Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Walk into almost any commercial gym at peak hours, and you’ll hear it: a sudden guttural grunt slicing through the hum of treadmills and clanking plates. Sometimes it accompanies a heavy deadlift or chest press. Othertimes, a pec deck set that barely warrants a raised eyebrow, let alone a primal yell. So, when is it OK to grunt, and is it fair that you are annoyed by hearing others do it? According to James Nestor, New York Times bestselling author of Breath and one of the leading voices in modern breathing science, the answer has less to do with gym…

WEST 2026 — The Navy will start experimenting with new pairings of unmanned vessels and carrier strike groups this year as it tests its new tailored force approach, the service’s top surface warfare officer said.  Vice Adm. Brendan McLane told reporters here at the annual WEST conference that a medium unmanned surface vessel (USV) will deploy alongside the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group that is set to get underway later this year. The Navy will evaluate how that pairing works, and then assess what other mission packages can be partnered together for the next carrier strike group,…

Editor’s note: This article first appeared on The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. Subscribe to their newsletter.Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ internal watchdog sends a survey to all 139 of the agency’s medical centers coast to coast with a straightforward question: Which jobs have severe staffing shortages?In fiscal year 2025, the responses raised alarm: VA health care facilities reported more than 4,400 severe staffing shortages — a 50% hike from the previous year.And once again, the job that topped the list for clinical positions among VA facilities: psychologists. It’s the…

Dive Brief: Amazon Air signed a lease for an air cargo facility at Jacksonville International Airport, according to a Feb. 2 press release from the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. The e-commerce giant will use the 50,182-square-foot warehouse and distribution space for air cargo storage and processing, per the release. Operations at the facility are expected to begin in Q4 following improvements at the site, according to the release. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment about what improvements were planned. Dive Insight: The Jacksonville air cargo facility is Amazon Air’s first air freight location in Northeast Florida, and aims…

An aerial view of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Credit: Air Force Staff Sgt. John Wright/US DoD. Historically, the Pentagon has struggled to balance factory capacity with the global demand for US-made systems Now, the Department has fused sales authority and industrial base management A “single organisation” allows the Department to use foreign capital to build US production capacity and ensure sensitive technology security is baked into the design of a system from the beginning, rather than as an afterthought. The Department of Defense (DoD) have imbued a new logic into its defence sales protocols by realigning two agencies that had created…

WASHINGTON — Germany’s Helsing and HENSOLDT are joining forces to develop “AI-enabled combat air systems,” by way of upgrading Helsing’s CA-1 autonomous aircraft, according to a statement released today. “The partnership between Helsing and HENSOLDT is a joining of forces of two national champions. We are united by a commitment to massive investments in future technologies,” Helsing Cofounder and CEO Gundbert Scherf said in the statement. The CA-1, which marks Helsing’s entry to the Collaborative Combat Aircraft market, will be fitted with the company’s AI agent Centaur. According to this partnership, HENSOLDT will provide “sensor technologies, integrating radar, optronics, self-protection and…

Securing artificial intelligence (AI) systems—particularly increasingly powerful, cutting-edge models—is critical. AI is transforming sectors from medicine and scientific research to finance and national defense. As these systems become more capable, interconnected, and embedded in high-impact workflows, the possibility for exploitation of their potential security vulnerabilities grows more consequential. They also become more attractive targets for misuse. This guide is a practical, risk-based resource for developers, security experts, and policy professionals navigating the AI security landscape. The guide addresses security of AI systems broadly, regardless of system type and architecture. The accompanying tool provides tailored advice on security controls to implement…

A six-person team from the 10th Civil Support Team (CST) supported security operations for Super Bowl LX, Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi Stadium in San Francisco, CA, providing specialized chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive (CBRNE) detection and assessment capabilities in support of civil authorities during one of the nation’s largest public events. “We have had the chance to do this mission at five Super Bowls. Our team enjoys the ability to perform this mission on one of the biggest stages,” said Maj. Ryan Dykes, commander of the 10th Civil Support Team. Super Bowl LX drew hundreds of thousands…

2/12/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary | Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University wpDiscuzInsert

Infernos raged aboard Japanese aircraft carriers after U.S. Navy dive-bombers found their marks during the Battle of Midway. Many Japanese pilots were incinerated in ready rooms and in the cockpits of their aircraft while they sat idling on flight decks. Those who were airborne returned to find their carriers aflame. They circled until fuel exhaustion and ditched into the sea, and many were never recovered. For Japan, the loss of its carriers was damaging, but the loss of its naval aviators was catastrophic. Her navy never recovered.Japan overinvested in individual pilots, overconcentrating capability into an exquisite cadre at the expense…