Task & Purpose

U.S. Southern Command carried out a “swift and lethal kinetic strike” to kill Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, the head of the Tren de Aragua street gang, President Donald Trump announced Friday evening. The strike is the apparent first announced military operation inside Venezuela since Operation Absolute Resolve, the Jan. 3 attack on Caracas that saw U.S. forces capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Army spent over a billion dollars on nearly 10,000 augmented-reality headsets for soldiers to wear in combat. A federal watchdog reported this week that they won’t end up being used. The Government Accountability Office looked at programs across the Department of Defense that “exceeded cost estimates and delivery schedules — wasting billions of dollars and decades of time,” according to a report released Tuesday.

Soldiers assigned to the McGregor Range Complex, New Mexico, are missing meals because trying to eat at the base’s dining facility, or DFAC, often means waiting for an hour or more, two soldiers currently at the base told Task & Purpose. The soldiers, speaking on the condition that their names not be used, said they have missed meals as a result of the long lines, which they say are a regular occurrence at the base, which is part of Fort Bliss, Texas.

The creators of the future Global War on Terrorism memorial say they based their design around a single question posed to veterans, military families and others associated with the war: How did they want a memorial to the two decades of conflict to make them feel?

“Who knows what was going on in Cpl. Mobley’s personal life?” The question hung in the air. “Who knows if he had a girlfriend, fiancée? Who knows if they were having relationship issues? Who knows if his parents were having relationship issues?” First Sgt. Christopher Rushton fired off the list of “who knows” questions as members of the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting unit at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia sat in stony silence. “Who knows if his sister was having relationship issues?

If President Donald Trump decides to order the U.S. military to capture Kharg Island from Iran, the operation would require about 1,200 troops, experts told Task & Purpose. Whether or not that number would be enough to hold the island is less clear. For the moment, it is uncertain whether U.S. troops may be tasked with capturing the island, which processes about 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports.

Pick-Up Day is the moment of truth for Marine recruits. Sometimes called “Black Friday” among Marines, it marks the first time they meet their drill instructors, who will train them for the next 13 weeks of boot camp. The U.S. military recently published photos of recruits’ first encounters with their drill instructors at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, and you can almost hear the yelling. The May 30 photos by Marine Cpl.

The Army has been on an as-of-yet unending quest for a true light tank or mobile gun capable of landing behind enemy lines alongside airborne troops. Just last year, the service canceled the M10 Booker — a light tank that never was. And that’s hardly the first of its weight class to end up in the Army’s boneyard — there’s the M56 Scorpion and the M50 Ontos, to name two. It hasn’t been since the M551 Sheridan that the service got what it needed out of a light tank, and even then, only kind of.

An Army recruiter used the identities of seven would-be recruits to open bank accounts, cash in on fraudulent checks and credit cards in their names, and even buy plane tickets for a Las Vegas trip, according to federal court documents. Former Sgt. 1st Class Jane Crosby pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in a federal court in Newark, New Jersey.

An annual event put on by members of Congress to honor fallen servicewomen was canceled this year after the Navy, Air Force and Space Force bowed out, citing Pentagon and White House policies on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Other branches either didn’t respond to the invite or cited scheduling conflicts. The Bipartisan Women’s Caucus’ 28th annual wreath-laying ceremony is typically held at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.