Editor’s note: This article first appeared on The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. Subscribe to their newsletter.The four Filipino archaeologists knelt shoulder to shoulder in a trench only slightly larger than a toddler’s sandbox, shaving away paper-thin layers of earth and filling buckets with soil beneath a blazing early afternoon sun on the Philippine island of Mindanao.A few feet away, Mike Henshaw, who spent much of his 25-year U.S. Army career recovering the remains of fallen service members, was creating a grid by stretching string between wooden stakes. He then activated a…

The MH-139 Grey Wolf officially reached initial operational capability as the U.S. Air Force moves to replace the aging UH-1N Hueys.As of Aug. 10, the Boeing twin-engine utility helicopter reached initial operational capability with “significant capability upgrades” compared to the medium utility Hueys, the service announced Monday.The Grey Wolves are nearly 50% faster than the Hueys, can carry twice as many troops and contain improved defensive systems, allowing forces to mobilize and arrive sooner than before, with the previous Vietnam-era platform. The Grey Wolves mark the ability for increased capabilities in the Air Force Global Strike Command’s nuclear security operations,…

Eli Heidenreich’s first NFL preseason ended with a touchdown, a salute to the crowd and a place on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ squad.The seventh-round pick and Pittsburgh native was included in the Steelers’ initial 53-man roster Sunday after he and fellow Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Alex Tecza made Naval Academy football history by appearing together for Pittsburgh in a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.Heidenreich and Tecza are the fourth pair of Naval Academy graduates to appear for the same team in the same NFL game, the second pair of former Navy football teammates to do so and the first pair…

Thousands of U.S. Army soldiers—from Korea to Virginia—laced up their boots last week to earn a Danish military award now authorized for wear.The march, first reported by Task & Purpose, inspired thousands of soldiers across the world to load up their rucksacks and pound the pavement. The Royal Danish Air Force March, called the Danish Flyver, requires participants to carry 22 pounds over 12.4 miles. The march dates back to Denmark’s DANCON March, a long-distance ruck that began during a 1972 United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. According to the Army, the Danish Air Force later developed its own version…

After a 35-year Navy career, Capt. Rich Sussman administered the oath of enlistment to his son, Matthew Sussman, on his final day of service.Matthew had wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and enlist in the Navy for years, according to a recent release.“We explored a lot of possibilities and options,” Christine Sussman said in the announcement. “No matter what I threw at him, nothing really seemed to stick or really get him excited until he started talking about enlisting. It’s like the most enthusiastic we’ve ever seen him about anything.”In June, Matthew’s family gathered at the Albany Military Entrance…

The U.S. launched new air strikes on Iranian targets on Tuesday, quashing hopes that an exchange of fire last weekend might not lead to a wider renewal of hostilities.Oil prices had already risen after that first exchange of direct attacks since July and after reports of two tankers being hit on Monday leaving the Strait, the global oil supply waterway that Iran has effectively closed to shipping. Brent crude futures, already up 2% on the day, jumped almost 2% more on the reports. [O/R]Tehran remained defiant, warning that it would prevent oil being exported from the Gulf, despite a threat…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news from Outdoor Life. There’s a special kind of misery that comes from using the wrong pack for the job. But if you have a hunting backpack that fits you and matches the task, you’ll hardly notice it’s on your back. The Outdoor Life editors have been on both sides of that and we’ve used packs for hunting elk, sheep, moose, grizzlies, mule deer, whitetails, and mountain goats in the past year. With all that hunting we’ve been able to test a wide range of packs and come up…

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to keep federal agencies operating beyond Oct. 1 when existing funds are due to expire with the start of the new fiscal year.By a vote of 370-48, the House passed the extension of current spending through Dec. 11 and sent it to President Donald Trump for signing into law. The Senate passed the measure on Aug. 8.The temporary measure prevents the type of situation that occurred last year, when a government shutdown put paychecks for U.S. troops in doubt. RELATEDThe measure was needed because Congress so far has failed to…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news from Outdoor Life. We spotted the nyati early, before the sun had begun to clang like a blacksmith’s hammer on the anvil of southern Africa. They were not the first of the safari—you couldn’t travel very far in Mozambique in the early ’70s without seeing thousands of Cape buffalo—but those had been mere background for the intoxicating realization that we were, at long last, in Africa. It was the first safari for both my companion, Jack Carter, and me. We’d flipped a coin, agreeing to alternate shooting opportunities…

