Top 5     Around 140 troops wounded in 10 days of Operation Epic Fury, Pentagon says (Military Times) Roughly 140 American service members have been wounded — eight severely — in the first 10 days of Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday.       Are you serving in US Central Command? We want to hear from you (Military Times) Thousands of U.S. troops are currently deployed to U.S. Central Command, spread across numerous installations and dozens of ships throughout the region.       US destroys 16 Iranian mine-laying boats, CENTCOM claims (Military Times) The United States military announced Tuesday that its forces had struck and destroyed 16 of Iran’s minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz. The claim was made amid mounting concern that the Islamic Republic was preparing to deploy mines in the crucial waterway.       VA plans to scan a million veterans claims for signs of fraud (Stars and Stripes) The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to launch an automated fraud-detection tool to scan more than a million disability benefits questionnaires for evidence of fabrication or other problems that could force a new medical exam and impact compensation, according to a VA official.       Iran to face ‘most intense day of strikes,’ Hegseth says (Military Times) U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Tuesday “will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran: The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes, intelligence more refined and better than ever.”   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.   Pentagon     Pentagon burned through $5.6B in munitions in first 2 days of Iran war (The Hill) The Pentagon churned through about $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of the U.S. war with Iran, a congressional source familiar with the matter told The Hill Monday night. The Defense Department delivered the estimate to Congress on Monday, the source said.       Pentagon says employees can create their own ‘custom AI assistants’ with new tech (DefenseScoop) The Defense Department on Tuesday unveiled a new “Agent Designer” tool that will run on its GenAI.mil platform.       Pentagon counter-drone task force issues guidance on testing, federal surveillance laws (DefenseScoop) A Pentagon task force published back-to-back guidelines about anti-drone technology this week, illustrating the military’s attempt at quickly delivering such capabilities — following standardized testing — while heeding federal laws prohibiting domestic surveillance.   Congress & Politics     Majority of American voters oppose the Iran war, poll finds (Military Times) As the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran stretches into its 11th day, American voters’ sentiments about the ongoing conflict are skewing negative, one poll found.   Your Military     Military child care centers opening with ‘lightning speed’ under new pilot program (Military Times) Days before the U.S. military unleashed Operation Epic Fury against Iran, the second highest-ranking military officer was touring a new 30,000-square-foot child development center for military children in Arlington, Virginia, and praising the new effort to quickly meet military families’ needs amidst the persistent shortage of child care.   Army     Army approves first new offensive hand grenade in nearly 60 years (Military Times) After decades of relying on Vietnam-era designs, the Army has approved the first offensive hand grenade to enter the service since 1968.       Woman ordered to pay $73K in restitution after stealing from Army wellness fund (Stars and Stripes) A woman was sentenced Monday and ordered to repay the U.S. Department of Defense more than $73,000 after she pleaded guilty to stealing from a Montana U.S. Army installation’s fund used to support social activities for service members and veterans.   Navy     US Navy conducts under-ice operations in the Arctic (Stars and Stripes) The U.S. Navy started Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish in the Arctic Ocean on Saturday in the latest U.S. exercise to train service members for operations in the strategically important Arctic region.   Marine Corps     Marine Corps to ramp up swim test difficulty (Military Times) The Marine Corps plans to combine water survival training with underwater egress training, a change that will result in more demanding swim tests, Military Times has learned.       New $12.5 million mess hall funded by South Korea serves rotating US Marines (Stars and Stripes) A new expeditionary dining facility paid for and built by South Korea is now supporting U.S. troops rotating through the only Marine Corps base on the peninsula.   AIr Force     New Air Force safety tool forecasts mishap risk (Air & Space Forces Magazine) When you check the weather, the forecast projects the chance of rain based on barometric pressure, wind, humidity, and other factors. Now the Air Force Safety Center  is offering a way to forecast accident risks, a dashboard intended to help mitigate against factors that historically indicate higher risks for mishaps.   Space Force     US Space Force clears design milestone, advances missile-warning constellation (Defense News) The U.S. Space Force has cleared a major design hurdle in its Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking program, completing the preliminary design review for the 10-satellite Epoch 2 medium Earth orbit constellation.       Space RCO adopts new approach to fielding cloud-based, consolidated C2 system (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Space Force has adopted a more incremental approach to migrating new and legacy orbital warfare systems onto a consolidated, cloud-based command and control platform, according to the head of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.   Veterans     Veteran who survived missile strike says field screenings ‘easily miss’ TBIs (Task & Purpose) Retired Army Lt. Col. Alan Johnson survived the Iranian ballistic missile strike on Al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, in 2020, that left dozens with traumatic brain injuries that went undiagnosed for days and, in some cases, even weeks. Recently, Johnson told Congress that the majority of traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are “easily missed” in combat scenarios.