Top 5     US strikes Iran for ninth day; Iran says two oil tankers in Strait of Hormuz exploded and immobilized (Reuters) U.S. forces hit Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday as concerns grew over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran said two oil tankers had exploded and been immobilized.       Doctors question evidence behind Pentagon’s testosterone screening plan (Military Times) U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, which he says will help to maintain military readiness.       US service member killed in northern Iraq, US Central Command says (Reuters) A U.S. service member was killed on Saturday “during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance” in northern Iraq, U.S. Central Command said.       230 troops discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccine have rejoined, Pentagon says (Military Times) Roughly 230 troops who left the U.S. military rather than get the COVID-19 vaccine have reupped — fewer than 3% of the thousands eligible under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s policies to encourage them to return.       Appeals court keeps in place Pentagon's escort policy for reporters (CBS News) The appeals court in Washington, D.C., divided 2-1 in ruling in favor of the Trump administration in the legal battle over the Pentagon's escort policy for journalists.   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.   Your Military     Military spouses can find jobs. Keeping careers is the hard part. (Military Times) Ninety-six days after arriving at Camp Pendleton, California, for her family’s third permanent change of station, Michelle Pasco is still searching for work.       Military services leaning into handheld blood testing devices to diagnose TBIs (DefenseScoop) Multiple military services are leaning into handheld blood testing devices to diagnose traumatic brain injuries, technology that officials said will give frontline medical providers quick, objective analysis needed in large-scale conflict.   Army     Soldier, girlfriend allegedly starved child and dogs to death (Military Times) Federal prosecutors charged a soldier and his girlfriend with murder after alleging they allowed their baby and three dogs to starve while living in on-base housing at Fort Benning , Georgia.       Wheels up, instructor down: Army aviation students to fly solo cross-country (Military Times) It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… lone Army aviation student in the cockpit?   Navy     Navy instructs commands to remove portraits, biographies from websites (Military Times) The U.S. Navy announced that certain commands are no longer authorized to provide photos and biographies of leadership on public-facing websites.       Blue Angels won’t be punished after low beach flyover, acting SECNAV says (Military Times) U.S. Navy leadership announced Thursday that the flight demonstration squadron involved in an abnormally low flyover at Pensacola Beach, Florida, will not face consequences.   Space Force     Space Force identifies airman killed in accident at Vandenberg (Task & Purpose) Space Force said that the airman who died in an accident at Vandenberg Space Force Base this week was Airman 1st Class Cedric Eneluna. Eneluna, 23, was serving as part of the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Pavements and Equipment Flight.       Space Force must continue to rebuild civilian personnel staff after cuts, chief nominee says (Military Times) A year after massive civilian personnel layoffs swept through the federal government and across military services, the U.S. Space Force is still rattled from its loss of a third of its total personnel.   Coast Guard     Coast Guard locates fisherman who went missing off Thomas island (Stars and Stripes) The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies located a missing fisherman who went fishing off St. Thomas on Thursday and did not return as expected, the service announced in a news release.       Man dies after boat hits rocks in Lake Erie; Coast Guard rescues 2 (Tribune News Service) One man died and two were rescued after their vessel ran aground on rocks near Starve Island in Lake Erie July 18.   National Guard     Soldiers recognized in Army National Guard 2026 Best Warrior Competition (Military Times) U.S. Army Spc. Brandon Brown of the Florida Army National Guard and U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Fouts of the Arizona Army National Guard were named the 2026 Army National Guard Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, respectively, after winning this month’s Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition.       National Guard flies aid to waterlogged Texas cities (Stars and Stripes) While the extreme rainfall that pounded much of western Texas is forecast to continue moving westward, several counties are still watching for floods as rivers continue to rise.       DC National Guard gets its first security vessel (Military Times) The District of Columbia National Guard has commissioned its first maritime security vessel this week, giving the unit a waterborne capability to support security at major events and overall homeland defense in the nation’s capital.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     ‘Let the AI do it’: Former Air Force secretary pits machine against human operators (Military Times) As the U.S. Air Force moves to increasingly incorporate artificial intelligence into operations, the force needs to train human operators effectively to use the tools. But the technology might make a better fighter than the human at times, a former Air Force secretary said.   Defense Industry     US Navy 2 years behind on hypersonic missile installation on Zumwalt destroyers (Defense News) The U.S. Navy’s expensive effort to install hypersonic missiles on three Zumwalt-class destroyers is two years behind schedule, according to government auditors.       Wars shift focus from jets to weapons at giant Farnborough Airshow (Reuters) Spiraling security risks are expected to push defense to the forefront of Britain’s Farnborough Airshow, as aerospace and arms makers struggle to keep pace with demand for weapons while cementing a fragile recovery in civil jet and engine production.       Canada to spend $1.4 billion on armored combat support vehicles built locally (Defense News) Canada is significantly expanding its armored fleet with a new contract to acquire 190 combat support vehicles over the next four years.       Saronic picks Brownsville, Texas, for $3 billion Port Alpha shipyard (Military Times) Autonomous vessel maker Saronic is set to build Port Alpha, a shipyard the company describes as the most advanced in the world, at the Port of Brownsville, Texas.   Ukraine     8 killed and more than 60 wounded in Ukrainian drone attack on Russian regions (NPR) Kyiv's forces are continuing their aerial campaign against energy infrastructure and military targets inside Russia, aiming to undermine Moscow's war effort.       Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia kill at least 8, injure over 60 (CBS News) Kyiv's forces are continuing their relentless aerial campaign? against energy infrastructure and military targets inside Russia.   Commentary & Analysis     Hegseth ordered a new study of women in combat. Critics say it’s built to reach one conclusion. (The War Horse) Two months before Pete Hegseth appeared in front of Congress to testify in his confirmation to be secretary of defense, he sat across from the podcaster Shawn Ryan, talking about the Pentagon’s 2015 decision to open ground combat roles to women.       The new military family: staying together while living apart (Military Times) Every morning, Chelsea Thomas wakes up married, but alone. Her husband, an Air Force service member, has spent the past three years living more than 600 miles away because of military orders. While he relocated to his next assignment, Thomas remained in Florida with their children, preserving careers, school routines and the life they had built.       Winning battles, losing strategy: Why military superiority no longer guarantees victory (The Cipher Brief) America’s battlefield dominance remains unmatched, but Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran shows that tactical success increasingly fails when military power is not matched by a coherent political strategy.       What is Pakistan military's strength and capability? (Reuters) Pakistan has been negotiating an expanded defence pact with Kuwait in exchange for ?energy cooperation and investment, according to five ?sources with knowledge of the talks.       The blood bank and the logistics of wartime medicine (War on the Rocks) Before the twentieth century gave armies antibiotics, the leading killer of American soldiers in wartime was neither enemy fire nor shrapnel.       The rise and fall of Ukraine’s drone warfare mastermind (The New York Times) The popularity of drones, and the defense minister who heavily promoted them, helped lead to a clash in which President Volodymyr Zelensky sided with the military brass.       25 years Aafter 9/11, the next global shock could be worse (The Cipher Brief) The next 9/11 is unlikely to be another terrorist attack of equivalent scale nor a cyber-attack nor even another pandemic. The next global shock may be the use of nuclear weapons assisted by the more casual attitudes of less responsible world leaders and the lack of popular understanding and fear.       Broken drone, far from home: The case for overseas autonomous system sustainment (War on the Rocks) It’s 2028, and the Fujian carrier strike group has just left Yulin, China, for an unknown destination. The U.S. Navy’s “Hedge Strategy” has let commanders disperse unmanned systems across regional choke points as forward-deployed scouts.