https://www.commondef.com Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:47:40+0000 en-us hourly 1 https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/inside-the-afghanistan-war-soul-searching-behind-navy-expeditionary-commands-renaming/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108263 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Common Defense Staff The Navy’s post Afghanistan review transformed its expeditionary command into a type command focused on training, force management and future combat needs, including growing roles for unmanned systems and expanded seabed and subsea warfare capabilities. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/army-serves-up-a-whopping-new-job-title-for-its-cooks/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108260 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Frank Guy The Army’s 92G culinary specialists are now tactical field feeding specialists, a lengthier title leaders say reflects their responsibility for food production, battlefield logistics, nutrition and sustaining soldiers during large scale combat operations. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/october-hiring-blowout-drives-veterans-unemployment-down-to-stunning-2-7/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108256 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Frank Guy Veterans’ unemployment plunged to 2.7% in October as employers added 165,000 hires, far exceeding forecasts, while post-9/11 veterans also recorded a substantial drop in their jobless rate. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/rainbow-warrior-a-10-shows-off-marilyn-monroe-door-art-over-the-middle-east/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108251 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Vicki Schwarmer U.S. Central Command photos show the “Rainbow Warrior” A-10C at an undisclosed regional location, revealing faded exterior markings and a Marilyn Monroe portrait inside the aircraft’s ladder hatch as the Warthog remains operational through 2030. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/trump-says-u-s-launched-minor-strikes-on-iran-as-missiles-slam-qeshm-island/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108267 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Bethany Loveland Trump described limited U.S. strikes against Iran but did not confirm a connection to reported missile impacts on Qeshm Island, while Tehran demanded practical American measures before moving into a new phase of diplomatic talks. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/u-s-forces-exit-major-somali-airfield-after-more-than-a-decade/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108243 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Vicki Schwarmer American troops have left Baledogle Military Airfield after more than a decade, but they remain elsewhere in Somalia as counterterrorism operations continue and military officials leave open the possibility of returning to the installation. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/soldiers-who-absorbed-the-danger-honored-for-taking-down-fort-stewart-shooter/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108179 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Frank Guy Sgts. Aaron Turner and Michael Boron received the Army’s highest peacetime award after confronting and subduing the Fort Stewart shooter, while six other soldiers were honored for protecting personnel and providing critical care. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/free-drill-weekend-childcare-set-to-expand-nationwide-for-eligible-guardsmen/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108176 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Vicki Schwarmer The Army National Guard is taking free drill weekend childcare nationwide by Dec. 31, but limited space, strict provider standards, and household eligibility rules could keep some military families from receiving the benefit. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/fort-hood-shooting-victims-still-missing-from-global-war-on-terror-casualty-rolls/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108173 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Bethany Loveland Despite receiving Purple Hearts in 2015, those killed at Fort Hood remain missing from major official Global War on Terror casualty records, angering survivors and families who insist their sacrifice deserves recognition. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/air-force-advances-plan-to-revive-wwii-pacific-airfields-for-6000-annual-operations/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108170 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Bethany Loveland The Air Force proposal would bring more than 6,000 annual aircraft operations to four Pacific airfields as the Department of the Air Force examines environmental effects and island residents raise questions about transparency and local benefits. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/u-s-european-command-launches-sweeping-vigilance-push-as-hybrid-threats-escalate/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108167 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Common Defense Staff U.S. European Command is pressing troops, civilian employees, and military families to improve physical vigilance and digital discipline as drone incursions, suspected sabotage, hacking, and other hybrid threats raise security concerns across Europe. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-arlington-arch-moments-after-commission-approval/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108164 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Julian Dorsett A federal judge halted President Trump’s proposed 250 foot Arlington arch after its commission approval, siding with veterans who argue the massive memorial and security facility would disrupt sacred cemetery grounds and a historic Washington sightline. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/french-frigates-radical-bow-slices-through-waves-for-remarkably-smooth-sailing/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108116 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Frank Guy The Amiral Ronarc’h’s inverted bow reduces shocks and vibration, supports operations in rough seas and may limit structural wear, giving France’s 4,500 metric ton frigate the capabilities and stability normally associated with larger vessels. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/shield-ai-strikes-5-3-billion-echodyne-deal-to-bust-drone-threats/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108089 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Common Defense Staff Shield AI’s $5.3 billion Echodyne acquisition adds advanced MESA radar to its drone and autonomy portfolio as military demand for counter drone detection surges and the company expands across three unmanned systems business areas. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/popular-military-air-show-abandons-raf-fairford-for-good-after-suspected-iranian-plot/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108054 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Julian Dorsett The Royal International Air Tattoo is permanently moving to MOD Boscombe Down after four decades at RAF Fairford, following a canceled 2026 show, wartime bomber operations and a suspected plot that British officials indicated involved Iran. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/inside-centcom-podcast-debuts-as-iran-war-costs-and-deployments-mount-watch/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108076 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Bethany Loveland CENTCOM’s new podcast focused on french fries, workouts and basketball while sailors faced record deployments, families remained in limbo and the Iran conflict’s military cost climbed beyond $47 billion. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/mbda-targets-2029-flight-for-fat-hypersonic-interceptor-demonstrator/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108075 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Frank Guy MBDA’s Hydis consortium is pursuing a 2029 demonstrator flight for a four stage interceptor designed against hypersonic and ballistic threats, while competing with Hydef for €100 million in European funding. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/israeli-company-says-computerized-trigger-is-built-to-blast-small-drones-from-the-sky/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108070 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Frank Guy Thailand is fielding IWI’s Arbel Anti-Drone System, which places computerized trigger control inside an AR-15 and uses calculated firing timing to help soldiers engage small drones traveling at roughly 60 kilometers per hour. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/chaotic-u-s-europe-pullout-could-push-nato-allies-away-from-american-arms-rand-warns/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108069 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Julian Dorsett RAND says Europe can handle an orderly American military drawdown, but a chaotic withdrawal could fracture allied trust, redirect weapons purchases toward European suppliers and undermine the defense industrial benefits Washington receives from arms exports. https://www.commondef.com/2026/11/from-tanks-to-space-norway-and-germany-accelerate-the-hansa-security-pact/ https://www.commondef.com/?p=108066 2026-11-08T12:58:16+00:00 Vicki Schwarmer Tank production in Levanger is the latest milestone in a German Norwegian partnership spanning submarines, missiles, military exercises, North Atlantic patrols and space surveillance under the increasingly ambitious Hansa Arrangement.