Top 5     Hamas says it has agreed to disarm after Trump announces Board of Peace plan (BBC) U.S. President Donald Trump says the Board of Peace has reached an agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.       US and Iran trade missile barrages as hopes dim for a quick resolution to the five-month conflict (The Associated Press) The United States and Iran each fired barrages of missiles Thursday, as the pattern of back-and-forth strikes took hold again and hope dimmed for a quick end to the five-month conflict.       Iran war depleted US Patriot missile stockpiles, creating readiness challenges, experts say (Military Times) The United States has depleted roughly two-thirds of its pre-war Patriot missile interceptor inventory during the conflict with Iran, according to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies — a drawdown the think tank says could create readiness challenges if another major conflict erupts before stockpiles are rebuilt.       US strikes $58.6 billion Patriot missile deal amid rising stockpile concerns (Reuters) The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain U.S. weapons stockpiles.       Average VA disability payments rose nearly 40% in past 14 years, study finds (Military Times) An analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation since 2010 found that the average annual payments to veterans climbed by nearly 40% while the percentage of veterans who receive payments almost doubled.   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 weighs eliminating civilian tenure at military academies, draft memo says (CBS News) The Pentagon is considering a sweeping remake of military higher education, including an end to civilian tenure and a "line-by-line" review of courses, according to a draft memo obtained by CBS News.       Pentagon says military dialogue with China is strongest in years (Stars and Stripes) Senior U.S. and Chinese defense officials are signaling a renewed effort to improve communication between their militaries after years of mounting tensions and disrupted dialogue.   Congress & Politics     VA’s third attempt to scrap union contract heads back to court (GovExec) A union representing more than 300,000 Veterans Affairs Department employees is asking a federal judge to block the department’s third attempt to cancel its collective bargaining agreements, this time after talks over a new agreement broke down..   Your Military     Space food for soldiers: Advanced military rations promoted in NDAA (Military Times) The House version of next year’s defense budget bill revives a push to use emerging technology to make military rations lighter and more portable.       DARPA challenge pushes limits of heavy-lift drone technology (Military Times) The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency next week will kick off its inaugural Lift Challenge, a weeklong competition that aims to “revolutionize heavy vertical-lift aviation” by finding a drone capable of lifting and transporting a payload four times its own weight. The agency will award $6.5 million in prizes to the winners.   Army     ‘It’s just really crappy’: Army families disappointed by MWR’s social media shutdown (Stars and Stripes) With an Army directive ordering the closure Thursday of hundreds of social media accounts, families fear they are losing out on one of the most vital resources that connects them with their communities.       Army veteran files $3M claim, says Idaho National Guardsmen injured her in arrest (Tribune News Service) A Washington, D.C., woman has accused two Idaho National Guard members of injuring and unnecessarily detaining her in a tort claim filed against the federal government.   Navy     See what it’s like to be on a ship getting hit by US missiles (Military Times) The Navy offered a unique perspective in its latest SINKEX event.       USS George Washington arrives in Vietnam amid China-Philippines strain (Military Times) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived Thursday in Da Nang, Vietnam, for a scheduled port visit, the service announced.   AIr Force     Air Force may cut back on Pacific drills to preserve near-term ‘readiness’ (Stars and Stripes) Pacific Air Forces is considering reducing its exercise volume to preserve “readiness” as the service continues to conduct operations for the Iran war and in the Middle East, according to PACAF’s commander.   Coast Guard     Coast Guard seizes 2,380 pounds of marijuana near Bahamas (Military Times) The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton and local forces seized an estimated 2,380 pounds of suspected marijuana worth approximately $2.8 million Saturday near Great Inagua, Bahamas.   Veterans     VA launches trial to test GLP-1 medication for alcohol use disorder in veterans (Military Times) The Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a nationwide clinical trial to determine whether semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for chronic weight management, can help treat alcohol use disorder in veterans, a condition VA says has been diagnosed in more than 400,000 veterans nationwide.       GSA official says veterans' preference in federal hiring is hampering tech recruiting (GovExec) A senior official at the General Services Administration recently posted on social media that veterans’ preference in federal hiring is preventing his team from bringing on qualified tech-focused employees.   Defense Industry     Navy awards $76.6 billion for Virginia, Columbia-class submarines (Military Times) The U.S. Navy announced that it is awarding contracts for another round of ballistic missile and fast-attack submarines.       