Top 5     US and Iran pause strikes but disagree over next steps on talks (The Associated Press) The United States and Iran on Monday separately announced they will send delegations to Qatar this week, though Tehran insisted it has not agreed to meet with the U.S. “at any level” after attacks across the Persian Gulf over the weekend challenged negotiations to end the war.       Bipartisan bill would let service members sue US military for sexual assault (Military Times) A bill introduced last week in the Senate would allow U.S. troops to file claims against the Defense Department for incidents of sexual assault or harassment that happen while serving on active duty.       US military races to vaccinate new recruits before flu shots expire (The Guardian) Move comes amid growing outbreak in Texas and after two-month halt on mandatory shots.       US Marine declared dead after being reported missing from USS Anchorage (Military Times) A U.S. Marine assigned to the USS Anchorage who went missing Thursday off the coast of Southern California has been declared dead, the service announced.       Is GPS reliance making troops less observant? Yearlong study aims to find out. (Military Times) Military commanders love to warn troops that overreliance on GPS technology could spell disaster when signals are jammed or networks go down. But could handing navigation over to a computer be diminishing their powers of observation and decision-making skills as well?   US Strikes in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific     A list of US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels (Military Times) Since early September 2025, 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.   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.   Congress & Politics     Trump convert Marc Andreessen gets spot on Pentagon policy board (Bloomberg) Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, the one-time Democratic supporter who switched his allegiance to Donald Trump, got a spot with several other prominent Republican politicians and former officials on a top Pentagon advisory board.   Your Military     DC resident who played ‘The Imperial March’ at federal troops receives settlement (Military Times) It was a warm, early autumn day in D.C. as Sam O’Hara trailed several National Guard members.   Army     Women finish Ranger School in better physiological condition than men, study finds (Task & Purpose) Men who went through the Army’s grueling Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, experienced greater hormonal changes than women who took part in the course, according to a recent study by the service.   Navy     Select Navy reserve aviators eligible for up to $40,000 in annual bonuses (Military Times) The U.S. Navy last week announced a slew of annual financial incentives for U.S. Navy reserve aviators in an effort to retain their services.       Military Sealift Command ship makes history with rare combat award (Military Times) Since its creation during the World War II, the Presidential Unit Citation has only been bestowed roughly 100 times — the through line being some of the most elite units and daring operations in U.S. military history. Now, an oil replenishment ship will join the ranks alongside storied units such as the Blackhorse Regiment and receive the nation’s highest military honor for unit-level combat valor.       20-year trove of shipboard assault cases now public after data request (Military Times) Of 116 Naval Criminal Investigative Service case files opened into allegations of sexual assault and misconduct onboard Military Sealift Command ships over a 20-year period, just five show that the case concluded at court-martial or in civilian court.   AIr Force     Air Force leaders say AI guidance, more changes to BMT coming (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Air Force will soon issue new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence and will implement a sweeping modernization of Basic Military Training by 2027 following a summit of top service leaders.       Pilot shut off fuel supply, leading to October 2025 Skyraider II crash, Air Force finds (Military Times) A student pilot reached for the wrong fuel control in his Block-1 OA-1K Skyraider II on Oct. 23, 2025, shutting off fuel to the engine and forcing the crew to crash-land the special operations aircraft in an Oklahoma field, an Air Force accident investigation board found.       Air Force accelerates sending B-21s to Ellsworth (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The first B-21 Raider bomber will bed down sightly ahead of the original schedule at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., but still in 2027, and the first plane to arrive there is already flying test missions, said Air Force Secretary Troy Meink in an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine.   Space Force     Space Force approves new satellite jammer for operational use (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Space Force formally accepted its Meadowlands jammer for operational use earlier this month, an upgrade to its current electronic warfare portfolio.   Veterans     Anthony Tata assumes oversight of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (Military Times) Families of missing-in-action service members from the Vietnam war were issued a promise on June 25 from the new overseer of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to look into budget cuts that have canceled MIA searches in Vietnam and Laos.