The US military has been testing the use of this pack mule robot by Boston Dynamics, presumably with the hope that it would help share the load of all the heavy equipment that our armed forces carry with them in the field. Unfortunately, these robots are way too loud to use.

Read More

Following close on the heels of the announcement that two women just passed US Army Ranger training, the US NAVY Seal program announced that they'll now allow women a shot at making the grade as well.

Read More

An estimated 15,000 transgender people are currently serving in the military. There's no current information on how many transgender personnel have been discharged for being trans.

Read More

[Trigger Warning] Brian Adam Jones is the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. He also happens to be a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Read More

Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied troops stormed the beaches at Normandy. It was a turning point of WWII, and not a day the world will soon forget. On the anniversary, a lot of people might wondering what the "D" in "D-Day" stands for, so we looked into it.

Read More

The military sure likes to awkwardly shoehorn its way into conversations about pop culture, huh? Well, they're not missing a chance with the new Godzilla on the horizon, and the Air Force has all kinds of plans for how to deal with a Godzilla disaster. Here, let them tell you about what guns they'd use. On Godzilla.

Read More

Yep. That's right. The United States military is hard at work on their own version of an Iron Man-esque armor. They're currently calling it TALOS, or Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, and if things go well it will be up and running by 2018. The various features and abilities of the suit that the military is working on are, to put it simply, kind of intense.

Read More

The United States are about to start utilizing a technology already being used by the Australian government to train and educate soldiers. While the interactive video game may be used for a wide variety of training, the Navy is thinking of using it to teach sailors about preventing sexual assault. I wonder if this gives gamers in the military an unfair advantage in passing their training?

Read More

Like most major players on the world stage, the United Kingdom is stepping up recruiting efforts to bring more skilled computer specialists into its ranks. To that end, the Ministry of Defence has seemingly bowed to reality and decided that military reservists who specialize in cyber warfare won't be required to live up to the same physical fitness requirements as other military personell. 

Read More

It's not Iron Man armor quite yet, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released video of the latest tests of their Warrior Web undersuit, which they hope will one day be worn under soldiers' uniforms and serve to improve their performance. The project is still in its early stages, but DARPA is working to develop solutions that will make soldiers lives easier by more intelligently distibuting the weight of their heavy packs and capturing wasted energy to help cushion footfalls and carry heavy gear.

Read More

After three years a Facebook page dedicated to making violent jokes targeted at female marines has finally been taken down. All it took was a state Representative writing a letter to the Defense Secretary and top military brass to say "Hey, this is really messed up and contributes to the culture of sexual abuse in the military, and you've known about it for years, but it's still there. Maybe you should do something about it?"

Read More

Break out the tissues. Four-year-old Alyssa Brown made a very important wish at Snow White's wishing well at Disneyland recently. She asked to have her father, a Marine serving in Afghanistan, back home with their family. It was a lovely idea but you know what they say, be careful what you wish for... (Video is autoplay so we've put it after the jump.)

Read More

After years and billions of dollars spent in development, the Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWS) has been deemed ready for primetime, meaning the directed-energy weapons will start making appearances on the decks of U.S. military ships beginning next year. The solid-state laser, which will make stage its coming out on the USS Ponce, is still in it prototype stage, and isn't yet capable of eliminating a missile or enemy jet, but Navy officials are confident that it could disable other ships, and as for drones...well, you can see it blasting one out of the air during a test in the video below.

Read More

A while back, we brought you the news that the Pentagon was considering awarding a new medal -- the Distinguished Warfare Medal -- to soldiers who may have never set foot on a battlefield. That idea didn't set well with some lawmakers and plenty of veterans, though. In the face of these protests, newly minted Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has ordered a halt to the production of the medals pending a review of the new award.

Read More

On Wednesday afternoon, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced a new medal would be added to the roster of decorations for American soldiers -- the Distinguished Warfare Medal. Like most other medals, this one will be awarded to soldiers whose actions had a heroic impact on the battlefield. Unlike other medals, though, it won't require that the soldier have actually been on the battlefield, as the Distinguished Warfare Medal is meant to honor cyberwarriors, drone pilots, and others who serve their country remotely, sometimes without ever being involved in traditional combat. Learn more and get a look at the new medal below.

Read More

A few months back, we brought you video of the DARPA-funded, Boston Dynamics-built Legged Squad Support System (LS3) robot, known more familiarly as Alpha Dog. It looks like it's time for another update, as yesterday saw the release of Alpha' Dog's newest trick -- the ability to follow spoken orders issued by a human commander. At this point, Alpha Dog is one magical cricket away from being a real dog, and one more obedient than I've ever had. You can get a load of the robot responding to his master's voice, and then following its human leader like a lovesick metal puppy in the video below.

Read More

It's safe to say, having body armor that doesn't fit correctly is almost no armor at all. That's why we've been following the development of body armor for women in the armed forces so closely. Previously, the armor was in a prototype stage and being worn by the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It turns out, the women of the 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division are being deployed to Afghanistan soon and when they do, they'll be wearing armor that fits.

Read More