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Medical shaving waivers will be invalid under Air Force grooming policy
All medical shaving waivers issued to airmen and Space Force guardians before March 1 will be invalid as of Jan. 31, 2026
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Each week on Tuesdays and Fridays our team will bring you analysis of military tech, tactics, and doctrine delivered from a rank-and-file perspective.
More from Task & Purpose
Air Force A-10 patch marks an ‘end of an errrrra’
The 357th Fighter Squadron is saying goodbye to the “last of the dragons” as the A-10 Warthog winds down its time in service.
Congress wants to screen drone operators for PTSD, depression
The new defense policy bill calls for a study on how directly or indirectly working with drones impacts crews’ mental health, including the impact of watching lethal strikes.
Space Force rolls out new themes for naming its weapons and space systems
Space Force wants to give its tools familiar, identifiable nicknames. It unveiled the themes for weapons and satellite names with bright, colorful playing card-like graphics.
5 questions only a veteran would ask the top generals at West Point and the Naval Academy
Task & Purpose grilled Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland and Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte about MREs, no-gos and their mental happy places ahead of the Army-Navy game.
Air Force relieves security squadron commander at FE Warren
Lt. Col. Tyler Hiatt was removed from the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron following disagreements with his commander and several deaths involving members of the unit.
Two US soldiers killed in ambush in Syria
An ISIS gunman attacked an American delegation in Palmyra, Syria, killing the soldiers and an American interpreter and leaving more injured.
5 questions only a veteran would ask a Green Beret and former NFL player
Nate Boyer, a Special Forces veteran, NFL player and actor, talked football, MREs and more ahead of the Army-Navy game.
Sailors can expect to do fitness tests twice a year, says Navy’s top enlisted leader
“For the majority of our sailors outside of our combat arms ratings, it will be the PT test we take now. It will just be given twice a year.”
Marine jumps down onto New York City subway tracks to save man
“I just didn’t want to be a bystander. I didn’t want to see this man die. So that was what was motivating me.”
How about $0? — How Army and Navy football teams recruit against big money
Their on-field competitors might offer six-figures to play college football. Service academies must find recruits who want something more.
The Space Force issued him a smartwatch. It saved his life.
Space Force Tech Sgt. Garry Springle’s smartwatch allowed his doctors to detect a heart problem that would have killed him.
The stories behind the unit patches at this year’s Army-Navy Game
One midshipman will honor a crew from the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, whose pilot had close ties to the Naval Academy.
![FORT KNOX, Kentucky – U.S. Army Reserve drill sergeants observe apprehensive and disoriented Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets experiencing their initial immersion into military order and discipline – also known as “Shark Week” – after a 4 a.m. wake-up call on their first day of Basic Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, June 4, 2017. Task Force Wolf utilizes Army Reserve drill sergeants and training experts to develop future commissioned officers, with many of them choosing to serve in the Army Reserve. [U.S. Army photo by Army Capt. Loyal Auterson, U.S. Army Reserve Command-Public Affairs Office // RELEASED //]](https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/3531153-e1765471511838.jpg?quality=85&w=768)
Drill sergeants accused of covering up sexual assault of trainees
Two Fort Leonard Wood drill sergeants are accused of sexual assault and face charges related to abusing their power with two trainees.
Could battleships really make a comeback?
Battleships once ruled the seas, but modern warfare made them obsolete. Could a modern concept bring them back?
Army OB-GYN doctor charged with making ‘indecent’ video recordings of patients
Maj. Blaine McGraw is facing charges for indecent viewing of patients while working as an OB-GYN at a Fort Hood, Texas hospital.
Task & Purpose was founded in 2014 to cover the military and veteran community from a rank-and-file perspective, and continues to do so with accurate reporting and great storytelling to this day. Our journalists have reported on the front lines of the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota and the war in Afghanistan. We’ve uncovered American veterans being abused in Kuwaiti prisons, deported veterans being forced to work for Mexican cartels, and drawn national attention to a longstanding legal rule barring service members from suing the government — even in the face of gross negligence.
