Top 5     Hegseth discusses Iran with Netanyahu in unannounced visit to Israel, officials say (Reuters) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, three Israeli officials said, as tensions flare between the U.S. and Iran.       Military spouse commission weighs expanding employment programs across services (Military Times) The President’s Military Spouse Commission is examining how to expand existing employment programs across the military services and federal agencies, as members press for better data on whether the initiatives help spouses maintain lasting careers.       Rappel demonstrations are risky, but common among elite units (Task & Purpose) The details behind the death of an Air Force special operations instructor killed during a rappelling demonstration Saturday will likely not be known for weeks or even months.       US Army support for Golden Dome missile shield takes shape (Defense News) As the U.S. Army’s support to the joint force space mission takes shape with its newly populated Space Operations Branch, the service is also poised to support what’s expected to be a critical year for testing and development of the Golden Dome for America missile shield project.       3 wounded soldiers receive honors for efforts to save others after Iranian missile attack on Saudi base (Stars and Stripes) The “Alarm Red” siren shrieked across Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 27, a warning that an Iranian attack might be on its way across the Persian Gulf.   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     Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer tapped as Barracks Task Force senior advisor (Military Times) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appointed Medal of Honor recipient and U.S. Marine Corps reservist Dakota Meyer to the Pentagon’s Barracks Task Force.       Pentagon pilot cuts Army civilian hiring time from 161 days to 47 (Federal News Network) The Defense Department has also doled out more than $1 billion in bonuses, averaging $13,000 per person, to over 90,000 employees it says are top performers.   Army     Army pilots AI-backed maintenance program to digitize manuals, streamline repairs (DefenseScoop) The Army is piloting an AI-backed maintenance program the service hopes will make fixing equipment faster and easier for soldiers.       Carbon camouflage: Army goes elemental in bid to hide troops on modern battlefield (Stars and Stripes) When it comes to hiding soldiers and military equipment from enemy radar, the Army has its head in the clouds.   Navy     Navy establishes dedicated rating for submarine Chiefs of the Boat (Military Times) Senior enlisted leaders aboard submarines will now fall under the rating of Chiefs of the Boat, replacing a billet-based designation with a formal rating for the role.   Marine Corps     Marine Corps creates first medium missile battalion (Military Times) The Marine Corps redesignated a Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, artillery battalion to the service’s first-ever medium missile battalion.   Veterans     Union seeks new avenue to restore VA contract (GovExec) Just weeks after a federal appellate court cleared the way for the Veterans Affairs Department to declare that its union contracts with the American Federation of Government Employees have expired, the union has filed a new motion it hopes could revive the agreement.   Defense Industry     China built more than twice naval tonnage of US in 2024-25: Euronaval (Military Times) China built more than twice the naval tonnage of the United States in the 2024-25 period, narrowing the gap between the two countries’ navies, according to the World Defense Shipbuilding report published by Euronaval ahead of the 2026 edition of the naval defense show.       US Air Force F-22 pilot controls unmanned FQ-44 in flight (Military Times) An F-22 Raptor controlled a YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, advancing the U.S. Air Force’s efforts to produce the service’s “loyal wingmen.”       US Navy, Gecko Robotics surge AI maintenance contract to $300M (Military Times) The U.S. Navy is ramping up its investment in artificial intelligence technology to streamline ship repairs and resolve maintenance logjams.   Ukraine     Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says US decisions on Ukraine hard to explain (Reuters) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that decisions taken by the United States on the war in Ukraine, including delays in arms shipments and restrictions on intelligence sharing, were “hard to explain.”       Musk ordered Starlink slowdown that blindsided Ukraine (The Wall Street Journal) Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv.   International     Iran tells Pakistan army chief no talks with Washington until demands are met (Reuters ) Iran told Pakistan's army chief on Tuesday that there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran's ?demands were met, Iranian media reported, underscoring its hardening stance despite ?mediation efforts by key interlocutor Pakistan.       