Top 5     Pentagon temporarily rescinds guidance on testosterone screening for US troops (Reuters) The Pentagon is temporarily rescinding recently published clinical guidance for a new, mandatory testosterone-deficiency screening policy for service members aged 30 and older, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday.       Vance: US probing airstrike that Iran says hit a wedding party (Reuters) U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the United States is investigating an airstrike that Iran says struck a wedding party in Iran.       Pentagon expands hormone screening guidance to include female service members (Military Times) The Defense Health Agency has explicitly established a hormone-screening pathway for female service members, directing providers to screen women annually for hormonal dysregulation and establishing clinical pathways for problems ranging from menstrual irregularities and fatigue to perimenopause and menopause.       Vance says Iran fight isn’t a ‘war’ as Trump tries to navigate unpopular conflict as election nears (The Associated Press) Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the word “war” to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran as he steered clear of predicting that the six-month-old conflict would be over by November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.       Shopping to bar-hopping: USS Abraham Lincoln sailors unwind in Thailand after 250-day voyage (BBC News) With military haircuts and moustaches, the U.S. sailors stood out against the flip-flops of the usual Pattaya crowd.   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 names Adam Telle as acting Army secretary following the departure of Dan Driscoll (The Associated Press) President Donald Trump on Thursday named Adam Telle, a civilian leader in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as the acting Army secretary following the departure of Dan Driscoll amid widespread reports of tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.       The Army shut down a specialized drone unit. Legislators want to know why. (Defense News) A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing the Army to explain why it is shuttering a specialized drone battalion less than a year after establishing it, a move that comes as conflicts across the world have become increasingly defined by unmanned aerial systems and electronic warfare.   Your Military     Court overturns 2023 ruling that wiped Bowe Bergdahl’s conviction (Military Times) A federal appeals court restored Bowe Bergdahl’s conviction on Tuesday, undoing a 2023 decision that wiped away the court-martial of the former U.S. Army soldier who walked off his base in Afghanistan, kicking off an intensive search that wounded other troops.   Army     Fort Knox soldier identified after fatal motor pool accident (Military Times) U.S. Army officials identified the soldier who died this week from injuries sustained during an accident at an on-post motor pool at Fort Knox, Kentucky.   Navy     The three foreign frigates being studied for possible US Navy service (The War Zone) Three foreign frigates – Japan’s Mogami class, the South Korean Chungnam class, and the Istanbul class from Turkey – are reportedly included in a study of ships the U.S. Navy could procure. The Trump administration has been openly pushing to leverage ships designed in friendly countries to rapidly bolster the Navy’s fleet while also working to rebuild America’s shrunken domestic shipbuilding capacity. So, it is worth examining what each design brings to the table, as well as the broader opportunities and major hurdles procuring any of them would represent.   Marine Corps     Marines test next-gen combat utility uniforms (Military Times) The U.S. Marine Corps announced that it is currently evaluating the newest entry into the long lineage of its combat utility uniforms.       US Marine Corps plans to use 3D scanners to detect cracked body armor (Military Times) The U.S. Marine Corps is looking to acquire high-resolution 3D scanners to detect cracked body armor.   AIr Force     Air Force uses C-130Js to deliver relief supplies, equipment to Nepal after flash floods (Military Times) The U.S. Air Force provided relief supplies and equipment to Nepal following flash floods in the South Asian country that have killed over 1,000 people.   Defense Industry     US Army launches laser production with $465M contract award (Defense News) The U.S. Army awarded a $464.8 million production contract to AeroVironment, Inc., this week for the Enduring-High Energy Laser program (E-HEL), marking the first production contract for a directed energy system in the U.S. military’s history, the company stated in a release Wednesday.       Defense firms soar on ample military spending, testing manufacturing schemes (Defense News) The year 2025 was another record setter for global defense companies, so much so that production bottlenecks in Western nations — not the usual industry lamentations about lacking government spending — began creeping up as the key problem many NATO countries are facing today.   Ukraine     Shootout in Kyiv between Ukrainian spy services ‘disgraceful’, says Zelenskyy (The Guardian) Domestic security service says clash with military intelligence directorate ‘definitely shouldn’t have happened’       Ukrainian sea drones strike Russian Black Sea resort town of Sochi for the first time (The War Zone) Ukraine carried out one of its farthest uncrewed surface vessel attacks from Ukrainian shores, striking the Nefrit, a multipurpose offshore vessel, in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The seaside getaway is located about 350 miles on a direct line from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory, but the trip is a lot longer if originating from Ukrainian-held shores.   International     South Korea prepares Hormuz military deployment, media reports say (Reuters) South Korea is preparing to deploy military assets to support freedom of ?navigation in the Strait of Hormuz ?and aims to dispatch them before the end of the year, media reported late on Thursday, citing government and ?military sources.       US sinks second 'floating refueling station' used by alleged drug traffickers (CBS News) The U.S. military intercepted and sank a vessel that was allegedly being used to support at-sea drug trafficking by the Ecuadorian criminal organization Los Choneros, officials said.   Video     How can the government help the defense industry produce more missiles? (Defense News) Does the government need a cultural shift in order to make more missiles and interceptors faster and cheaper? Our expert panel weighs in.       British Ministry of Defense explores fan-powered wing system for special ops missions (Defense News) The U.K. MoD put more than $6 million behind efforts to develop more novel insertion and extraction methods for troops.       Marine Corps wants to add thousands of new troops over the next five years (Defense News) The force looks at add 6,500 Marines in a variety of jobs, growing the force by 5% by 2032.       First Lynx XM30 combat vehicles arrive at Army (Defense News) American Rheinmetall delivered the first Lynx models as the army looks to replace the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.   Commentary & Analysis     Chinese military analysts can’t wait for the US Navy’s battleship era (Defense News) The U.S. Navy has experienced some considerable setbacks in recent months, from a power failure on a destroyer in the South China Sea to morale issues aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln. Still, the service has been buoyed by a nationwide recognition that shipbuilding has too long been neglected and the current administration seems to have a variety of innovative maritime strategy concepts, encompassing a new vision for the fleet.       Jungles, woods, and deserts: The Army was a passport to the wilderness I loved (The War Horse) The life-affirming embrace of the wilderness has always filled me with wonder, its green arms making me feel more vital and connected with every plant, bug, and scurrying creature.       The nuclear umbrella is bent, not broken (The Cipher Brief) Why extended nuclear deterrence still matters.       Russia’s road to El Dorado (War on the Rocks) As a new convoy of Russian armored vehicles arrives from the port of Lomé to support Russia’s Africa Corps deployment in Mali, that mission has entered its fifth year. Russia’s investment of blood and treasure urgently demands a return, but what could this return be?       The cost of squandering America’s reputation (The Cipher Brief) Make no mistake: the United States is weaker today than it was yesterday, and the day before that.       Where does AI escalation come from? We don’t know. We should find out. (War on the Rocks) We played a wargame using AI players. Two nuclear-armed nations — Red and Blue — with a long-standing, fierce border dispute were placed into a militarized crisis. Over the course of several turns, the states managed to avoid escalation to war, though there were non-operational nuclear demonstrations.       My unit took on Ukraine’s ‘Nemesis’ drone hunters. Here’s what really happened. (Task & Purpose) On the morning of April 22, 2026, Blackhawk Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, began a 10-day collective training event at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.