Top 5     Army identifies 19th US service member to die amid Iran war (Military Times) The U.S. Army identified the 19th U.S. service member to die while deployed in support of the war with Iran, adding another death to the Pentagon’s official public casualty accounting.       In defiant speech, Pezeshkian calls out Trump and says Iran will fight ‘until our last breath’ (The Associated Press) Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.       Greenland welcomes US military pact but trust still shaky (Reuters) Greenland’s government and residents expressed relief that a military pact with the United States and Denmark may end anxiety over President Donald Trump’s threats to seize their Arctic island, but many remain distrustful of Washington.       5 military reservists file class-action lawsuit seeking differential pay (Military Times) Five U.S. military reservists filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday in an attempt to regain years of alleged unpaid compensation during periods when they left their federal civilian jobs to serve on active duty.       Eight US sailors in USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide, Navy says (BBC News) In a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the crew had adequate mental health support during the long deployment.   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     Hegseth announces new evaluation process for promotion of colonels and captains (Stars and Stripes) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday the military this year will start evaluating colonels and Navy captains for one-star positions as part of a new process.       GenAI.mil attracts about half a million ‘power users’ as Pentagon pushes forward with frontier models (DefenseScoop) Of the 1.7 million personnel who use the Defense Department’s enterprise AI platform, approximately 500,000 are using it heavily, according to a senior Pentagon official.   Congress & Politics     Democrats seek hearings on deadly Kuwait strike (Stars and Stripes) More than 20 Democrats across both chambers of Congress are calling for public hearings into reported safety failures surrounding a deadly Iranian drone strike on a U.S. base in Kuwait and the military’s treatment of survivors.       GOP senators hold up key Trump Pentagon nominees (Federal News Network) Two of the White House’s picks have sat in limbo for more than a year, while a third stalled over the summer.   Army     Instructor admits to being ‘grossly negligent’ in fatal shooting at Letterkenny Army Depot (Military Times) A civilian shooting instructor at the Letterkenny Army Depot pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of a soldier at the facility earlier this year.   Navy     Steam catapults? US Navy appears to be sticking with electromagnetics on carriers (Military Times) Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s nostalgia for old-fashioned steam catapults, the U.S. Navy appears to be sticking with electromagnetics for its newest class of aircraft carriers.   AIr Force     Active-duty airman pronounced dead at off-base housing in Italy (Military Times) An active-duty airman stationed in Italy was pronounced dead at their off-base residence Tuesday.       Air Force, civilian staff dispute status of China Aerospace Studies Institute (Defense News) On Oct. 1, the Air Force will eliminate all 10 civilian positions at the China Aerospace Studies Institute, the Air University center that publishes unclassified research on the People’s Liberation Army’s air, space and missile forces. Its director said the move will effectively end the institute, even as the service says CASI’s mission will continue.       Last operational HH-60G Pave Hawk completes final flight (Military Times) After over three decades serving as an essential part of the Air Force’s combat search and rescue operations, the HH-60G Pave Hawk flew once more before retiring from service.   Veterans     Number of disabled veterans qualifying for VA dental benefits has increased dramatically, GAO says (Stars and Stripes) The number of veterans eligible for dental benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs has increased by 70% since fiscal year 2020, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.   Defense Industry     Army awards Palantir $48.1M to modernize ammo management (Defense News) The U.S. Army awarded a subsidiary of Palantir Technologies a $48.1 million contract to develop software designed to improve how the service tracks and manages ammunition.       German defense minister sees smooth sailing in parliament for his record defense budget (Defense News) German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters after a Bundestag defense committee hearing on Wednesday that lawmakers had shown “much agreement” on his ministry’s record 2027 budget request, even as he pushed back against criticism that Germany is buying too much legacy hardware rather than new technology.       Germany wants to manufacture American PAC-3 interceptors to help meet global demand (Defense News) German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has lobbied U.S. defense leaders to allow the production of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles in Germany, arguing an additional production site would help alleviate a glaring shortfall in the global supply chain for the vital air-defense weapons.       Europe’s push to reduce US reliance is reshaping the defense space market (Defense News) Demand for sovereign satellite capabilities is growing in Europe as governments seek greater control over access to relevant infrastructure.