Top 5     US forces kill, capture ’nearly 25 ISIS’ fighters in Syria operations (Military Times) The U.S. military said Tuesday that it had carried out a series of recent operations against the Islamic State in Syria, resulting in the death or detention of “nearly 25 ISIS operatives,” according to a U.S. Central Command release.       Nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles enter active service, Russia says (The Associated Press) Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, as the U.S. efforts to broker a deal to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine have entered a pivotal stage.       Navy doubles annual PT test requirement, updates failure guidelines (Navy Times) The U.S. Navy announced updates to physical fitness standards for sailors that will go into effect at the beginning of 2026, including aspects that will lead to a sailor’s administrative separation from the service.       Trump’s shadow war in Venezuela grows, but country’s strongman leader still clings to power (The Guardian) Report of a drone attack on a port facility signals a new phase in the U.S. military campaign against Nicolás Maduro.       Lockheed still paid $1.7 billion despite poor readiness rate of F-35s (Defense News) The Department of Defense did not consistently hold Lockheed Martin accountable for F-35 poor sustainability performance in its 2024 contract, according to a Dec. 19 inspector general audit of the performance.   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     US sanctions Venezuelan firm for assembling and maintaining Iranian drones (Flight Global) Washington has imposed sanctions on a Venezuelan aerospace company and its chairman for allegedly facilitating the acquisition, assembly and operation of Iranian-designed Mohajer-series unmanned aerial vehicles with surveillance and strike capabilities.   Your Military     What is Nifty Nugget? NDAA revives 47-year-old military exercise (Military Times) In 1978, the Defense Department conducted an exercise to simulate what would happen if it needed to mobilize all U.S. forces globally in the face of an existential conflict.       MQ-9 Reapers flying with unusually heavy weapons loads over Caribbean (The War Zone) Over the past week or so, U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones have been spotted carrying increasingly greater numbers of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles on sorties from Puerto Rico.   Army     Army stands up AI, machine-learning career field for officers (Military Times) The new specialty, designated 49B, will be open to eligible officers through the Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program, beginning in January 2026.       Army changes course, decides to keep horses at two bases (Task & Purpose) The Army is pulling the reins and now plans to keep its military horse programs at two bases that were set to end in 2026.   Navy     New Navy report gauges training disruption of Hawaii’s marine mammals (Stars and Stripes) Over the next seven years, the U.S. Navy estimates its ships will injure or kill just two whales in collisions as it tests and trains in Hawaiian waters, and it concluded those exercises won’t significantly harm local marine mammal populations, many of which are endangered.       Analysts question whether Trump-class battleship will be built (The Maritime Executive) The announcement of a new Trump-class battleship design last week prompted considerable commentary about its equipment, capabilities and exceptional size.   Marine Corps     Marine Corps launches six drone training programs open to any MOS (Marine Corps Times) Keeping in step with the Pentagon’s push for legions of new drones , the Marine Corps is instituting new training to ensure the service has the right personnel to operate them.       Marines announce new dates for generative AI workshop at Quantico (DefenseScoop) Marines, civilians and members of industry interested in attending the U.S. Marine Corps’ AI “workshop” at Quantico should mark their calendars for March 9-12, 2026, according to a new message released Monday.   Space Force     Space Force offers new Vandenberg launch site (Space News) Vandenberg Space Force Base is offering launch providers access to a new site with conditions that could enable flights of SpaceX’s Starship.   Coast Guard     Oil tanker pursued by the US appears to claim Russian protection (The Wall Street Journal) The Bella 1 has evaded seizure by the Coast Guard for almost two weeks, but it is now within half a mile of military vessels.   Veterans     Court upholds order requiring VA to build housing for veterans in LA (Military Times) A federal appeals court this week upheld a federal district court ruling ordering the Department of Veterans Affairs to dramatically expand housing for unhoused, disabled veterans on its West Los Angeles campus.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     ESA confirms data breach (Space News) The European Space Agency has confirmed a security breach of unclassified material from science servers following reports on social media.   Defense Industry     US taps Boeing to build F-15s for Israel under $8.6 billion contract (Defense News) The U.S. government is slated to allocate $8.6 billion to Boeing for the sale of 25 F-15 fighter jets to Israel, the Pentagon announced on Monday.       France orders two Saab GlobalEye surveillance aircraft (Flight Global) France has ordered two Saab GlobalEye surveillance jets in a SKr12.3 billion ($1.3 billion) deal, with options for two additional aircraft, as European demand for reconnaissance platforms continues to strengthen.   International     Top China panel members: Live-fire drills around Taiwan 'deliberate escalation' (The Hill) Lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party railed against Beijing’s large-scale military display on Tuesday, which included live-fire shots near Taiwan.       No signs of Russian plan for attack on NATO, Estonia spy chief says (Stars and Stripes) Russian provocations in Eastern Europe are on the decline, according to Estonia’s spy chief, who says President Vladimir Putin shows no signs of wanting to attack NATO in the coming year.       UAE to withdraw troops from Yemen after clash with Saudi Arabia (Bloomberg) The United Arab Emirates said it will withdraw forces from Yemen following a flare up in tensions with Gulf ally Saudi Arabia over military operations in the conflict-hit country.       Colombia’s cocaine smugglers employ a deadly new weapon — drones (The Wall Street Journal) Shortly before Christmas, a swarm of drones killed seven soldiers as they rested inside a military compound in the country’s northeast, unaware that a cocaine-trafficking guerrilla group was about to strike.       Iranian navy sketches out shipbuilding plans (The Maritime Executive) Iranian naval enthusiasts have sketched out an overview of the regular Iranian Navy (Nedaja)’s future ship-building program.   Military Culture & History     How the Continental Army became the lords of Spanktown (Military Times) Named thusly after an early settler publicly took his spouse across his knee and chastised her in the town center, Spanktown was to play an important role in the later dubbed Forage Wars.       A nuclear-war soap opera (The Wall Street Journal) Does Kathryn Bigelow think our civilian leadership and military are filled with milquetoast atheists? Thanks to Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. for raising the “not serious” flag on Kathryn Bigelow’s soap-opera movie, “A House of Dynamite.”   Video     "48 Hours: NCIS": The Marine's wife (CBS News) When a young military wife at the Marine Combat Base in Twentynine Palms, California, vanishes, NCIS agents discover she has a secret — did it lead to murder?       CIA strike escalates the Trump administration's pressure campaign on Venezuela (NPR) A U.S. official confirms that the CIA struck a dock facility on the coast of Venezuela.   Commentary & Analysis     We have a lot to gain from Israel’s tool kit (The Wall Street Journal) Collaborating on Golden Dome isn’t a departure from past practice — it’s the logical next step in a strategic national defense partnership.       US allies need to ‘become porcupines’ (Foreign Policy) As U.S. allies and partners adapt to the revolution in U.S. foreign policy under Trump, one word best captures the grim strategic calculus they now confront: porcupine.