Stars and Stripes | The U.S. military's independent news source.

Subscribe

Ukrainian soldiers clean the muzzle of Ukrainian howitzer D-30 near Siversk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.

9 NATO countries call to admit Ukraine as counteroffensive presses on

The leaders of Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia issued a joint statement backing a path to NATO membership for Ukraine.

FILE - Students in the new Army prep course stand at attention after physical training exercises at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 27, 2022. The Army fell about 15,000 soldiers — or 25% — short of its recruitment goal this year, officials confirmed Friday, Sept. 30, despite a frantic effort to make up the widely expected gap in a year when all the military services struggled in a tight jobs market to find young people willing and fit to enlist. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford, File)

Army misses recruiting goal; other services squeak by

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, and the first of a new generation of carriers.

USS Gerald R. Ford to skip traditional sendoff, braces for potential weather delays

Russia's annexation puts world 'two or three steps away' from nuclear war

Americans captured by Russia detail months of beatings, interrogation

North Korea carries out another round of ballistic missile testing, South’s military says

more top news

US defense chief in Hawaii amid distrust after fuel spill

Air Force Academy’s ‘mom/dad’ controversy draws renewed attention to a modern, military-wide debate

Coast Guard rescues more than 100 people in Florida, S.C. Guard readies response as Ian makes second landfall

Sailor acquitted of arson in San Diego Navy ship fire

New commanders of Space Force and STRATCOM confirmed by Senate

Army looking at expanding which soldiers can move out of barracks

Congress approves third aid package for Ukraine totaling $12.3 billion as Russia annexes territory

VA to open caregiver program to all veterans Saturday

multimedia

military matters podcast

ICYMI episode: Pseudoscience, the occult and the rise of Nazi Germany

branches

Army

Army looks at long-term solutions for homes near Yakima Training Center with contaminated water

Army rescue crews help evacuate dozens off Florida’s Sanibel Island

Army misses recruiting goal; other services squeak by

Air Force

U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2021 graduates toss their service caps as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly overhead during the Academy’s graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 26, 2021. A total of 1,019 cadets crossed the stage to become the Air Force and Space Force’s newest second lieutenants. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley)

Air Force Academy’s ‘mom/dad’ controversy draws renewed attention to a modern, military-wide debate

Agencies lend aid to Hurricane Ian recovery

Air Force to (some) THC users: You might get a second chance

Navy

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, and the first of a new generation of carriers.

USS Gerald R. Ford to skip traditional sendoff, braces for potential weather delays

Sailor acquitted of arson in San Diego Navy ship fire

Five USS Nimitz sailors report health concerns possibly linked to water contaminated by fuel

Space Force

Space Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Saltzman, left, and Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton.

New commanders of Space Force and STRATCOM confirmed by Senate

NASA delays moon rocket launch due to potential hurricane

Nominee to lead Space Force shares vision

Coast Guard

A Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crewmember observing a foreign vessel in the Bering Sea, September 19, 2022.

The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea encountered a People’s Republic of China Guided Missile Cruiser, Renhai CG 101, sailing approximately 75 nautical miles north of Kiska Island, Alaska.

Coast Guard cutter goes on alert with sighting of Russian-Chinese naval formation near Alaska

Christian Coast Guard members sue over religious objections to military's coronavirus vaccine mandate

As storm-battered Western Alaska takes stock of damage and begins cleanup, officials pledge help

Marine Corps

U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, refuels an MV-22 Osprey with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 Reinforced, Aviation Combat Element, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin 22, over the Pacific Ocean during a Trans-Pacific flight, Sept. 15, 2022.

Marines make 6,100-mile trans-Pacific flight in Ospreys

Navy’s one-stop hotel reservation center is now booking rooms on Marine bases

Navy, Marine Corps create integrated task force for 18-month Indo-Pacific experiment

theaters

U.S.

FILE - This combo of undated file images provided by Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, left, and Jackson County Sheriff's Office, show, from left, Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico. A scheme to kidnap Michigan's governor in 2020 will get yet another airing in a different court when three men face trial Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, just weeks before voters consider whether to reelect Gretchen Whitmer to a second term. Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar are charged in Jackson County, Mich., with three crimes, including providing material support for terrorist acts. (Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and Jackson County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

3 more on trial in Michigan governor kidnap plot

Defendant to represent himself in Wisconsin parade trial

Biden pledge to make federal fleet electric faces slow start

Europe

Family members of military medics taken prisoners by Russia participate in the larger demonstration of family members of prisoners demanding their release on the Independence Square in Kyiv on Sept. 24, 2022.

Their loved ones are Ukrainian medics — and Russian prisoners of war

10 torture sites in 1 town: Russia sowed pain, fear in Izium

9 NATO countries call to admit Ukraine as counteroffensive presses on

Asia-Pacific

Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector-turned-activist, holds a placard condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the border town of Paju, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.

