Top 5     ‘One chance to get it right’: VA secretary pledges VHA improvements (Military Times) A planned overhaul of the Veterans Health Administration will improve veterans care by creating a centralized system that better supports hospitals and clinics, which, in turn, will increase their focus on patients, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said Monday.       Pentagon to invest $1B in L3Harris spinoff rocket motor firm (Defense News) The Defense Department on Tuesday announced it has agreed to invest $1 billion in L3Harris Technologies’ solid rocket motor production in a first-of-its-kind deal.       Pentagon to start measuring troops’ body fat by waist-to-height ratio (Military Times) The Pentagon on Monday issued a memo directing the U.S. military to evaluate the body fat of troops using a waist-to-height ratio, replacing traditional height-and-weight tables as the primary measure of physical standards.       Plane used in boat strike painted like civilian aircraft: Report (The Associated Press) The plane used by the U.S. military to strike a boat accused of smuggling drugs off the coast of Venezuela last fall was painted to look like a civilian aircraft, a move that appears to be at odds with the Pentagon’s manual on the laws of war.       Iran protests death toll tops 2,000, activists say, in worst upheaval since 1979 revolution (France 24) U.S.-based activists said the death toll in the Iranian government's crackdown on the largest protest movement since the 1979 revolution had passed 2,000. While an enduring internet blackout has made it impossible to know the full scale of the violence, some Iranians have been able to report what they've seen via phone calls.   US strikes in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific (updated)     A list of US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels (Military Times) Since early September, 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.   Pentagon     Pentagon is embracing Musk’s Grok AI chatbot as it draws global outcry (The Associated Press) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok will join Google’s generative AI engine in operating inside the Pentagon network, as part of a broader push to feed as much of the military’s data as possible into the developing technology.       Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to Havana Syndrome (CNN) The Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that some investigators think could be the cause of a series of mysterious ailments impacting US spies, diplomats and troops that are colloquially known as Havana Syndrome, according to four sources briefed on the matter.   Congress & Politics     Trump administration labels 3 Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations (The Associated Press) President Donald Trump’s administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for U.S. relationships with allies in the region.   Your Military     Study of female troops supports COVID vaccine before, during pregnancy (Military Times) A new study of female U.S. service members has found that contracting COVID-19 can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure or hemorrhage during pregnancy but getting a COVID-19 vaccine before or while expecting did not raise the risk of such complications.       Retired Navy officer takes helm of DOD’s military health care (Military Times) A retired Navy commander who was a former director of the White House Medical Unit and a former Department of Veterans Affairs health care executive was sworn in as the Defense Department’s top medical leader Monday.   Army     Boosting soldier ingenuity the focus of new Army-commissioned study (Military Times) You’re on a two-day patrol mission near an unknown village that might be hostile when your transport vehicle runs out of fuel. You can’t communicate with your headquarters element, but you know you need to act soon. What do you do?       Plea deal in child pornography case results in 6-month term for Army warrant officer in Germany (Stars & Stripes) An American soldier serving in Germany was sentenced Tuesday to six months’ confinement and a dishonorable discharge for viewing pornographic images including one of an infant.       Army to field Bell MV-75 aircraft this year, integrate more drones (Military Times) The U.S. Army will field the long-anticipated Bell MV-75 tiltrotor aircraft this year ahead of its former schedule, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George announced at the Army’s Senior Leader Sitrep town hall meeting that premiered online today.       Here’s why a Fort Bragg dining facility got an ‘F’ sanitation rating (Task & Purpose) The Providers Warrior Restaurant at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, recently received a grade of “F after a Jan. 6 food service inspection, a spokesperson for the 82nd Airborne Division confirmed. The official attributed the failing grade to a “mislabeled item in a time-sensitive area,” adding that subsequent corrections and improvements by chow hall staff have since earned an upgrade to a “C.”       Army shifts advisory mission to Western Hemisphere Command (Military Times) The Army is restructuring an advisory force born of the global war on terrorism, transferring responsibility to a newly created Western Hemisphere Command and retaining two regionally focused brigades as it scales back a mission that once spanned the globe.   Navy     Former US sailor sentenced to 16 years for selling ship intel to China (The Associated Press) A former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of selling technical and operating manuals for ships and operating systems to an intelligence officer working for China was sentenced Monday to more than 16 years in prison, prosecutors said.       