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     NSA, Cyber Command get a permanent leader, ending 11-month gap (Defense One) The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Cyber Command and the National Security Agency in a dual-hatted capacity, giving the signals intelligence and hacking titans their first permanent leader in almost a year.       ‘Battle lab’ to produce standard plans for air base counter-drone defense (Air & Space Forces Magazine) A new Air Force organization is searching for counter-drone firms to participate in a dozen or more exercises to help create operating plans by the end of this year for defending the service’s U.S.-based installations from drone attacks.   Defense Industry     Trump’s sons invest in companies vying to fill gaps in US drone industry (Military Times) Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the sons of President Donald Trump, invested in a newly formed company that aims to produce autonomous drones for the U.S. military.       China amps up its 2026 defense budget by 7% amid purge of generals (Defense News) China is increasing its 2026 defense budget by 7%, bringing the nation’s military expenditure for the coming year to 1.91 trillion yuan, or about $277 billion.   Ukraine     Kyiv says it hit 'key' Russian military factory in Bryansk strike, Russia says six dead (France 24) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that a "key" military factory in Russia's western city of Bryansk had been targetted and hit in a missile strike. Russia earlier accused Kyiv of a "terrorist" attack in Bryansk that it said killed six civilians and wounded at least 37 people, without specifying what the target was.   International     Two Iranian warships take sanctuary in India and Sri Lanka (Defense News) Two Iranian warships have docked in India and Sri Lanka after a U.S. submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean just off Sri Lanka’s coast last week.       US striking Iranian navy ships with ballistic missiles (The War Zone) The U.S. military has been using M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to strike Iranian ships as part of Operation Epic Fury. Since the current conflict erupted, the only munitions those launchers have been seen firing are Army Tactical Missile System and Precision Strike Missile short-range ballistic missiles. PrSM has made its combat debut against Iran , and the newly disclosed operational details raise the question of whether an anti-ship version has been fielded.       US goes after Iran’s ability to lay sea mines, build drones, top general says (Task & Purpose) With the war against Iran in its second week, the U.S. military’s focus now includes destroying factories that build one-way attack drones and preventing the Iranian military from using sea mines, said Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.       Australian submariners have a brush with Iran war (Defense News) On March 4, when a U.S. Navy submarine torpedoed an enemy combatant for the first time since World War II, three Australian submariners were aboard.   Video     Hegesth says US strikes in Iran still intensifying (Military Times) Iranian missile and drone fire decreasing day by day, Defense Secretary says.       Joint Chiefs Chairman: Strategic bombers dropped 'dozens' of 2,000-pound bombs on Iranian targets (Military Times) Pentagon says more than 5,000 targets have been struck in Operation Epic Fury so far.       CENTCOM releases video of THAAD interceptor hitting a target (Military Times) Watch now.   Commentary & Analysis     Diego Garcia base access: Getting past the misinformation (Defense News) Criticism by both U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer about using the Diego Garcia military base for U.S. military operations against Iran has elevated attention to the often-underexamined topic of U.S. security interests in the bustling Indian Ocean region. Vital container, hydrocarbon and bulk shipping transits this body of water, which connects hotspots like the South China Sea and the Middle East. Unfortunately, many analyses of the topic present an incomplete picture of a critical national security priority — how to guarantee access to Diego Garcia.       Retired Army general: Iran regime 'fundamentally miscalculated' Trump (The Hill) Retired four-star U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane said Monday that the Iranian government “fundamentally miscalculated” President Trump as conflict in the Middle East persists.       Israel says Iran is using cluster munitions. What to know about the weapons (The Associated Press) Israel says Iran has been firing cluster munitions throughout their 10-day war — adding a complicated and deadly challenge to Israel’s already-stretched air defenses.       We were right about Havana Syndrome (War on the Rocks) In late 2017, while traveling to Moscow on official duty, I experienced a sudden, debilitating health incident. After a long and arduous battle with the CIA to obtain treatment, military doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington ultimately diagnosed and treated me for a line-of-duty traumatic brain injury. I was never the same after the incident and years of painful recovery continue to this day.       ‘The mother of all commando raids’: US forces may need to secure uranium in Iran, analysts say (Stars and Stripes) U.S. special operations forces may be needed to secure Iran’s uranium stockpiles, analysts say, as uncertainty over missing nuclear material persists amid American airstrikes on Iranian military targets.       A worst-case scenario for the war with Iran (War on the Rocks) The war with Iran has prompted many questions about what comes next. Will the Islamic Republic regime survive? What could replace it? Will Iran dissolve into chaos? What does this all mean for the Arab Gulf states, Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, and the rest of the region? What are the near-term, medium-term, and long-term risks and opportunities?       Meeting post-9/11 military demands of US cost Europe the tanks it needs now, report argues (Stars and Stripes) NATO allies over two decades reshaped their ground forces in the image of a U.S. Army focused on operations in the Middle East, a decision that explains the loss of combat power in Europe, according to new research.