Refreshed and Rebranded Navy Lodge, Navy Inn Rota Welcomes Guests
With the cut of a ribbon on Sept. 8, 2025, Navy Lodge and Navy Inn Rota, Spain, officially opened their newly rebranded facilities to guests. These openings mark the first Navy Gateway Inns & Suites to be rebranded as a Navy Inn and the first Navy Lodge to be rebranded outside the United States.
Exercise Sea Breeze 2025-3 Fleet Commander’s Conference begins in Romania
U.S. 6th Fleet and the Romanian Naval Forces hosted Exercise Sea Breeze 2025-3 (25-3) Fleet Commander’s Conference in Constanta, Romania, Sept. 11-12, 2025.
Navy fires USS Santa Barbara commanding officer
The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of the USS Santa Barbara, the service announced Thursday. Cmdr. Adam Ochs was removed from his position by Capt. Kelley Jones, commander of Task Force 55, on Thursday, “due to a loss of confidence” in Ochs’ ability to command the littoral combat ship, the Navy said in a brief release. “The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them ...[Read More]
Navy fires USS Santa Barbara commanding officer
The Navy has relieved the commanding officer of the USS Santa Barbara, the service announced Thursday. Cmdr. Adam Ochs was removed from his position by Capt. Kelley Jones, commander of Task Force 55, on Thursday, “due to a loss of confidence” in Ochs’ ability to command the littoral combat ship, the Navy said in a brief release. “The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them ...[Read More]
Pentagon stages first ‘Top Drone’ school for operators to hone skills
The Pentagon last month held its first “Top Drone” school for drone pilots to demonstrate their skills in a threat-representative environment. The event took place as part of the Defense Department’s Technology Readiness Experimentation, or T-REX, a semiannual showcase and evaluation staged at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. The event aims to validate prototypes built to fill urgent capability gaps acr...[Read More]
Pentagon stages first ‘Top Drone’ school for operators to hone skills
The Pentagon last month held its first “Top Drone” school for drone pilots to demonstrate their skills in a threat-representative environment. The event took place as part of the Defense Department’s Technology Readiness Experimentation, or T-REX, a semiannual showcase and evaluation staged at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. The event aims to validate prototypes built to fill urgent capability gaps acr...[Read More]
US marks 9/11 attacks amid drumbeat of political violence
The United States marked 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on Thursday with somber ceremonies at the Pentagon, New York and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Family members and loved ones of the nearly 3,000 people killed read out their names as politicians honored their sacrifices. “Today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget Sept. 11, 2001,” President Donald ...[Read More]
Pick to lead VA benefits work faces criticism over reform proposals
President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee veterans benefits delivery promised on Wednesday to conduct a full review of current benefits rules and processes, to potentially include controversial revisions factoring in veterans’ personal finances in their eligibility for disability awards. The comments drew immediate concern from Democratic senators who had pushed for Karen Brazell, the nominee for V...[Read More]
Before he was a hero on 9/11, he was a hero in Vietnam
Rick Rescorla knew his history. The native of England knew how stories of the past, recent or distant, could move people. Be it the English victory at Agincourt in 1415 or the British victory at Rorke’s Drift in the Zulu War of 1879, his tales of individuals surmounting incredible odds could lift people that last small bit to keep fighting. To survive. To win. He wrote and sang songs to puff up mo...[Read More]
Veterans volunteer longer, vote more often than civilian peers: report
Veterans remain more likely to participate in elections and spend more time volunteering with local charities than their civilian peers, but the gap in that civic engagement has decreased in recent years, according to a new study being released Thursday. Officials behind the 2025 Veterans Civic Health Index — compiled by the advocacy group We the Veterans and Military Families and the National Con...[Read More]
Ending weight-loss med coverage for some military retirees is unlawful
At 69 years old, after decades in uniform and a promise of lifetime health care, I never thought I would have to fight the Pentagon for medications my doctor deems essential. Yet the Defense Health Agency has terminated coverage of weight-loss medications for 2.5 million Medicare-eligible veterans in Tricare for Life — the Tricare plan for Medicare-eligible military retirees and their Medicare-eli...[Read More]
Ending weight-loss med coverage for some military retirees is unlawful
At 69 years old, after decades in uniform and a promise of lifetime health care, I never thought I would have to fight the Pentagon for medications my doctor deems essential. Yet the Defense Health Agency has terminated coverage of weight-loss medications for 2.5 million Medicare-eligible veterans in Tricare for Life — the Tricare plan for Medicare-eligible military retirees and their Medicare-eli...[Read More]