Top 5     US weighs military reinforcements as Iran war enters possible new phase (Reuters) President Donald Trump’s administration is considering deploying thousands of U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the U.S. military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, said a U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter.       VA awarded authority to appoint legal guardians for impaired veterans (Military Times) An agreement between the Justice Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs allows the VA to put veterans under guardianship if they are unable to make their own health care decisions.       About 90 ships cross the Strait of Hormuz as Iran exports millions of barrels of oil despite the war (The Associated Press) About 90 ships including oil tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the outset of the war with Iran and it is still exporting millions of barrels of oil at a time when the waterway has been effectively closed, according to maritime and trade data platforms.       Sending a military care package to the Middle East? Check this list first (Military Times) Before sending care packages to service members involved in Operation Epic Fury, check the U.S. Postal Service list of military post offices where mailing services have been temporarily suspended.       Nearly 200 US troops wounded in Iran war, but most are back on duty, CENTCOM says (Stars and Stripes) Approximately 200 American troops across seven Middle Eastern countries have been wounded in the joint U.S.-Israeli war against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury, a U.S. Central Command spokesman confirmed Tuesday.   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.   Pentagon     Pentagon official denies knowledge of plans to strike Cuba amid lawmaker concerns (Stars and Stripes) A Department of Defense official referred to Cuba as a “significant threat” but said he was not aware of plans to strike the country as lawmakers readied a resolution barring military intervention in Cuba without congressional approval.       The Pentagon wants to field laser weapons at scale within 3 years (Laser Wars) For decades, the U.S. military’s dream of high-energy laser weapons has been perpetually “five years away.” Now, the Pentagon says it wants to finally make them an operational reality within the next three.   Congress & Politics     Trump, Hegseth will attend dignified transfer of 6 airmen killed in Iraq crash (Stars and Stripes) The remains of six U.S. airmen who died after their Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq last week will be received at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Wednesday and returned to their families.       Top US intelligence officials set to testify about Iran war and threats confronting the homeland (The Associated Press) The U.S. government’s top intelligence official told lawmakers Wednesday that Iran’s regime “appears to be intact but largely degraded” yet repeatedly dodged questions about whether President Donald Trump had been warned about the fallout from the weeks-old war, including Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations and its effective closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.       House Republicans seek new strategy for passing VA policy bills (Military Times) The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee wants to develop a “must-pass” authorization bill process for the Department of Veterans Affairs similar to the legislative procedure used to approve the National Defense Authorization Act.   Your Military     Paper or plastic? Military commissaries to charge for single-use bags (Military Times) Commissaries will soon start charging shoppers for paper and plastic single-use bags.   Army     Army to ‘ramp up all munitions across the board,’ general says, including specialized missiles (DefenseScoop) The Army’s top general in charge of munitions said the service was looking to boost armament stocks “across the board,” but singled out some specialized missile systems, one of which has struggled in development, that he expects to make production gains soon.   Navy     USS Gerald R. Ford en route to Greece for repairs after fire (Task & Purpose) Sailors on the USS Gerald R. Ford have already been away from home for more than eight months and are now headed for yet another unanticipated stop, this time on the Greek island of Crete, following a fire on the ship, according to a source familiar with the matter.   Marine Corps     New Marine unit puts intelligence and cyberwarfare capabilities to the test in Arctic (Stars and Stripes) A new U.S. Marine Corps unit designed to fight in shadowy gray zones is getting its first real test in the Arctic, where NATO is honing its response to potential aggression in the High North.   AIr Force     US Air Force special operations seeks kamikaze drones (Defense News) The U.S. Air Force wants small one-way attack drones for its special operations forces, according to an Air Force Request for Information.       Domestic-related shooting leaves 1 dead, another injured at New Mexico Air Force base (Military Times) A domestic-related shooting broke out Tuesday evening at a New Mexico Air Force base, resulting in one person dead and another injured, according to military base officials.       Shelter-in-place order lifted at MacDill Air Force Base (Military Times) MacDill Air Force Base in Florida has lifted a shelter-in-place order that was enacted earlier Wednesday after officials said a threat had been made against the Tampa-based installation.   Cyber, Space & Unmanned     Space Command to launch wargame series for industry (Air & Space Forces Magazine) U.S. Space Command will host the first in a series of “commercial wargames” on March 23, inviting industry participants to engage with “hard problems in orbit” at a classified level, according to SPACECOM’s director for joint force development.   Defense Industry     Lockheed tests upgraded Precision Strike Missile designed to strike ships (Defense News) Following the first combat launch of its long-range Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, Lockheed Martin successfully tested an upgraded version of the weapon that is designed to hit moving vessels at sea.       