Top 5     Record-long deployments add new layer to sailors’ reenlistment decisions (Military Times) A sailor assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln expected to reenlist before the ship’s current deployment began. Now, after more than nine months of continuous operations, training and drills, the service member is questioning whether the U.S. Navy could be a long-term career.       US forces strike Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in first military action in weeks (The Associated Press) U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Vowing to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack, Iran later said it had launched missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan.       DoD confirms ‘refrigeration disruption’ at military commissaries (Military Times) With more than a half-dozen commissaries on military bases in the continental U.S. reporting refrigeration outages this week, the Pentagon is acknowledging the problem but not making any guesses as to its source.       Airmen, guardians must complete gask mask seal tests before end of year (Military Times) The Department of the Air Force is mandating that all airmen and guardians complete gas mask seal tests in an effort to align with new grooming standards.       Air Force awards Boeing $131 billion ceiling contract for F-15 production, modernization (Defense News) The Air Force has awarded Boeing a sole-source contract with a $131.23 billion ceiling to produce, modernize and sustain F-15 fighters for U.S. and foreign customers through 2037.   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     Military leaders warn Hegseth against extending Iran war operations (Washington Post) A recent classified assessment advised that prolonged large-scale operations in the Middle East risk weakening U.S. capabilities elsewhere.   Congress & Politics     A West Point for space? Trump calls for new academy to train space personnel (The Wall Street Journal) President signs executive order to establish an institution to prepare students for careers at NASA and the military The U.S. will develop an academy to train personnel for government space jobs, along the lines of long-established institutions that do the same for the Air Force and Coast …   Your Military     DoD schools struggle to identify, support military children with learning disabilities, GAO finds (Military Times) For military families, a permanent change of station can mean more than adjusting to a new school. Government Accountability Office officials told Military Times that parents have repeatedly reported problems transferring educational records and individualized education programs when military families move, sometimes delaying services or leaving educators to reconstruct a child’s needs.       A trans veteran became homeless after the military didn’t pay her severance (Washington Post) Chloe Shapiro is one of a dozen former service members identified by The Washington Post who have waited months for full payments.       West Point ordered professors not to teach human causes of climate change, lawsuit says (Military Times) A longtime West Point professor is suing the academy, alleging that officials fired him after ordering instructors to stop teaching cadets that humans contribute to climate change.       For some military families with special needs, promised support doesn’t always materialize (Stars and Stripes) One military family arrived at a duty station without the accessible housing they had spent months trying to secure. Another spent entire deployments on waiting lists for specialized medical care for their children.   Army     Army extends 82nd Airborne Division’s Middle East deployment to a full year (Task & Purpose) Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division currently deployed to the Middle East will remain in the region into next year due to “operational requirements,” the Army announced.   Navy     After Epic Fury, Navy may need an extra $8 billion to be solvent, CNO says (Military Times) Amid combat operations and related efforts to clear mines and open sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, all while sustaining a naval blockade, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle estimates the Navy needs between $6 and $8 billion above what was budgeted for the current fiscal year “to be whole and solvent for [Fiscal Year] 26,” he told reporters at a round-table event on Wednesday.   Marine Corps     Marines are now allowed to wear class rings in uniform (Task & Purpose) Marines can now wear their college or academy class rings with their uniforms, the service announced today. The new uniform regulation change is “effective immediately.”   AIr Force     Joint Base Andrews activates new helicopter squadron for HH-60W mission (Military Times) For the first time in 60 years, Joint Base Andrews stood up a new helicopter squadron in preparation for the base to receive HH-60Ws.       In Iceland, Air Force special ops crews test gliders for resupply (Task & Purpose) Air Force special operations crews appear to be using a major exercise in Iceland to test and train with cargo gliders to resupply ground teams in tough-to-reach locations.