Navy recognizes leading installations with Battle ‘E’ Award (Military Times) The U.S. Navy announced that several installations will be receiving an award acknowledging stellar support of the “fleet, fighter, and family,” according to a Navy release.   Marine Corps     As Indo-Pacific risks grow, Marines on Okinawa reshape command for faster response (Stars & Stripes) The Marine Corps’ only permanently deployed expeditionary brigade stood up a new headquarters company on Tuesday, aligning it with a Japanese amphibious brigade to streamline joint humanitarian and warfighting missions in the Indo-Pacific.   Air Force     Air Force clamps down on airmen walking with phones (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Air Force is clamping down on digital multitasking while on duty, ending a previous policy that allowed airmen to use phones and other digital devices while walking in uniform.       Air Force tightens base entry rules in South Korea months after government raid (Stars & Stripes) The Air Force has changed entry procedures at its largest base in South Korea following a search-and-seizure operation conducted there by South Korean officials last year.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Pentagon task force to deploy AI-powered UAS systems to capture drones (Military Times) The Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401 will soon deploy counter-drone technology that uses nets to capture intruding unmanned aerial systems.   Defense Industry     US shipyard HII expands in UK to service growing Europe UUV business (Defense News) Huntington Ingalls Industries has doubled the footprint of its site on the south coast of England as the American shipbuilder seeks to service its growing business of unmanned underwater vehicles for the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and other navies in western and northern Europe.   International     Germany expands naval-surveillance push with 8 SeaGuardian drones (Defense News) Germany has ordered eight MQ-9B SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in a €1.52 billion ($1.77 billion) contract executed through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.       NATO foes’ High North incursions are ‘not for peaceful purposes,’ top US general in bloc says (Stars & Stripes) The Arctic is rapidly becoming a front line for NATO competition with Russia and China, as adversaries expand their presence in the High North and probe alliance defenses, the top American general in Europe said over the weekend.       India, China seek to rebuild military trust to keep border calm (Bloomberg) Top leaders in India and China want to maintain the peace along their border and are working to bridge a trust deficit between the militaries of the two countries, India’s senior-most army commander said.       Strikes on Venezuela, Iran bolstered deterrence in Pacific, Navy admiral says (Stars & Stripes) U.S. military intervention in Venezuela this month and missile strikes in Iran in June enhanced America’s deterrence of its adversaries in Asia by demonstrating “capabilities and will,” the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Monday.       The US’s two foremost Asian allies are on good terms — an irritant for China (Wall Street Journal) In a high-profile summit Tuesday, the leaders of Japan and South Korea — two of the U.S.'s staunchest allies — put on a display of unity in the face of rising economic, technological and military pressures from China.       US delivers military equipment to boost Nigeria security fight (Bloomberg) The U.S. delivered critical military equipment to Nigeria, reinforcing security cooperation with Africa’s most populous nation as it seeks to curb terrorism, banditry and kidnappings that have destabilized large parts of the country.       Japanese defense minister urges Indo-Pacific nations to link defense efforts during Hawaii visit (USNI News) Japan Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called on “like-minded” Indo-Pacific nations to link defense and capability efforts to counter the potential conflict in the region on Monday during his keynote address at the Honolulu Defense Forum held in Hawaii.   Military Culture & History     Air Force identifies last of the service members killed in 1952 Alaska plane crash (Stars & Stripes) The last of the 52 service members killed in a 1952 transport plane crash in Alaska have been identified, closing a project begun 13 years ago when glacier movement first revealed remains of the missing.   Video     Wait, is this F-22 Raptor demonstration footage kind of soothing? (Military Times) Watch now.   Commentary & Analysis     How DEI caused a military recruitment crisis (Wall Street Journal) The Biden administration discouraged white recruits. Secretary Hegseth’s "reset" invites everyone to serve.       The Islamic Republic will not last (The Atlantic) Under the cover of a total internet shutdown that has now lasted more than 100 hours, Iran’s security forces have unleashed bone-chilling brutality on protesters, killing at least 2,000 people, according to Iranian officials. Rather than hiding its crimes, the regime has broadcast footage from a morgue on state television. Corpses overflowed the facility, where relatives searched for their loved ones. The news anchor casually declared that the bodies were mostly those of “ordinary people.”       Greenland or NATO? Trump can’t have both (Wall Street Journal) It isn’t for sale, and the consequences of a military takeover would be dire. In a sign of the stark conflict between Europe and the U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Danish leaders on Wednesday to discuss the fate of Greenland. President Trump has made his intentions clear.       After Maduro: Trump’s managed authoritarianism trap in Venezuela (War On The Rocks) It’s early days, but the Trump administration’s approach to a post-President Nicolás Maduro Venezuela is quickly coming into focus.