Top 5     US Navy is chasing several oil tankers in the Atlantic (The New York Times) A mass departure by sanctioned tankers, some switching to Russian flags, has triggered a fresh effort by the United States to pursue Venezuelan oil shipments at sea.       Army restarts religious support staff hiring following criticism (Military Times) The U.S. Army is resuming the hiring of religious support workers for the chaplain corps after backlash from last year’s move to cancel contracts.       Jeremy Chambers becomes first Army NCO to commission as FAO captain (Military Times) In a milestone for the U.S. Army, it has promoted a senior noncommissioned officer directly to captain in the foreign area officer field for the first time, the service said Wednesday.       Trump threatens to cut Raytheon’s government contract (Defense News) President Donald Trump issued a warning to Raytheon on Wednesday, saying he would cut the defense giant’s government contracts if it does not accelerate weapons production and act to rein in stock buybacks.       Coast Guard adopts service-wide mandatory physical fitness training (Military Times) Starting this year, able-bodied active and Selected Reserve Coast Guard members will need to work out at least four days a week, no excuses.   US strikes in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific (updated)     A list of US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels (Military Times) Since early September, 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.   Congress & Politics     Senate advances resolution to limit Trump’s war powers after Venezuela (The Associated Press) The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.       Tulsi Gabbard sidelined from Venezuela planning (The Wall Street Journal) White House officials excluded the top U.S. intelligence officer, Tulsi Gabbard, from Venezuela planning since last summer, according to people with knowledge of the matter.   Your Military     Air Force, Space Force announce acquisition changes amid Hegseth’s reform push (DefenseScoop) The Department of the Air Force has taken initial steps to implement Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to overhaul Pentagon procurement by creating seven new acquisition organizations aligned with specific mission areas.   Army     Army unveils a sneak peek of the Abrams tank prototype, M1E3 (Military Times) The Army announced the completion of an Abrams tank prototype, known as the M1E3, this week on social media.       Okinawa-based soldier from Tennessee succumbs to injuries from early December crash (Stars & Stripes) An American soldier died three weeks after he was critically injured last month in a single-vehicle crash on Okinawa, according to the U.S. Army.   Navy     USS Fitzgerald returns home after more than half a year abroad (Military Times) The USS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, docked in San Diego Tuesday, after a seven-month deployment that saw it assist in the U.S. 3rd, 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations.       Navy sees most sailor deaths in a decade, says safety command data (USNI News) Fiscal 2025 saw the most fatalities among sailors in a decade, according to the Naval Safety Command.   National Guard     Federal protection mission comes to an end, troops returning home (Stars & Stripes) All troops assigned to federal protection missions in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon, are returning home, putting an end to deployments that were mired in legal battles even before some cities saw service members in the streets, the military said Tuesday.   Veterans     A veteran’s search for healing led to an Ibogaine trip and an epiphany: ‘I’ve got to let it go’ (The War Horse) Marc Dervaes sat straight-backed in a circle of 10 men at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. The glass window behind him looked out on a pool deck and the Pacific Ocean beyond.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Space Force looks to expand West Coast heavy launch capabilities (Defense News) Following a 2025 that saw Vandenberg Space Force Base complete a record 77 space launch, missile test and aeronautical operations, Space Launch Delta 30 is exploring further expansion at the California base.       SOCOM exploring how AI can process biometrics, other data gathered by operators (DefenseScoop) Special Operations Command is exploring how artificial intelligence can process data gathered by its operators, according to a special notice, which also seeks industry information on facial recognition, speaker identification and DNA profiling capabilities.   Defense Industry     US Marine Corps taps Northrop, Kratos to build Valkyrie drone wingmen (Defense News) Northrop Grumman and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions are teaming up to build autonomous drone wingmen for the U.S. Marine Corps, the companies announced Thursday.       JF-17 Thunder fighter to be offered to Saudi Arabia: Report (The War Zone) The Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder has emerged as a surprise candidate for Saudi Arabia’s next fighter jet, according to a recent report.       Hanwha Defense and HavocAI team up on midsize unmanned vessels (The Maritime Executive) Korean industrial conglomerate Hanwha has been expanding its portfolio of projects in the U.S. naval and defense space, and on Thursday it announced a new agreement with an American autonomous-vessel company to compete in the medium-sized unmanned warship space.       Ingalls shipyard shows Navy secretary it has workers and capacity for Golden Fleet (Stars & Stripes) Ingalls Shipbuilding hosted the Secretary of the Navy and other top military leaders Wednesday and showed them the shipyard has the capacity and workforce to build a share of the nation’s Golden Fleet.       ISOA’s Global Summit is coming up, connecting government and industry for stability operations worldwide (Federal News Network) "The biggest challenge though this past year really has been with the changing face of government contracting," Howie Lind said.   Ukraine     Russia resumes attacks on Ukraine’s ports killing 2 people (The Maritime Executive) Russia launched its first attack on the Odesa regional port complex for the first time since New Year’s.   International     Italy names Sicily air base as first F-35 pilot school outside US (Defense News) Italy has formally announced an air force base in Sicily is to become the first F-35 training school outside the United States, reflecting a growth in demand for pilot training after fresh orders of the jet in Europe.       Turkey begins 2026 with defense-spending numbers trending up (Defense News) Turkey will spend the equivalent of $27.34 billion on defense and security in 2026, marking a 30% increase compared with the previous year.       Chinese drill near Taiwan seen as test run for blockade, message to US (Defense News) China’s two days of military drills in waters surrounding Taiwan last month came closer than ever to the self-ruled island’s coast and were the largest-scale exercises in more than three years of exercises partly aimed at deterring a U.S. role in an actual war, analysts say.       US military flew 188 tons of aid to storm-battered Sri Lanka (Stars & Stripes) U.S. military personnel delivered roughly 188 tons of relief supplies to Sri Lanka in the week following the devastating Cyclone Ditwah in late November, the Air Force said in a news release Tuesday.   Military Culture & History     This gunner is the only sailor buried at sea — inside his plane (Military Times) It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. In episode 12 of “Victory at Sea,” the 1953 documentary series captured several solemn burials at sea — but one naval burial stood out from the rest.   Commentary & Analysis     Adapting the combat training centers for the drone battlefield (Small Wars Journal) Is the U.S. Army paying attention to the lessons learned in conflict zones around the world? sUAS (small unmanned aerial systems, i.e., drones) have transformed modern warfare, and it is time our training reflects that reality.       Trump’s return-to-office mandate exempted feds with disabilities. Many are being ordered to work in-person anyway (GovExec) On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued a directive largely ending telework and remote work for federal employees, arguing that the workplace flexibility had been abused following the COVID-19 pandemic.       US boards a ship sailing under a Russian flag: What we know and don’t know about the legal position (The Conversation) Relations between the U.S. and Russia have hit a fresh bump after the U.S. Coast Guard boarded a vessel sailing in the Icelandic waters, claiming it was in breach of sanctions on Venezuela. The incident immediately sparked claim and counter-claim from the U.S. and Russia.       Who stress-tests US war plans? (War on the Rocks) The U.S. military spends billions trying to predict what its adversaries will do — and almost nothing testing whether its own plans make sense.