims erroneously denied on appeal will get another look (Stars and Stripes) A class action lawsuit involving tens of thousands of veterans whose disability appeals were erroneously closed by the Department of Veterans Affairs will be heard in federal court this summer to determine whether a proposed settlement agreement is fair and reasonable.       Japanese torpedo sends US ship to the ocean floor during Valiant Shield exercise (Military Times) The U.S. Navy’s decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Juneau was sent to the ocean floor during the ongoing Valiant Shield exercise taking place from June 22 to July 1.       64 US sailors sickened in diesel generator glitch on ballistic missile submarine (Stars and Stripes) The Navy is investigating a recent generator malfunction aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska that sickened dozens of sailors.   US Strikes in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific     A list of US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels (Military Times) Since early September 2025, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in support of what the Pentagon has called continued counternarcotics efforts.   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.   Army     The US Army goes into the breach — without soldiers (Military Times) The phrase “into the breach,” invokes one of the Army’s most deadly missions: sending combat engineers through enemy obstacles to clear a path so that others may follow. Now, instead of sending soldiers, the Army is experimenting with drones.   Navy     Vessel that aided in discovery of famous WWII shipwrecks finds new life in US Navy (Military Times) The research vessel of the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, has found new life.   Marine Corps     Inside the Marine Corps’ Call of Duty training experiment (Military Times) For more than 15 years, the Office of Naval Research has explored how video games can affect human cognition. While researchers often found evidence that they can improve cognitive performance, the concept has had limited application into real-world programs.       The new Marine Scout career field is officially here (Task & Purpose) The Marine Corps is creating a new primary military occupational specialty for scouts starting on Oct. 1, Corps officials announced on Tuesday.   Space Force     Space Force fields mobile satellite-jamming system (Space News) The system known as Meadowlands is transitioning to operational use as the military places greater emphasis on electronic warfare   Coast Guard     Former leader who served during transformative time for Coast Guard dies at 65 (Military Times) Frank Welch, who served as Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard during the service’s post-9/11 transformation, died June 25 at his home in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He was 65.   Veterans     At 18, he fought with Green Berets in Vietnam. Now, he finally has his Special Forces tab. (Task & Purpose) An old friend pinned a Special Forces tab onto Terry McIntosh’s blue blazer earlier this month during an impromptu celebration at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The tab was a gift from Al Kittredge, a retired Special Forces officer, who presented it to McIntosh to mark the Army’s decision to formally acknowledge McIntosh’s status as an 18-year-old Special Forces soldier in 1968.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Anduril and Amazon’s mobile data center venture aims to bring edge computing to the frontlines (Defense One) Amazon Web Services and Anduril are combining the tech giant’s on-site cloud computers and the defense contractor’s mobile data center to bring edge computing to the frontlines. Both have already been used during the Iran war.   Defense Industry     SOCOM is seeking a long-range kamikaze drone (Military Times) U.S. Special Operations Command is looking for a small but long-range kamikaze drone.       Ascendant Paris to hold European-flavored Bastille Day flyover with nuclear undertones (Defense News) Billed under the motto “strategic awakening of Europe,” France’s Bastille Day celebrations on July 14 will have a distinctly defiant undertone to them.       Latvia and Ukraine to open drone factory right on Baltic nation’s border with Russia (Defense News) Latvia and Ukraine plan to build a joint drone manufacturing facility in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia, near the country’s borders with both Russia and Belarus, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said June 29 during a visit to a military base in the region.   Ukraine     Denmark adds $670 million to its support for Ukraine military (Bloomberg) Denmark said it will provide Ukraine with an additional 4.4 billion kroner ($670 million) in military support, underscoring its commitment to the country as the war to defend itself against Russia drags on.   International     Afghan Taliban launch strikes on border with Pakistan as tensions escalate (BBC News) Pakistan's military says it shot down four rudimentary drones and will respond to any further provocation.       A dispute over opening Hormuz drives a wedge into US-Saudi relations (The Wall Street Journal) Saudi Arabia blocked Trump’s first big effort to open the strategic waterway, triggering a widening diplomatic rift.       Iraq launches corruption crackdown, sets deadline for militia weapons handover (The Long War Journal) Iraq's new government launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that resulted in dozens of arrests of politicians and senior officials across the country's political spectrum. The raids, carried out by elite security forces, are part of Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi's broader effort to strengthen state institutions and restore public confidence in government.       North Korea’s Kim hails ‘unshakeable will’ to develop ties with China’s Xi (Al Jazeera English) Kim Jong Un has sent Xi Jinping a congratulatory message to mark the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.       Russian threat likely to endure after Putin, Sweden says (Bloomberg) The Russian regime is likely to remain a threat to its neighbors well after President Vladimir Putin’s time in office ends, the head of Sweden’s military intelligence agency said.       Putin faces increased pressure as Moscow is again attacked by drones (The New York Times) The Russian authorities said 419 drones were shot down across Russia, including in the capital, and in Crimea.   Video     How Leonardo DRS is advancing Indo-Pacific command systems (Defense News) How Leonardo DRS is advancing Indo-Pacific command systems Leonardo DRS shares how open architecture enables rapid UAS defense upgrades and battle management integration across the Indo-Pacific.   Commentary & Analysis     The good neighbor: Building trust in the home hemisphere and winning the geopolitical game (Small Wars Journal) The United States’ pivot to the Western Hemisphere, illustrated by its number one priority of the 2026 National Defense Strategy, indicates that its most critical allies and partners live in its own neighborhood.       Congress questions Pentagon spending—and the future of Trump’s battleship (The Cipher Brief) “I’m deeply concerned that the Presidential proposal for $350 billion mandatory funding [to be carried in a reconciliation bill and not an appropriations bill] for defense will have no Appropriations [Committee] input on the enactment. That’s not the right way to fund the Department of Defense, because it took the Department ten months to explain to Congress how they were going to spend the $150 billion in mandatory funding they received last year. It’s unacceptable, and I have no confidence the Department will do a better job responding to us in the future. There’s also no guarantee that a reconciliation bill will pass.”       Iran’s diverging priorities are jeopardizing US peace talks (The Wall Street Journal) Moderates are eager to free up billions of dollars held in Qatar, but hard-liners are focused on controlling the Strait of Hormuz.       A US missile killed Iranian schoolchildren four months ago. We still don’t know the full story (The Associated Press) It was the deadliest reported strike in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Most of the victims were children.       The war before the war has already begun (The Cipher Brief) There are 65 active state-based conflicts in the world today, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. That is not 65 separate crises. It is 65 living laboratories.       Lost in translation: How a premier Chinese think tank views US chinese competition (War on the Rocks) On May 13, 2026, Air Force One landed in Beijing for President Donald Trump’s first state visit to China in nearly a decade. That same morning, the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations published a report titled The Evolving World and the Right Way to China-US Coexistence. The summit dominated global media coverage for two days. The report received almost none.The Beijing summit produced familiar imagery: honor guards, a state banquet in the Great Hall of the People, and carefully choreographed warmth. Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced that both sides had agreed to “strategic stability” as a framework for the