The United States has approved a potential $800 million sale of Bell helicopters, weapons and related equipment to Iraq, according to the State Department.The proposed Foreign Military Sale includes GAU-19 three-barrel machine gun launchers, M260 seven-tube launchers for 2.75-inch rockets, electro-optical/infrared sensors and missile launch detection systems.The State Department did not specify how many helicopters Iraq is seeking to purchase.The package also includes Very High Frequency radios, spare parts, ground support equipment, technical publications and data, and new-equipment training for Iraqi pilots and maintenance personnel. U.S. government and contractor personnel would provide engineering, technical and logistics support.The State Department said…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news from Outdoor Life. This year’s overall waterfowl population survey results are largely unchanged from last year. The total number of breeding ducks in the survey area remained relatively stable at around 33.4 million, according to the annual migratory bird counts published Tuesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That’s a 2 percent decrease from last year, when the total duck count was 33.9 million. That change is within the margin of error, notes Delta Waterfowl senior scientist Dr. Todd Arnold. It reflects a total decline of 6…

The Department of Defense is still failing to safeguard the electronic health records of top government officials, according to a new watchdog report.In 2021, a DoD Inspector General audit found that snoopers were able to access the protected health information, or PHI, of “well-known DOD personnel.” Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that VA staff — often out of simple curiosity — had improperly accessed records of then-vice presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz.The Defense Health Agency has since tightened access to health records of well-known personnel, according to a follow-up DOD IG audit published Monday. But what…

The Navy’s highest-ranking officer told sailors during a town hall on Monday that it would be a while before the service would return to its main logistics hub in the Middle East after it was heavily damaged early in the Iran war.Answering a displaced service member’s question about retrieving personal goods from the base they previously called home, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said the Navy would not be using Naval Support Activity Bahrain for the foreseeable future. “We’re not getting back in there anytime soon,” Caudle said. “I just want to be completely honest with that.”On Feb.…

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More › Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news from Outdoor Life. Cabela’s Labor Day Sale runs now through September 9, discounting more than 1,700 items — but not every “Save $X” tag is actually a good deal once you check it against the rest of the market. We pulled out the four that are a product Outdoor Life’s editors have personally tested and recommended, and one we verified is priced at or below what it costs anywhere…

American Rheinmetall delivered the first Lynx XM30 prototype to the Army this week, the company said in a Tuesday statement, the latest move in the service’s yearslong effort to replace the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.The vehicle is slated to start testing, while seven additional prototypes are scheduled for delivery later this year. The evaluation is part of a roughly $764 million Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract intended to take the vehicle from digital design through validation. The Lynx XM30 was created for a battlefield increasingly shaped by drones and electronic warfare, according to the company, and its design features modular,…

Sign up for the Quick Strike Newsletter The hottest fishing news, tips, and tactics David Ashman of Mohnton, Pennsylvania was on vacation at Hatteras, North Carolina and booked a day of saltwater fishing aboard the Miss Hatteras party boat on July 31. “I’ve fished from party boats all my life, and about once a year I sign up for a day on the Miss Hatteras,” Ashman told Outdoor Life. “I always book trips alone and meet some nice folks from other places when I’m on a head boat.” Ashman, 63, has fished on party boats from Washington State to the…

The U.S. Navy this week unveiled an array of new specifications for its future carrier-based Combat Collaborative Aircraft, or CCA. While the service did not detail the aircraft’s combat radius, the Aug. 31 Request for Information did note that the service wants the CCA to carry up to 5 tons of weapons and cost no more than $30 million per unit. The service has set a response deadline of Sept. 18. Prospective contractors are asked to “provide the maximum combat radius including weapons loadout, 30 minutes on-station and reserve fuel for safe recovery that the proposed solution can perform.” While…

Sign up for This Happened to Me News on backcountry adventure and wilderness survival. all make mistakes. It’s only human. But what happens when our mistakes are combined with treacherous conditions in the outdoors? What happens when our blunders combine into a series of unfortunate events? Here we’ll look at the conditions and thought processes that get people into trouble, and the simple mistakes that could turn a small mishap into a life threatening situation. Going Alone Maybe no one was free on the afternoon you wanted to hike or scout that new hunting location. Maybe you just wanted some…

For the U.S. military, artificial intelligence tools help analysts turn enormous amounts of data into something actionable, like when to strike a target or where to position troops. The goal, as military officials and industry executives often describe it, is to give commanders the information they need to make consequential decisions as quickly as possible.But no matter how fast or accurate the analysis is, there’s still a gap between identifying what needs to happen and acting on it. Much of that AI processing happens on computers and servers miles from the battlefield, leaving troops to receive the information through radios,…

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