UK, Netherlands, Finland in talks to set up defense investment bank (Defense News) The United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, together with several other countries, are in talks to set up a financial institution that would provide funding for joint multi-year defense projects, similar to the European Investment Bank but focused on defense.       Israel to mount lasers on fighter jets and helicopters (Defense News) Elbit Systems will develop laser weapons for the Israeli Air Force to be installed on fighter jets and military helicopters, the company said on Tuesday.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Israel intensifies strikes on Beirut, escalating its campaign against Hezbollah (The New York Times) The Israeli military widened its attacks to the districts in the center of the Lebanese capital, destroying buildings, forcing residents to flee and killing at least 10.   Ukraine     Ukraine war undermining Russia’s Arctic plans, US intelligence says (Defense News) Russia’s efforts to assert its power in the Arctic are being undermined by the Ukraine war, according to U.S. intelligence.   International     Israel has killed Esmaeil Khatib, Iran’s Intelligence Minister (The New York Times) The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had killed Esmaeil Khatib in an airstrike. Iran confirmed the killing.       US assesses China not planning to invade Taiwan in 2027 (Reuters) China does not currently plan to invade Taiwan in 2027 and seeks to control the island without the use of force, the U.S. intelligence community said on Wednesday, striking a measured tone on one of the world’s biggest potential flashpoints.       Iran threatens strikes on oil and gas targets after South Pars gas field hit (The Hill) The Iranian government threatened to strike oil and gas facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday, in response to an attack on its South Pars natural gas field. Iranian state media warned the country would target Saudi Arabia’s Samref Refiney and its Jubail Petrochemical Complex, as well as the...       Turkey deploys third NATO Patriot system to repel Iranian missiles (Defense News) The Turkish Ministry of National Defense has announced the deployment of an additional Patriot air and missile defense system to ?ncirlik Air Base in southern Turkey.       Afghanistan vows to avenge deadly Kabul bombing but says open to talks (France 24) A mass funeral for some of the hundreds of victims of a Pakistani strike on a Kabul drug treatment centre was held in Afghanistan on Wednesday, with the Taliban government promising retribution but leaving the door open for talks to end the conflict.       Russian warplanes flying near US and Canada more frequently (Air & Space Forces Magazine) Russian warplanes are flying near the U.S. and Canada at a rate “above historical norms,” the head of U.S. Northern Command and NORAD said this week in written and verbal testimony to Congress.       Pakistan announces ‘temporary pause’ in strikes against Afghanistan at request of several countries (The Associated Press) Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday declared a temporary pause in escalating fighting, two days after Kabul blamed Islamabad for a deadly airstrike in the Afghan capital that it said killed hundreds of people at a drug rehabilitation hospital.   Commentary & Analysis     Tuition, training, housing: How to sell the military as the path of least resistance (The War Horse) When I reported for duty in 1985, neither the Nevada submarine nor I was ready to go to sea. The submarine was under construction in the shipyard, and I was an unqualified third-class petty officer.       More than half of Americans oppose US military force for Cuban regime change: Poll (The Hill) More than half of Americans are against the use of their country’s military force for regime change in Cuba, with President Trump recently making threats of taking over the island nation. In The Economist/YouGov poll, 53 percent of respondents said they “somewhat oppose” or “strongly oppose” American military force for a regime change in Cuba.       As Israel invades again, Lebanon faces more turmoil and possible civil war. Here are 3 ways this could go (The Conversation) Just two days after the US and Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in late February, Hezbollah opened a second front in the war by launching six rockets into Israel from Lebanon.       Trump and Netanyahu may have jointly started the war in Iran, but ending it together will be difficult (The Conversation) Donald Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on March 15 that his relationship with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is “extraordinary”. Netanyahu has been rather less effusive, saying in recent days that their relationship is one of “dialogue, shared concepts, consultation and joint work”.       Military operational thinking in an age of artificial intelligence (War on the Rocks) In recent years, as AI has begun to enter military planning and operational design, a persistent unease has surfaced among practitioners. Even with improved tools, increased tempo, and unprecedented access to data, plans continue to falter on integration, coherence, and a shared sense of direction. Marco Lyons’ recent War on the Rocks article on the perceived decline of operational art gives voice to this unease in a way that is both timely and important. We do not know enough about the specific wargame, its constraints, or its internal dynamics to adjudicate these conclusions directly. What Lyons’ account nevertheless captures with clarity       How the law of naval warfare applies to the Strait of Hormuz (The Conversation) The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow body of water adjacent to Iran and Oman, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.       An Army Reservist owns a cannabis dispensary. It may end his career. (The New York Times) Selling marijuana is strictly prohibited in the military. What that means for soldiers who own businesses is unclear.