Top 5     38 sailors, Marines wounded this month in Middle East (Military Times) Twenty-nine sailors and 9 Marines were wounded in action in September in Middle East military operations, according to a Pentagon database.       Meet Axel, the deaf rescue dog now set to deploy (Military Times) For this once-surrendered, deaf Dogo Argentino named Axel, the arc from being a foster dog in Florida to a ministry dog within the Michigan National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment sounds like a non sequitur.       Mediators are working to broker a US-Iran deal, but major hurdles remain (The Associated Press) Mediators are working with Iran and the United States on trying to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz, three regional officials and two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, but major hurdles remain between the sides.       Air Force identifies airman found dead in burnt car near Florida base (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force identified the body found in a burnt vehicle near Eglin Air Force Base last week as a service member assigned to a medical unit at the Florida base.       More than 3 million people affected by military data breach (Federal News Network) It revealed the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, job specialties and other records of nearly 2.8 million living and 294,000 deceased individuals.   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     Hegseth says national security, military cyber forces will guard US election systems during midterms (The Associated Press) The U.S. National Security Agency and other military intelligence and cybersecurity forces will guard election systems during the November midterms, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday.   Congress & Politics     Thune says Iran war has 'trumped everything else' for voters (The Hill) Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Monday that the Iran war has become an incredibly important issue for voters ahead of the November midterms, which are only a few weeks out.       Heavy losses of MQ-9 Reaper to factor in future plans to divest, replace aircraft (Military Times) The MQ-9A Reaper production line is closed and would take General Atomics two to three years to restart, according to a Congressional Research Service report as the Air Force ramps up its successor timeline amid inventory loss.       Congress presses Oracle for answers on VA’s $17 billion EHR increase (Military Times) Lawmakers are turning directly to Oracle for answers about why the Department of Veterans Affairs increased the ceiling on its electronic health record modernization contract by roughly $17 billion after VA officials could not offer reasoning at a congressional hearing in September.   Your Military     Separate engine fires in 3 Navy, Marine Corps aircraft force emergency landings (Military Times) In the span of two months this summer, U.S. naval aviation recorded three separate in-flight engine fires that caused millions in damage to the airframes and forced landings.       Texas man defrauded Tricare of $26 million to fund lavish lifestyle (Military Times) A Texas man has been found guilty of defrauding the federal government of $26 million in a scheme that involved money laundering, kickbacks and a $100,000 gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck.   Army     Army leaders wary of ‘data fatigue’ as fitness management system rolls out (Military Times) The Army is now “pre-piloting” apps and dashboards for its popular holistic health system, and leaders are facing tough decisions about what performance data to show soldiers and leaders to motivate them without overwhelming them or turning information into noise.       Soldier charged in shooting death of infant (Military Times) An Army soldier in Kansas pleaded not guilty last week to charges in connection with the April shooting death of his infant son.       Army launches ‘night court’ review of weapons systems (Military Times) The Army has kicked off an “M9s to Strykers” comprehensive evaluation of its weapons platforms as it pushes for greater organic repair capability and seeks to shore up logistics support in preparation for future conflicts.       Army warns of scammers targeting grieving families during veteran funeral planning (Stars and Stripes) Grieving families planning the funerals of their recently deceased veterans are now the target of scammers, according to a warning from an Army Casualty Assistance Center.       Special operations soldier dies after airborne training exercise (Military Times) A special operations noncommissioned officer died last week after he was injured in a Nevada training exercise, the U.S. Army said on Sunday.   Navy     Four injured after landing mishap aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, crew safely recovered (USNI News) Four personnel were injured in a landing mishap aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on Monday, USNI News has learned.   Marine Corps     Corps offers incentives for Marines willing to extend overseas tours (Military Times) The Marine Corps announced several incentives for personnel who are willing to extend their overseas tours by a year or longer, the service said in an administrative message published Monday.   Space Force     First Space Force guardians graduate from Army jungle school in Panama (Task & Purpose) Space Force guardians are now getting certified in jungle warfare. This month, two officers with the Space Force became the first guardians to graduate from the U.S. Army’s Jungle Operations Training Course-Panama.   Defense Industry     EU nails down five defense priority areas to channel common spending (Defense News) European Union member states approved five projects for joint defense-industrial investment in priority areas including drones and counter-drone systems as well as air and missile defense, part of efforts to encourage more cooperation on defense spending and avoid overlap in the 27-nation bloc.       EU needs more ships for Red Sea; European navies adjust Hormuz deployments (USNI News) The European Union is asking its members to increase the number of ships deployed with European Naval Force Aspides, which is tasked with accompanying merchant ships in the Red Sea to protect them from Houthi attacks.       UK’s Healey puts defense in focus for reindustrialization push (Reuters) British finance minister John Healey will put his support firmly behind firms investing in defense on Monday, part of what he will describe as a new industrialization drive to try to spur the nation’s anaemic economic growth.       Russia raises 2027 military spending by 27%, budget documents show (Reuters) Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion roubles, or $202.6 billion, on defense in 2027, around 27% more than the 13.5 trillion roubles, or $159.8 billion, originally budgeted and the highest figure since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, government documents seen by Reuters showed on Monday.   Military Culture & History     Green Beret who survived an IED now clears Ukraine’s landmines (Military Times) Ryan Hendrickson spent 22 years in uniform learning to find the things buried in the dirt that are meant to kill people. When the U.S. left Afghanistan, he discovered he no longer knew who he was without that work.   Video     Drone maker unveils ‘low-cost’ alternative to MQ-9 Reaper (Defense News) Swarm Aero debuts a model of its new Gamera drone, which it says will be able to carry bomber-class strike munitions.   Commentary & Analysis     The Army’s most dangerous logistics problem is hiding behind motor pools (Military Times) The U.S. Army has spent decades refining sustainment doctrine, modernizing combat systems and investing billions in readiness transformation. Yet, across installations, behind motor pools, inside storage yards and buried within disconnected property systems, a growing threat to operational readiness continues to expand unnoticed. The Army is quietly losing visibility of its own equipment.       NATO can’t count its way to maritime superiority (The Cipher Brief) Allied navies are still counting hulls. The contest at sea is now about who sees, decides, and acts first.       Treat operational feedback as a strategic resource, new paper argues (Defense One) As the Pentagon overhauls its acquisition system, it should take lessons from recent and ongoing wars, a new report argues.       Speed to fielding is not speed to combat power (War on the Rocks) I spent more than 20 years in U.S. Army air defense, much of it in cramped control stations where the difference between a successful engagement and a catastrophic loss came down to the soldier at the console.       Claims swirl around US Marines injured aboard mystery vessel attacked in the Strait of Hormuz (The War Zone) On Sunday, NBC News reported that Marines were injured during an Iranian cruise missile attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Sept. 14. The network’s sources said the Marines were not on a U.S. Navy ship, but they did not identify which vessel they were on. However, a former Royal Mail vessel that at one point was being converted into a floating armory stands out as a strong possibility.       Trump’s rejection of Iran offer highlights another big problem (The Cipher Brief) Beijing says artificial intelligence will give the state a visible hand to allocate capital. Here’s the rub: Washington’s economic authority sits in five places, and none of them is in command.