Top 5     ‘It takes money to kill bad guys’: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in new funding for war in Iran (Military Times) The Pentagon on Thursday said it is seeking roughly $200 billion to sustain its war in Iran, as senior military officials acknowledge that the Islamic Republic retains “some capability” to attack American assets and allies in the Middle East.       US strikes Iranian underground missile storage with 5,000-pound penetrator (Defense News) The U.S. military employed 5,000-pound penetrator weapons against underground Iranian storage facilities holding coastal defense cruise missiles and related support equipment during the latest phase of Operation Epic Fury, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed Thursday.       A-10 Warthogs target Iranian fast-attack craft in Strait of Hormuz (Military Times) U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft are now engaged in maritime interdiction operations along the southern flank of Operation Epic Fury, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday.       ‘Getting everything they need’: TAPS immediately supports military families after Operation Epic Fury deaths (Stars and Stripes) After the deaths of service members during Operation Epic Fury were announced, military families across the country began the difficult process of grieving their loved ones.       Army Reservist receives Purple Heart as she retires, a decade after combat (Task & Purpose) An Illinois soldier was awarded a Purple Heart on her very last day in the Army, receiving the award more than a decade after suffering injuries from a car bomb in Afghanistan.   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     Hegseth wants Pentagon to dump Claude, but military users say it’s not so easy (Reuters) Pentagon staffers, former officials and IT contractors who work closely with the U.S. military say they are reluctant to give up Anthropic’s AI tools, which they view as superior to alternatives, despite orders to remove them.       US Northern Command says it thwarted a drone threat over a ‘strategic’ installation hours into the Iran war (DefenseScoop) Shortly after President Donald Trump initiated Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28, forces under U.S. Northern Command used a new “Flyaway Kit” to eliminate a drone threat at an undisclosed strategic military base, according to a top commander.       Iran war not becoming a ‘quagmire’ or 'forever war,’ Hegseth says (Bloomberg) U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back Thursday against criticism the US war on Iran risked becoming a military “quagmire,” during a press conference at the Pentagon.       Pentagon once again urges civilian employees to volunteer with DHS (Military Times) The Department of Defense continues its search for department civilian employees to collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security in border security missions.   Congress & Politics     Trump jokes about Pearl Harbor in meeting with Japanese PM (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Thursday drew a parallel between U.S. strikes on Iran and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor decades ago, as he defended the war against Tehran at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Washington.       Spy Chief Gabbard says US, Israel have different Iran war goals (Bloomberg) U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard acknowledged the U.S. and Israel have different goals for their joint military campaign in Iran, underscoring tensions after Israeli jets struck energy facilities and President Donald Trump pressed for de-escalation.   Your Military     Service members must prove sincere religious beliefs for facial hair waivers (Military Times) U.S. service members will now be granted religious exemptions from grooming standards only on “sincerely held religious beliefs,” according to a recent Pentagon memorandum.   Army     Apache helicopter shoots down drones in Europe for first time in combat exercise (Defense News) The U.S. Army used Apache helicopters to shoot down drones in air-to-air combat in Europe for the first time during an exercise in Germany this week.   Navy     Two US counter-mine ships based in the Middle East are now in Singapore, Navy says (Military Times) A pair of U.S. Navy counter-mine vessels that are homeported in Bahrain arrived in Singapore this week, according to a U.S. Fifth Fleet spokesperson.   AIr Force     Two Airmen killed in KC-135 crash posthumously promoted (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Air Force has posthumously promoted two of the six Airmen who died in a KC-135 crash in western Iraq on March 12.       US F-35 forced to make emergency landing after Iran combat mission (Military Times) A U.S. F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing after flying a combat mission over Iran, U.S. Central Command confirmed on Thursday.       Air Force Special Ops wants FPV drones that can fit in a backpack (Air & Space Forces Magazine) Air Force acquisition officials are on the hunt for small, easily portable, one-way attack drones to arm special forces operators, so they can launch first-person-view precision strike missions like Ukraine has used to great effect against Russia.   Coast Guard     Coast Guard seizes, offloads more than $49 million in cocaine (Stars and Stripes) The U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Forward and Spencer seized thousands of pounds of illicit drugs while on interdiction missions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, which Forward offloaded Thursday in Port Everglades, Fla.   Defense Industry     US moves to approve more than $16 billion in air defense sales to Middle East (Defense News) The United States is moving to bolster air defenses across the Middle East, notifying Congress of more than $16.5 billion in potential weapons sales aimed primarily at countering missile and drone threats.       