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Son of Israel’s ambassador to US critically injured in ramming attack in the occupied West Bank (The Associated Press) The son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States was gravely injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.   Ukraine     Zelenskyy says Ukraine sent 2 North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea (The Associated Press) Ukraine has sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, following months of consultations between Kyiv and Seoul after the soldiers were captured in Russia’s Kursk region in 2025.       Zelenskyy, at UN, urges leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts (The Associated Press) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders Wednesday that Vladimir Putin is the only obstacle to ending “the ridiculous and never-ending war,” and he urged nations large and small to pressure the Russian president for peace by choking the country’s revenues and impeding its war efforts.   International     Putin says election turnout shows Russians support military agenda (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that high turnout in last weekend's parliamentary ?election showed that Russians support their armed forces fighting in ?Ukraine and the authorities' efforts to protect national security.       Iranian advisers helped Houthis seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast in less than 48 hours, sources tell AP (The Associated Press) It took Houthi rebels less than 48 hours to seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast from pro-government forces in a resounding blow to U.S. interests and Washington’s regional allies.   Video     Pentagon announces Joint Warfighter Evaluation program to manage high-level promotions (Defense News) Hegseth says a new process is intended to elevate leaders who show the ability to “fight, adapt and win,” but offers few details.       ‘Our task is to adapt right now’: Air Force leaders gather to plot future of warfare (Defense News) Looking into a future filled with drones and AI, the Air and Space Forces prepare for a battlespace radically changed by emerging tech.       Top Air Force official reveals US has weapons in space (Defense News) Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said at a recent conference that the United States has deployed “on-orbit space control weapons.”       Pentagon updates guidance on low testosterone testing for males (Defense News) The Dept. of Defense released clinical guidelines for test and treating low testosterone in male service members recently.       Marines interdict a boat, use it for minigun practice (Defense News) Marines with Littoral Combat Force-24 and sailors from the USS San Antonio execute a Maritime Interdiction Operation while underway earlier this month.   Commentary & Analysis     Senate should act fast on bipartisan veterans’ home effort (Military Times) Against the backdrop of partisan politics and a midterm election season already consuming national attention, North Carolina has an opportunity to provide the country with an example of what is possible when the political temperature comes down long enough for government to work for the people it serves.       How the Pentagon counts — and leaves out — troops killed in war (Task & Purpose) The U.S. military’s reporting of casualties in the Iran war has drawn criticism for months, with the Pentagon providing little explanation for delayed reports of wounded and shifting casualty counts. Even the number of U.S. troops who have died while deployed to the region, which the Pentagon now says is 19, has been questioned in recent media reports.       Winning by the rules: Optimizing weapons reviews in the age of technological innovation (War on the Rocks) We spare the reader another detailed story from Ukraine to establish the now-familiar point that battlefield technology changes faster than militaries can acquire, review, and field it. The villain in this story is easy to identify: bureaucracy.       The Ukraine laboratory: How a full-spectrum war is rewriting modern warfighting (Small Wars Journal) More than three years into the largest interstate war in Europe since 1945, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has become the most closely observed and most instructive military laboratory of the 21st century.       Xi Is getting what he wants (The Atlantic) Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, a movie that premiered in China last month and is coming to the United States in October, is about a Chinese chef who moves to the Middle East to find work, only to become a savior for the locals amid the chaos of an American invasion.       Seoul needs a playbook for Hormuz, Ukraine, and what comes next (War on the Rocks) Earlier this month, President Donald Trump shared a Washington Post opinion piece on his social media, arguing that South Korea should send its Cheongung-II air-defense system to Ukraine.       When threats move faster than institutions (The Cipher Brief) A major aspect of the national security story of the past year comes down to one gap. Our adversaries, and increasingly the machines they use, now operate at machine speed.       The evolving role of Ukraine’s artillery in the age of drones (The War Zone) It’s stunning to comprehend how much has changed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. The conflict quickly turned into one dominated by artillery, with both sides scrambling to source shells wherever possible. Drones have since replaced tubed artillery as the ‘king of battle’ along the front, but cannons still have an important place on the battlefield. The commander of a new combined drone-artillery brigade offered some fresh insights into how his guns are now being deployed to achieve effects that drones still can’t provide.