UK to deploy fighter jets to protect Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks (The Guardian) RAF Typhoon fighters are to be used in efforts to protect Saudi Arabia from attack by Yemen’s Houthis, flying protective missions over the country’s cities and critical infrastructure as western allies increase their intervention in the escalating conflict.       Military power rising as power of diplomacy falling, diplomats, crisis monitors, allies say (Defense One) International norms and humanitarian law are losing influence just as new military capabilities are becoming easier to access—a central theme of two days of talks among diplomats, government officials and humanitarian workers here.   Video     See it: more footage of the Coast Guard’s new jet skis (Defense News) Get a look at the Coast Guard’s personal watercraft program — a law enforcement regimen that utilizes jet skis for counter-smuggling and rescue missions.       Hegseth appoints Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer to Barracks Task Force (Defense News) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth taps the Marine reservist to serve as a Senior Advisor and representative for the Pentagon’s effort to improve troops’ living conditions.       US Army Golden Knights take to the sky at the Sky High Aerospace Expo (Defense News) No wings? No problem! The U.S. Army Golden Knights take the air show to another level. Would you dare to jump?       Hegseth appoints Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer to Barracks Task Force (Defense News) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth taps the Marine reservist to serve as a senior advisor for the Pentagon’s effort to improve troops’ living conditions.       How General Dynamics is modernizing military communications security (Defense News) General Dynamics Mission Systems discusses high-speed encryption and adaptable security technology designed to protect military networks as cyber threats evolve.   Commentary & Analysis     Tip of the spear, or stranded on beaches? Chinese planners dissect USMC Pacific posture (Military Times) The U.S. Navy has taken some heat recently for focusing too heavily on the Middle East and neglecting the Asia-Pacific. The same cannot be said of the U.S. Marine Corps, which unveiled a new strategy in 2019 relying on dispersed groups of Marines to wield drones and anti-ship missiles in archipelagic warfare in order to unhinge Chinese maritime expansion.       Children are falling from military housing windows. Why did the Pentagon change how it protects them? (The War Horse) It was Jason English’s job as a Naval intelligence officer to mitigate risk. The work suited him. He felt like he was wired to protect the people and country he loved.       My son has disappeared off the face of the earth fighting for Russia (BBC News) Nathan Stobbart’s family say he faced deportation from Russia if he did not join the country's army.       Europe’s credibility gap (Foreign Affairs Magazine) The second Trump administration’s National Security Strategy declared that “the days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over.” That sentiment has animated much of the administration’s foreign policy over the past two years, and its approach to Europe has been no exception.       The US Army’s Pacific strategy depends on allies (The Cipher Brief) “We never fight alone. We've never done that. You can go all the way back to the days of Revolutionary War. The United States has never gone into conflict on its own. We've always built coalitions. We've always involved partners and allies. And we'll continue to do so going forward.”       Why is strategy so difficult? (The Atlantic) One might think that the meaning of a word as common as strategy is clear, but it is not. The invaluable Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus inadvertently captures the confusion: “master plan, grand design, game plan, action plan, policy, program, tactics.” But a master plan is something more specific than a grand design, a policy is what should direct strategy, and tactics exist at a level of intentional action below strategy.       Guns, growth, and the German reinvention of military Keynesianism (War on the Rocks) In March 2025, Germany did more than loosen a fiscal rule. It fused two national emergencies — a deteriorating European security order and a deteriorating industrial model — into a single constitutional bargain.       The hidden risks of AI-powered intelligence (The Cipher Brief) Picture an intelligent analyst's screen. Data about troop movements, a port closure, a terrorist attack, or a weapons transfer sits at the center of a clean interface, with a confidence indicator glowing green. Two hundred outlets are carrying it, and the platform has counted every one. It looks like a corroboration. In many cases, it is a single Telegram post, copied, translated, summarized, and republished until its origin disappeared behind its own echo.