Senior Arman Marcus Jordan, a cyber operations specialist with the 38th Rescue Squadron, was found dead at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Army photo by Maj. Robert Fellingham. A cyber operations specialist who died while deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, has been identified as Senior Arman Marcus Jordan. Jordan, 28, was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron, a “Guardian Angel” unit, one of a handful of Air Force units that trains, equips and deploys the service’s highly trained pararescue teams. Jordan was part of a 38th Rescue Squadron deployment to Guam from Moody Air Force Base, Ge ..read more

U.S. Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division on range Golf-36 (G-36), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Dec. 12, 2020. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons. A Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit died in a training accident at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, officials said in a release. The Marine’s identity, job and details of the incident were not released, pending notifications to the family. Officials said the death involved a training exercise in Carteret County on Thursday. Subscribe to Task & Purpose today. Get the la ..read more

Army veteran Sanda G. Frimpong was recently sentenced to 40 months in federal prison for orchestrating online romance scams and other frauds. (Photo courtesy of the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.). A soldier stationed at then-Fort Bragg orchestrated a series of online romance scams and other frauds that swindled victims out of thousands of dollars — at least one over $150,000 — over a two-year span, according to the Justice Department. Sanda G. Frimpong, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ghana, was an E-4 soldier assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina when he and other ..read more

(Image courtesy Dan Smith for Lionsgate). It’s late 1941, and Britain stands alone against the Nazi war machine in Europe. German U-boats keep American ships from reaching the United Kingdom. When the Special Operations Executive (the British equivalent of the OSS) learns that the U-boats are being resupplied on a remote island off the coast of Africa, and one ship is carrying all of the needed supplies, Churchill dispatches a top-secret commando team of military mavericks to conduct “ungentlemanly warfare” and destroy the ship.  The catch: it’s seen as an illegal operation by most of th ..read more

Nick Orton started with an Instagram account and has built that into an over 120,000 person following and two published books. (Photo by Joshua Skovlund. Tales from the Grid Square images. Task & Purpose composite). We’ve all heard about the Navy and Air Force pilots who contend with UFOs, and it’s not uncommon for grunts on the ground to claim they saw ghosts of soldiers and tanks rolling by on late nights pulling security. Finally, someone has captured those stories for the masses. Nick Orton (a nom de guerre used for his books and social media) has made it his mission to share his fell ..read more

A dining facility on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, was closed indefinitely as photos circulated online of what appeared to be a swarm of rats in the facility. Photo from social media. The main dining facility on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, was closed indefinitely as photos circulated online of what appeared to be a swarm of rats in the facility. The closure left many airmen on the base without their usual meal option at the dining facility. Base dining facilities, or DFACs, are usually the primary dining option for single, younger airmen who live in barracks on base. DFACs gen ..read more

The Army officially commissioned its first new armored fighting vehicle in decades in a ceremony with the families of the two soldiers it is named for. The first M10 Booker Combat Vehicle bears the nickname "Another Episode" as a tribute to its namesake Sgt. Stevon Booker. Army photo by Christopher Kaufmann. ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD — The Army officially commissioned its first new armored fighting vehicle in decades in a ceremony with the families of the two soldiers it is named for. The M10 Booker Combat Vehicle is named for two different soldiers named Booker, a World War II Medal of Hon ..read more

Army Basic Combat Training is the process in transforming civilian volunteers into soldiers. (Robin Hicks/U.S. Army). The Army expects to meet its recruiting goal for the first time in three years, but the Navy continues to struggle to sign up enough new sailors, causing manning shortfalls at the junior enlisted levels, service officials said. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told lawmakers on Thursday that February and March had been good months for recruiting. “We still have six months to go in the fiscal year, so the chief and I don’t want to be overconfident, but right now we are on a ver ..read more

Fiona Blyleven runs ahead of her brother, Sam, and her father, Lt. Col. Scott Blyleven, an operational planner with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, on Camp Courtney Beach, Okinawa, Japan, April 15, 2024. Two Senators introdued a bill Thursday that would expand military childcare options and its workforce. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Samuel H. Barge). A new bill would allow military childcare facilities to partner with civilian day cares and increase the number of workers at military bases, addressing a major quality of life issue for military members highlighted in a recent congressio ..read more

Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Don Bacon hold a press conference a day after New Jersey Army Reservist, Caz Craffy, also known as Carz Craffey, plead guilty to defrauding Gold Star families and tricked them into putting $10 million into an investment scheme. Photo by Patty Nieberg. An Army reservist who bilked Gold Star families out of almost $10 million often targeted grieving mothers and wives with minimal financial literacy and who spoke little English, the lawyer representing the families told Task & Purpose. New Jersey Army Reservist, Caz Craffy, also known as Carz Craffey, admitted this w ..read more