Top 5     Two dead after Apache crash in Texas (Military Times) Two people are dead after an Apache helicopter crashed outside of Fort Hood, Texas, according to local authorities.       Senator presses Navy for answers on USS Abraham Lincoln deployment (Military Times) Sen. Richard Blumenthal is asking the Navy to account for conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and detail the extensions to the ship’s original deployment schedule.       Israel's military says it targeted a Hamas commander planning attacks in Gaza (Reuters) Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas commander planning attacks against Israeli troops operating in the territory.       Trump swaps planes via catering truck after Iranian threats, reports say (Military Times) President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Turkey last month at the direction of the Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.       DoD to launch pilot for some service members to freeze sperm, eggs (Military Times) The Pentagon will soon cover the cost for service members to freeze their sperm or eggs before they deploy to a danger zone or are separated from their significant others for more than six months on orders.   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     Urine test could predict stress fractures in boot camp (Military Times) A new $3.4 million Pentagon grant to two universities aims to help solve the thorny problem of military recruits getting sidelined with stress fractures.   Army     Army OB-GYN pleads not guilty to all charges, including that he sexually abused patients (Stars and Stripes) Army doctor Maj. Blaine McGraw pleaded not guilty Wednesday to all charges related to allegations that he sexually abused his patients and video recorded exams without patients’ consent.       Roughly 250 active duty soldiers are fighting a wildfire in Washington state (Task & Purpose) Roughly 250 active duty soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, are currently assisting with efforts to battle a wildfire in Washington state that has burned almost 58,000 acres since it began on July 17.   Marine Corps     Grass-to-brass general takes charge of Marine Corps’ largest operational force (Stars and Stripes) A former III Marine Expeditionary Force commander took charge Tuesday of the Marine Corps’ largest operational command, inheriting responsibility for roughly two-thirds of the service’s active-duty forces.   AIr Force     Air Force expedites COVID reinstatement process for separated airmen, guardians (Military Times) The Department of the Air Force updated its COVID-19 reinstatement process Tuesday, aiming to boost the return of eligible service members after thousands across the military were involuntarily separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.       Parents sue Air Force Academy over graduate’s suicide after sexual assault (Military Times) The parents of an Air Force Academy graduate who died by suicide filed a federal lawsuit against the school, arguing that it failed to protect her from sexual assault and adequately address the trauma that followed.       Joint Base Andrews to recieve 26 HH-60Ws, stand up helicopter squadron (Military Times) A Maryland Air Force base was selected to receive nearly 30 HH-60W helicopters as a replacement for the base’s existing UH-1N “Huey” helicopters.   Veterans     VA’s benefits system overhaul is running into some familiar problems (GovExec) Efforts to modernize a Department of Veterans Affairs system that supports the processing of veterans’ benefits claims have been hampered by “insufficient oversight and weak program management,” according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     US must fuse missile warning and defense to defeat future threats: SPACECOM deputy commander (The War Zone) The U.S. needs to change the way it tracks and defends against future missile threats, the deputy commander of U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) said on Tuesday. The need to do so comes as changes in missile technology are moving faster than the current defeat system can keep up with.   Defense Industry     Army opens test ranges to private industry (Military Times) The Army is opening military test ranges to private industry, the service announced this month, including a Michigan site where companies can test drones and counter-drone systems against electronic warfare conditions modeled after those in Ukraine.       Pentagon wants to spend millions on Palantir with few details (Federal News Network) A Pentagon memo directs up to $244 million for Palantir and calls for additional funding through 2028, raising transparency and competition concerns.       Army seeks ideas using rapid-fire 50mm cannons to shoot down drones (Stars and Stripes) The U.S. Army is seeking ideas for a rapid-fire 50mm cannon and specialized ammunition to shoot down small- to medium-sized drones on the battlefield.       Air Force should regard AI as readiness issue across critical career fields, report says (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force should treat artificial intelligence as a readiness issue across critical career fields, instead of just technical specialists, a public policy institute argues.       Palantir’s no-bid pipeline just got bigger (Nextgov) Palantir has secured another lucrative commitment from the Defense Department, with a pledge of up to $243.9 million in funding for the company’s software between now and March 31, 2027.   International     India says border peace critical to ties with China amid reports of military tensions (Reuters) India's foreign ministry said peace along its disputed border with China is critical to ties between the Asian ?neighbours.       