Top 5     Iran and US agree to halt attacks and renew talks, US official says (Reuters) The move raises hopes of saving an interim peace deal that was under pressure from days of tit-for-tat strikes.       Military recruiting hit a 15-year high. How quickly do recruits become mission ready? (Military Times) All five active-duty military services met or exceeded their fiscal 2025 recruiting goals, according to the Department of Defense, marking what Pentagon officials described as the strongest recruiting performance in 15 years.       US sending military warships, personnel to Venezuela in the wake of the nation’s devastating earthquakes (Military Times) Two U.S. warships, the USS Fort Lauderdale and the littoral combat ship USS Billings, have been dispatched to Venezuela following the nation’s devastating earthquakes on Wednesday.       Debate over women in combat prompts NDAA battles (Military Times) During a marathon House markup of next year’s mammoth defense policy bill earlier this month, two proposed amendments that failed to make it out of committee tell a story of concern for the future of women in uniform.       US Army gives chaplains 90 days to remove rank insignia (Military Times) The U.S. Army this week gave its chaplains 90 days to strip the rank from their uniforms in a move that puts a definitive timeline on a directive championed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has sought to shift religious leaders’ identities from their military grade to their faiths.   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     Navy searching for Marine who went missing off the California coast (Task & Purpose) The Navy is searching for a Marine who went missing off of the USS Anchorage on Thursday, the service said late Saturday evening.   Army     101st soldiers use drones to drop grappling hooks, breach razor wire (Defense News) In a recent critical training rotation, soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division expanded the scope of what’s possible with warfighting drones, developing new uses and making key determinations about how — and in what quantities — to build them into warfighting, officials said this week.       Army launches new branch for military space operations (Military Times) The Army announced Thursday the creation of the Space Operations Branch, a dedicated career field for soldiers specializing in military space operations.       US Army officer sentenced for secretly giving abortion drug to pregnant soldier (Military Times) A U.S. Army officer who secretly gave abortion medication to a pregnant junior enlisted soldier, causing the loss of her unborn child, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty at a court-martial.   Navy     Feds pay out $17M to families sickened by Navy’s fuel-contaminated water in Hawaii (Military Times) The Department of Justice has issued about $17 million in payments to 629 people, mostly military family members, in connection with the toxic fuel spills that poisoned their water in Hawaii in 2021.   Coast Guard     Coast Guard seizes $63 million in cocaine, marijuana (Stars and Stripes) U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bear offloaded 7,720 pounds of cocaine and 4,000 pounds of marijuana on Friday in Port Everglades, Fla.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Agentic-AI tool aims to give US commanders new target options ‘within seconds’ (Defense One) A new agentic-AI tool will continuously scan intelligence feeds and operational networks to provide U.S. military commanders with targeting options “within seconds,” the Pentagon announced Thursday.       South Korea to train half a million military personnel to become ‘drone warriors’ (The Guardian) All branches of the military will be taught how to use technology that has become a ‘game changer on the battlefield’, says defense minister.   Defense Industry     Romania bolsters Black Sea fleet with Turkish-built corvette (Defense News) Romania received its first new warship in 30 years last week, a the vessel destined to boost Black Sea security and relations with seller country Turkey at the same time.       Air Force solicits ideas for over 1,000-mile range weapon from industry (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force is seeking the next generation of a long-range weapon with the capability to reach a minimum of 1,000 nautical miles in an Industry Day hosted by the service.       Boeing CCA to fly with US Aircraft in Pacific exercise (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The U.S. Air Force is testing out a Collaborative Combat Aircraft in the Pacific this week as part of a large-scale exercise. But the CCA they’re flying is not one the two the service has committed to buying.       German Counter-drone startup Tytan eyes 3,000 interceptors per month in new factory (Defense News) Munich-based counter-drone systems maker Tytan Technologies is readying to launch a new factory in Germany amid increasing demand for interceptor drones.   Ukraine     Ukraine says it targeted Russian military plant, oil station (Bloomberg) Ukraine said it used Flamingo missiles to attack a military plant in Russia’s Volgograd and drones to strike an oil station in the Vladimir region close to Moscow, as Kyiv aims to bring Moscow to the negotiating table to end the war.   International     Pakistan says retaliatory airstrikes in Afghanistan killed 25 militants (France 24) Pakistan has said it carried out airstrikes and ground operations in eastern Afghanistan, killing 25 militants, in response to recent deadly attacks, including the killing of paramilitary troops in Karachi. Islamabad says the strikes targeted militant groups linked to cross-border violence, while Kabul has accused Pakistan of causing civilian casualties.       Qatar says citizen killed from shrapnel due to 'military operations' (Reuters) Qatar's interior ministry said on Sunday ?a Qatari national was ?killed after sustaining injuries from shrapnel due to "military operations ?in the area" ?after a vessel carrying him ?and another person ?went missing.   Video     F-35 program chief says growth has outpaced sustainability for joint fighters (Defense News) F-35 program chief says growth has outpaced sustainability for joint fighters. "We didn't put enough parts and pieces on the shelf," Lt. Gen. Gregory L. Masiello told a Senate subcommittee in a recent hearing.       Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 returns home after 10-moth deployment to Operation Southern Spear (Defense News) The squadron had been assigned to the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima in the Caribbean.       Like a pit crew for an attack helicopter: Watch a Viper get rearmed with live munitions (Defense News) Watch now.   Commentary & Analysis     NATO allies promised Trump they’d secure the Arctic; they’ve got work to do (Military Times) During a frozen morning in Arctic Norway, a group of British and Norwegian soldiers padded softly through a snow-blanketed birch forest.       Suspicious trades make millions with bets tied to US military operations (CBS News) Prediction market users are profiting from bets on war. Analysts say suspiciously timed bets, and the high win rates of wagers on military outcomes, are likely signs of insider trading.       Don’t permit Iran to enrich uranium (The Cipher Brief) Ideally, Iran should not be permitted to enrich uranium, even at the 3.67% low enriched uranium level, enough for nuclear reactors to generate electricity, not a nuclear explosion. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons does not grant an unfettered right to enrich uranium, but even if it did, Iran’s egregious behavior should disqualify them. Indeed, the NPT recognizes the right of non-nuclear-weapons states to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.       Not imaginary: The deterrence gap is real and America needs low-yield nukes (War on the Rocks) Nuclear policy debates are at their best when they force hard questions about risk, deterrence, and military necessity. They are at their worst when disagreement is recast as bad faith.       Reopening Strait of Hormuz could require yearslong multinational mission, analysts say (Stars and Stripes) While planning for a multinational effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz has intensified in recent weeks, a series of U.S.-Iran strikes over the last few days has underscored the inherent dangers in reopening the waterway.