High-speed combat drone production starts at new US Anduril plant in days (Reuters) Anduril Industries will begin building its new Fury, “loyal wingman,” high-speed combat drones in the coming days at a new facility in Ohio, as the U.S. military’s interest in unmanned aircraft surges following battlefield successes in Ukraine and Iran.       German navy wants stock frigates from TKMS as fallback for troubled F126 warship (Defense News) The German navy is slated to get four MEKO frigates from local shipyard TKMS as a backup submarine-hunting capability, as the envisioned program of record for F126 specialty ships faces delays.   Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria     Israel forges ahead on ground incursion against Hezbollah in Lebanon (Defense News) Israel is forging ahead with its incursion into Lebanon, in what it claims is a vital fight against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group. The operation, which began on Monday, is separate from the joint U.S.-Israel war on Iran, but the dynamics of each conflict zone will inevitably intersect with each other.   International     Tehran intensifies attacks on Gulf energy facilities after Israel hits Iranian gas field (The Associated Press) Israel pounded Tehran with airstrikes Friday as Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, in the midst of a war that has sent shock waves through the global economy and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbors directly into the conflict.       US military not preparing for Cuba invasion, senior US general says (Reuters) US military not preparing for Cuba invasion, senior US general says.       Kim Jong Un and daughter unveil new tank to repel drones (Bloomberg) North Korea unveiled new battle tanks that it claimed were capable of blocking missiles and drone attacks as leader Kim Jong Un urged the military to step up war preparations, state media reported.   Military Culture & History     Hiroshima survivor who spent decades investigating American POW deaths dies at 88 (Military Times) Shigeaki Mori, an atomic bomb survivor who spent decades researching the forgotten American prisoners of war killed in the Hiroshima attack, has died at age 88.   Commentary & Analysis     The case for the US Army to procure the KNDS RCH 155 howitzer (Defense News) The U.S. Army faces a critical modernization crossroads in field artillery. Ukraine’s war has made viscerally clear what doctrine writers warned for years: A self-propelled howitzer that stops to fire is a vulnerable target. A towed howitzer does not have a chance. Russia’s Zoopark-1 radar can locate a firing howitzer within seconds of the first round leaving the barrel. The KNDS RCH 155 — Germany’s remote-controlled howitzer — offers a transformative answer, allowing a standard howitzer battery to fight and survive like a HIMARS battery.       Inside the wait for war: Military families brace for what comes next (The War Horse) Caryl Banks dragged a kitchen chair beneath the overhead light and climbed onto it with a bucket of warm, soapy water balanced on the countertop. She wrung out a sponge, lifted it toward the ceiling, and began working it in slow, deliberate circles. Water slid down her forearm and dripped onto the kitchen floor.       A-10s are striking Iranian boats. Some say it’s a ‘wake-up call’ to stop the Warthog’s retirement. (Defense One) A-10 Thunderbolt IIs are strafing boats in the Straits of Hormuz as part of President Trump’s war on Iran, and at least some experts say it shows why the venerable aircraft should remain in service.       Who are Iran’s new leaders? A look at 6 the US placed a bounty on – 2 of whom are already dead (The Conversation) The Trump administration announced a US$10 million reward on March 15, 2026, for information leading to the capture of several senior Iranian figures.       Airpower, attrition, and air superiority: Putting the Iran war in context (Air & Space Forces Magazine) The reported damage to a U.S. F-35 by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system is operationally noteworthy. It should not, however, be seen as anything more.       Islamic State containment is collapsing in Syria (War on the Rocks) Less than a month after the repeal of Caesar Act sanctions, Syria’s transitional president Ahmad al Sharaa launched an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, triggering Arab tribal defections and a rapid loss of territory. The fallout has jeopardized Islamic State containment in northeast Syria by disrupting intelligence networks built by the Syrian Democratic Forces, widening security gaps, and degrading detention-and-camp control. The most acute consequence has been mass escapes from the al-Hol refugee camp, which held approximately 24,000 family members linked to the Islamic State.       UN nuclear watchdog chief on what's next for Iran's nuclear ambitions (CBS News) The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said that "a lot has survived" of Iran's nuclear capabilities, and military operations alone cannot destroy them. Margaret Brennan has details.       How the US copied a cheap Iranian kamikaze drone and used it to bomb Iran (The Conversation) As Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host turned Donald Trump’s defense secretary, stood on the front lawn of the Pentagon to record a promotional video in July 2025, a drone hovered above him.       Trump faces his most difficult Iran war decision: Will he deploy US troops to seize uranium? (The Associated Press) President Donald Trump is facing perhaps the most daunting question of the war with Iran, one that could define his time in office: Will he put U.S. troops on the ground in Iran to secure some 970 pounds of enriched uranium that Tehran could potentially use to build nuclear weapons?       Defense experts warn of Indo-Pacific gap as Marines deploy from Japan to Middle East (Stars and Stripes) Sending a Marine expeditionary unit from Okinawa to stand by in the Middle East leaves a gap in U.S. power in the Indo-Pacific while increasing the defense burden on its Asian allies, according to analysts.