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Quantum computing is about to become a national security problem in orbit (Space News) Quantum computing is advancing fast, and nations are racing to field the first machines powerful enough to break modern encryption.       New AI ‘agent network’ could gather intel faster for strike packages (Air & Space Forces Magazine) A new Pentagon initiative could shrink the timelines for air and space commanders to gather and sort through the intelligence necessary to conduct operations.   Defense Industry     USMC awards $20 million contract for first autonomous ground vehicles (Military Times) As the Marine Corps continues its pursuit of ground-based air defense against hostile drones and low-flying enemy aircraft, it’s making a milestone investment: a first-of-its-kind $20 million production contract for fully autonomous ground vehicles that can transport air defense systems deeper into the fight, with less human oversight.       Army wants up to 100 drone boats to fill watercraft gap in Pacific (Military Times) As the Army contends with a shortage of ships to carry troops and supplies in the Pacific, it’s pressing contract vessels into service – and looking to a future in which dozens of heavy-duty autonomous watercraft take on a significant portion of the task.       Marine Corps inks first contract for autonomous ground vehicle production (Defense One) The Marine Corps will pay Overland AI $19.7 million to produce more than a dozen autonomous ground vehicles by early 2027.       As one Australian Army brigade bulks up with armor, its fuel and ammo needs spike (Defense News) Based in Townsville in northern Queensland, the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade is undergoing a massive transformation, as the heavy armored formation absorbs whole new fleets of vehicles.       UK bets on drones and AI in contentious defense funding plan (Bloomberg) The UK will seek to transform its aging military into a force fit for modern warfare by investing in drones and artificial intelligence alongside more traditional deterrents such as fighter jets and nuclear weapons.       Israel sells Spyder air defense systems to Romania for $2.3 billion (Defense News) Israel is on tap to sell Spyder air defense systems to Romania for approximately €2 billion, or $2.3 billion, according to a June 28 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announcement.       Poland awards $4.8 billion A26 submarine deal to Saab (Defense News) The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed a contract with Sweden’s Saab to purchase three A26-type submarines for the country’s Navy.       Netherlands boosts defense spending on drones, uncrewed systems (Bloomberg) The Netherlands will ramp up investment in uncrewed military systems such as drones, with the country’s Defense Ministry saying it wants more than half of the military’s “operational effects” to involve such technology within five years.   International     US, NATO sailors train to counter swarm surface drone threats (Stars and Stripes) These northerly waters recently served to show Navy sailors how to spot and destroy deadly surface drones, whose devastating consequences for ships have been demonstrated from the Middle East to Crimea.       Pakistani airstrikes kill 36 civilians in Afghanistan and wound 160, officials say (The Associated Press) Residents walk through the rubble after what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes a day earlier that killed civilians, including children, in the village of Mandokhail, Chamkani district, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir) 2026-06-29T07:04:09Z       Heavy machine guns appear on key Russian commercial tanker in Baltic (The War Zone) One of Russia’s commercially flagged vessels in the Baltic has appeared armed with heavy machine guns, and it isn’t just any cargo hauler. The weapons fit is likely intended to provide close-in protection against naval drone attacks but is also evidence of increasingly bold measures taken by Moscow to ensure that military bases in its strategically important Kaliningrad exclave continue to be supported.   Commentary & Analysis     Iran didn’t win the war (Foreign Affairs Magazine) Much of Washington has greeted the Iran cease-fire deal with scorn. After more than three months of war, the United States and Israel failed to achieve many of their objectives, which included overthrowing the regime in Tehran and ending a potential Iranian nuclear threat.       How ships are risking ‘safe’ passage through the Strait of Hormuz (France 24) A plan to divert shipping through an alternative corridor off the Omani coast to avoid the threat of mines in the Strait of Hormuz has come under scrutiny after two attacks on ships in recent days. Though Iran and Oman agreed to engage in talks on Monday on the strait's management, the incidents illustrate the complexity of maintaining navigation through the crucial waterway, which remains at the forefront of the standoff between Tehran and Washington.       The defense industrial alliance Washington is throwing away (War on the Rocks) As the relationship between the United States and Canada continues to degrade, it now comes at the expense of each country’s industrial security.       In the US the ties between industry and defense go back to the country’s founding (The Wall Street Journal) Starting with George Washington creating the Springfield Armory, the country has fused war and business like never before Last spring, U.S. Army Col. Jeffrey Kain had a revelation: Ammunition is a lot like ice cream.