South Korean activists clash with police over anti-Kim balloons

125 die as tear gas triggers crush at Indonesia soccer match

Imperial Guard Headquarters' school holds grad ceremony

Middle East

A military parade displaying Houthi forces and weapons moves through a main street of Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 21, 2022. Yemen's warring parties face a deadline to renew a 6-month-long truce on Sunday, Oct. 2. (Ansar Allah Media via AP)

Yemen's warring sides fail to extend UN-backed truce

Top Iran official warns against protests amid serious unrest

Israeli leader welcomes US plan for sea border with Lebanon

Africa

Libyan forces are deployed in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. Clashes broke out early Saturday between rival militias in Libya's capital, a health official said. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

Libyan authorities: 42 bodies discovered in mass grave

Ousted Burkina Faso leader leaves country for Togo

Gunmen kill Pakistani UN peacekeeper in east Congo

Americas

FILE - This undated file photo posted on Twitter on June 18, 2020, by Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, shows CITGO oil executives Jose Angel Pereira, from left to right, Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Tomeu Vadell and Alirio Jose Zambrano, standing outside the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, in Caracas, Venezuela. On Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, Venezuela freed seven Americans, including five oil executives imprisoned for nearly five years, in exchange for the release of two nephews of President Nicholas Maduro's wife who had been jailed for years by the United States on drug smuggling convictions. (Posted on Twitter by Jorge Arreaza/Venezuela's Foreign Ministry via AP File)

Venezuela releases 7 jailed Americans; US frees 2 prisoners

Protests erupt in Cuba after days without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian

Mexico is world’s deadliest spot for environmental activists

Explore

from our community sites

Europe

10 Things to do around Mons, Belgium

Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese

Sunny in Switzerland: Interlaken

Japan

Latest on Japan travel restrictions: Entry, events & more

Taste of Japan: Pairing side dishes with adult beverages

Quick trip to Tokyo’s terrific Mt. Takao

Korea

20 events to look forward to this October in Busan

Korea Destinations: Festivals in Jinju in October to see, hear and enjoy

Extraordinary gimbap gourmet tour in Korea

Okinawa

Cat lover’s paradise: Tempura, calm beaches, lots of felines on Ojima Island, Okinawa

Japanese vending machines astonish you!

Okinawa's Naha Tug of War coming back with some restrictions Oct. 9

Guam

Feel beat of Guam's traditional Chamorro dancing

Taste of Guam: Island's land crabs a delicacy

Surfing on Guam: Beware of 'localism' off island shores

veterans

VA to open caregiver program to all veterans Saturday

The Department of Veterans Affairs will open eligibility for one of its caregiver programs to veterans starting Saturday.

Vet experience with VA’s health, benefit administrations is missing piece of suicide data, veteran advocate says

sports

Georgia State breaks away late, beats Army 31-14

After Army (1-3) closed within three in the second half, the Panthers scored two late touchdowns.

Air Force quarterback Haaziq Daniels evades Navy defensive lineman Donald Berniard Jr., center, and linebacker Colin Ramos for a short gain in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at Air Force Academy, Colo.

Air Force finds struggling run game late, beats Navy 13-10

There will be no DODEA-Europe Division II football champion this season. Instead, the division’s five entries - Aviano, Naples, Vicenza and Sigonella of Italy and Spain-based Rota - will play out the final three weekends of their regular-season schedule in whatever fashion participating squads are able.

With two weekends left in regular season, several teams clinch playoff spots

history

Central Saudi Arabia, January 22, 1991: Airman 1st Class William Peter of Quincy, Ill., checks the engine air inlet of an F-15 Eagle aircraft for damage and loose rivets during the first week of Operation Desert Storm. Peter was an F-15E crew chief with the 336th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, out of Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina.

META DATA: Saudi Arabia; Operation Desert Storm; Iraq; U.S. Air Force;

Checking for damage, 1991

Central Saudi Arabia, Jan. 22, 1991: Airman 1st Class William Peter of Quincy, Ill., checks the engine air inlet of an F-15 Eagle for damage and loose rivets during the first week of Operation Desert Storm.

White Beach, Okinawa, March 19, 1971: A sailor paints an anchor on the USS Oklahoma City during the 7th Fleet command ship's three-day visit to Okinawa.

META TAGS: Pacific; Okinawa; Japan; U.S. Navy; USS Oklahoma City;

Getting USS Oklahoma City shipshape, 1971

living

Omega Strikers pits teams of 3 against each other in a game where hitting the pucklike Core into the goal is essential.

Odyssey Interactive’s addictive concoction

Omega Strikers is a mishmash of genres that somehow works.

Visitors hike down the lava tube in the Algar do Carvão volcanic cave on Terceira in the Azores.

An active adventure across the Azores

travel

From left, the author, Alyssa Edes and Vasilios Niphoratos re-create the iconic shot from the top of the Sears Tower, now the Willis Tower. MUST CREDIT: Courtesy of Leigh Giangreco.

Could 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' really be done? We found out.

Visitors hike down the lava tube in the Algar do Carvão volcanic cave on Terceira in the Azores.

An active adventure across the Azores

A floating market on one of Bangkok's canals.

Going with the flow on an impulsive trip to Thailand