Iran to get Chinese shoulder-launched missile systems in weeks, sources say (Reuters) Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters, as it rebuilds its defenses amid war with the United States.       Soldiers give feedback, drive MV-75 Cheyenne cockpit changes (Military Times) The U.S. Army is putting pilots in the cockpit of its new assault aircraft well before it enters the force for operational use, simulating flight to gather aviator’s feedback about the MV-75 Cheyenne’s display system and its cognitive workload impact.       B-21 Raiders set to be ‘on the ramp’ at Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027 (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raiders are on track for a 2027 delivery to a South Dakota base, an Air Force official said.       F-47 program producing test aircraft, on schedule for 2028 flight (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force’s F-47 program has begun its engineering and manufacturing development phase and will fly in the coming years, a service official said.       The arms race for cheaper anti-ballistic weapons is underway (Military Times) The race for a new anti-ballistic system has begun.   Ukraine     Ukraine’s F-16s are being worn out from intercepting Russian drones (Defense News) Ukraine’s F-16 fighters have become a crucial defense against Russian drones, but repeated interceptions are wearing out the country’s small fleet.   International     Saudi Arabia prepares sea and possible land offensive against Houthis (The Guardian) Yemeni sources say Saudis concentrating forces for what could be attack in central Yemen.       Drone strike near Suez Canal in Egypt raises new security threat in widening war (Reuters) Drone strike near Suez Canal in Egypt raises new security threat in widening war.       Millions opposed military rule in Myanmar. Is their dream of a revolution over? (BBC News) Opponents of the junta hoped a revolution would remake Myanmar - but these are disheartening times.       South Korea reviews near-shootdown of US military drone near border (Reuters) South Korean military inspectors will visit an army corps on Friday to review an incident in which troops nearly shot down an unidentified aircraft near the border with North Korea before ?determining it was a U.S. drone taking part in a joint exercise, the Joint ?Chiefs of Staff said.   Military Culture & History     Review: New wargame captures uncertainty of the American Revolution (Military Times) Shrouded in myth and pride, the conception of the Revolutionary War is of redcoats marching stiffly through fields and woods while being picked off by wily colonists hiding behind trees, all to the tune of Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans” (“we fired our guns, and the British kept a-coming”).   Video     Military rations could get lighter with space-age food technology (Defense News) A House-passed defense bill is pushing advanced technology that could make military rations lighter, smaller and easier to carry.   Commentary & Analysis     My little sister is deployed in the Middle East. Her base was hit. (The War Horse) My little sister has been in the military for 19 years, serving in Germany, U.S. territories, South Carolina, and elsewhere. Since February, she’s called a base in the Middle East home.       Amid escalation, US allies hang back on intervening in Iran war (Politico) Many of America's allies around the world are growing more comfortable waiting out the Iran war, even as the Trump administration argues their help is needed to end a conflict that's rapidly spiraling out of control.       Biofouling from Hormuz shutdown poses major invasive species risk (The Maritime Executive) For months, industry analysts have noted that biofouling accumulation on vessels stuck in the Arabian Gulf would be a slow-down factor in restarting shipping operations through the Strait of Hormuz.       The US liberated Kuwait but now struggles to protect it from Iran (The Wall Street Journal) In the decades since Kuwait’s liberation in the first Gulf War, the U.S. has used the oil-rich emirate as one of the Army’s biggest logistics hubs in the world, hosting thousands of troops, Abrams tanks and heavy artillery. The American military footprint gave Kuwait a sense of security.       Winning the peace: The Democratic dilemma of limited war (The Cipher Brief) Today, military and political outcomes have become increasingly disconnected. As Carl von Clausewitz observed, war is fought to achieve political objectives, with military force only one instrument among many in statecraft.       America still has the upper hand over China (Foreign Affairs Magazine) By most accounts, China has the upper hand in its growing economic confrontation with the United States.       Can cyber operations be deterred? What wargames reveal (War on the Rocks) The most successful deterrent threats leave no evidence behind. No missiles fly. No networks go down. No troops cross borders. Nothing happens. For policymakers, that is often the desired outcome. For researchers, it is a nightmare.       We know how to protect our troops from telecom attacks. We’re just not doing it. (DefenseScoop) As the fight with Iran intensifies, the revelation earlier this month, first reported by The Financial Times — that Iran is targeting U.S. military personnel via their smartphones — should not surprise us. The war in Ukraine has supplied numerous stories of both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed when their cell phones revealed their location. And yet, U.S. servicemembers in the Middle East will likely continue to use their cell phones, just like Ukrainian and Russian soldiers in Europe do.