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     DOD probes industry about software-defined encryption as US scurries to get quantum-safe (DefenseScoop) The Pentagon is searching for interim software-only cryptographic solutions that require zero hardware changes to protect military systems during its transition to post-quantum cryptography.   Defense Industry     India turns to private sector to ramp up missile production (Defense News) In a bid to accelerate missile production, India has approved the transfer of technologies for all conventional missile systems from a state-run organization to private companies.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     In southern Lebanon, fighting Hezbollah in the hills becomes a strategic conundrum (Defense News) At the entrance to Zawtar Gharbieh in southern Lebanon, Lebanese Armed Forces troops are stationed under a tree, stopping anyone attempting to pass through.   Ukraine     Death toll rises to 38 from Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year (The Associated Press) The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv, the war’s deadliest attack this year, rose to 38 with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday       Russia is running out of cash due to its war in Ukraine: Report (Defense News) Russia’s war spending pushed the state to the brink of running out of cash this spring, according to a Bloomberg report that offers the clearest account yet of how the financial burden of the Ukraine invasion is straining Moscow’s finances.   International     Iran's navy says it has 'full control' over Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps ?Navy rejected U.S. ?claims that the Strait of ?Hormuz was ?open, calling them ?an attempt ?to control oil ?prices and conceal what it described ?as U.S. ?failures. It said the ?restrictions ?would continue until U.S. military actions against ?Iran ?end ?and relevant commitments are ?implemented, according ?to ?a statement.       Navy has cleared mines from the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says (Task & Purpose) The U.S. military has cleared Iranian sea mines from the transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz, the head of U.S. Central Command said Friday. In a video address. Adm. Brad Cooper announced that a combination of forces, led by Navy divers and SEALs, has removed mines laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the spring.       US military uses laser to down three Mexican cartel drones near border (Reuters) The U.S. military used a laser in southern Texas’ Rio Grande Valley to shoot down three Mexican drug cartel drones this week near the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. officials said on Thursday.       US to pull additional combat troops from Nigeria (Task & Purpose) The Pentagon is set to withdraw nearly 200 U.S. troops from Nigeria, following their deployment to the central African country earlier this year.   Military Culture & History     Steel and stone: Army Museum’s newest exhibit shares untold stories of engineers on 9/11 (Military Times) 8:46 a.m. The first moment of impact. For most Americans alive at the time of the 9/11 attacks, the sights and sounds of that morning play on a horrific loop in their minds. The logistical aftermath, however, less so.   Video     Trump orders Pentagon to cut back military exercise with South Korea (Defense News) President called the annual joint exercise costly and hostile to North Korea, says U.S. should “substantially reduce” it.       Army requests 133,000 GMLRS rockets by 2034 (Defense News) As questions about stockpiles swirl, the Army issues a call to ramp up production of ground-launched rockets.       Tomahawk production gets a boost | Defense Dollars (Defense News) Raytheon was awarded $23 billion to speed up cruise missile production as L3Harris changes leadership. Those stories and more on this week’s Defense Dollars.   Commentary & Analysis     The devastation of NSA Bahrain is a national security warning (Military Times) The more we learn about the attacks on the U.S. Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Manama, Bahrain, during the opening days of Operation Epic Fury, the clearer it becomes why the news of its near destruction was not initially reported or acknowledged.       The sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln deserve better (The Atlantic) When I was deployed at sea as a junior officer, I used milestones to track the passage of time. Each day counted toward something: a port call, when you get a break on land from the monotony at sea; the “crossing the line ceremony” when a ship crosses the equator (unfortunately, canceled at the last minute for my ship); and, eventually, the date I knew that, no matter what, I would be going home. Even on my worst days, that end point helped me stay focused on the mission and gave me something to be hopeful for.       US military families ride 'roller coaster of emotions' over six months of Iran war (Reuters) Since the United States went to war with Iran six months ago, Courtney Sanders has been helping soldiers’ families fill the gaps left by their loved ones.       Lebanon’s Hezbollah finance crackdown may be designed to fail (The Cipher Brief) Lebanon’s campaign against Hezbollah’s finances may be designed to look tougher than it is.