Russia’s hybrid attacks probe NATO defenses, German general says (The Wall Street Journal) Plus: Delta investigates ‘evil twin’ Wi-Fi, tech distributor Wesco confirms hack Gen. Carsten Breuer said Russia is shifting its economy and military to prepare for a wider conflict with the West. Breuer is leading a major defense revamp aimed at turning the German military into a powerful, …       South Korean police say Chinese military veterans gathered intel at US bases (Stars and Stripes) South Korean police have arrested two former Chinese service members on suspicion they illegally gathered information on military activities at a U.S. Army base and monitored military communications at a U.S. air base.       Iran war reveals protection of space assets on bases has to ‘evolve,’ top general says (Defense One) Iran’s deliberate targeting of U.S. radar systems during Epic Fury shows that the military has to change the way it protects key space assets on the ground, U.S. Space Command’s leader said.   Video     See which design won DARPA’s challenge to make a drone that can carry four times its own weight. (Defense News) Looking for innovation in the small drone field, DARPA offers up millions in prize money in the Lift Challenge. See which design won.       Cost rises to $275 billion for projected Trump-class battleship program, CBO says (Defense News) Revised estimates predict the proposed 35,000-ton nuclear battle ships will cost from $18 to $23.4 billion each.       See which design won DARPA’s challenge to make a drone that can carry four times its own weight (Defense News) Looking for innovation in the small drone field, DARPA offers up millions in prize money in the Lift Challenge. See which design won.       Could you make it through Denmark’s bootcamp for civilian conscripts? (Defense News) Head inside a NATO ally’s program for turning draftees into troops in an intense training regimen intended to create citizen soldiers.       The cost of new battleships in a Golden Fleet | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 8.11.26 (Defense News) New estimates reveal an increased cost for a potential new class of ships for the Navy. Plus, military spouses head up quality of life improvement efforts.       Big moves in missile production amid stockpile reports | Defense Dollars (Defense News) The Pentagon inks deals to manufacture more interceptors, while Saildrone claims a win in a collaboration with the Navy. That and more on Defense Dollars.       What does a modern battleship cost? A lot. | Headlines (Defense News) President Trump’s signature class of potential warships gets an updated cost estimate, and the projected price tag balloons. Plus, more military headlines.   Commentary & Analysis     The US forgot the lessons of Iraq. Now it’s desperate for ideas on Iran. (Politico) No one seems to have a solid strategy to win the war in Iran.       How about equipping local law enforcement with a better anti-drone arsenal? (The Cipher Brief) During the week of March 9, drones came over Barksdale Air Force Base in waves. Barksdale is the home of the 2nd Bomb Wing, one of the places this country keeps its nuclear-capable bombers. The base issued a shelter-in-place order and stopped flight-line operations, and the Air Force has declined to say precisely how many aircraft were up there or who was flying them. NORTHCOM's counter-drone fly-away kit, the good one, the one that worked over a strategic installation in the opening hours of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, was somewhere else. There is only one of them.       The next school of war: Educating for tomorrow’s battlefield (War on the Rocks) When war changes, schools change. New technology, the politics of mass mobilization and campaign design, and novel tactics that defined Napoleonic warfare led to Gerhard von Scharnhorst’s reforms and the idea of lifelong education as a professional obligation. The pattern repeated itself in the interwar period. In 1929, James Carson Breckinridge, a Marine officer, published “Some Thoughts on Service Schools” in the Marine Corps Gazette, calling for a new educational paradigm consistent with John Dewey’s ideas about pragmatism and experiential learning.War is again changing. The promise of the third offset has arrived, extending the battlefield and resulting in wars waged by       ‘Tolerating the Netanyahu two-step’: Why the White House can live with Israel rejecting its peace plan (Politico) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week publicly rejected President Donald Trump’s latest Gaza peace plan.       The Marines created a warrior. But I forgot how to be a woman (The War Horse) I secured my M-16 to my rack after a long, scorching day on the rifle range and touched my stomach. Cramps should be arriving any day—but they weren’t. How many weeks had it been? Where was my period? Where was everyone else’s?       Russia’s blurry line between bcience and sabotage beneath the ocean’s surface (War on the Rocks) In 2025, Nurlan Aliyev wrote, “The Mayhem of Russia’s “Research” Fleet,” where he argued that NATO must act decisively to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure from Russian sabotage attempts. A year later, we asked him to revisit his arguments. Image: Andrey Luzik via Wikimedia CommonsIn your 2025 article, you argued that NATO needed to act decisively to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic, Barents, and Arctic regions from Russian sabotage. Since then, where has NATO strengthened its deterrence and defense in this area, and where do gaps still remain? Since 2025, NATO and E.U. members have strengthened coordination to protect critical undersea infrastructure through       Hyman Rickover and the birth of nuclear power (War on the Rocks) For more than 70 years, nuclear power has propelled America’s silent service — attack submarines stalking their prey from below, and the “boomers” that lurk undetected, ballistic missiles on alert, forming the most survivable leg of the U.S. nuclear triad. For nearly as long, nuclear aircraft carriers have spearheaded U.S. forward operations in peace and war.       Did sensors on Iranian drones help shoot down F-15E? (The War Zone) Iran used multiple drones to help target the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle  that was brought down over Iran in April of this year, a new report claims.