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PEARL HARBOR, HI— CDR Gerard Mauer III was relieved by CDR Matthew Felton as Commanding Officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS WAYNE E MEYER (DDG108) on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Thursday, July 2, 2026. CDR Mauer is a native of Virginia and commissioned out of George Mason University in 2004. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Politics, and a Master’s degree in National Security Affairs with a concentration in Europe and Eurasia. He has served onboard the USS CHAFEE (DDG 90), USS HOPPER (DDG 70), USS CARNEY (DDG 64), Destroyer Squadron Seven, and…

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org The Air Force and Space Force want approval from Congress to shift more than $900 million in fiscal 2026 funds to cover higher-than-expected personnel costs. That move, laid out in a larger $4.3 billion Pentagon-wide reprogramming request submitted to Congress in late June, would draw funds from various Department of the Air Force accounts, most notably pulling close to $774 million from aircraft procurement programs like the F-35 and KC-46.  Those…

Former UFC double champion Conor McGregor has issued a statement after his unfortunate TKO loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329.The UFC’s biggest draw returned to the octagon on July 11 after a five-year hiatus to run it back with Holloway. While fans and spectators had expected at least a couple of rounds of action, McGregor injured his knee right after the fight began and was struggling to remain standing. Hence, the ref had to call the stoppage after just 69 seconds. After the fight was stopped, a dejected McGregor did not wait for the octagon interview with Joe Rogan…

Bottom lines up front JERUSALEM—With the war against Iran ending, if not fully ended, and after years of intense conflicts against Iran’s allies Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel’s approach to its security is undergoing a significant transformation. What began as an emergency military response after the attacks on October 7, 2023, has increasingly hardened into a doctrine of forward defense: pushing the line of control outward, emptying or severely restricting the areas beyond Israel’s formal borders, and then treating those spaces as necessary security buffers. The logic is simple but far-reaching. Israel no longer appears willing to rely on international forces,…

UFC 329 went down last night (Sat., July 11, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring the long-awaited return of Conor McGregor after five years away from action; however, it lasted only a 69 seconds thanks to a horrible knee injury “Notorious” suffered just seconds into the Welterweight fight against Max Holloway (see it again here). In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett put Benoit Saint-Denis to sleep with a choke in less than one minute (highlights here). Also, King Green stopped Terrance McKinney with one second left in the opening round (highlights).Winner: Max HollowayWho He Should Face Next:…

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Next Generation Command and Control, the U.S. Army’s flagship continuous transformation effort relies on a partnership with industry to identify the most promising technologies and make the best investment decisions for rapid capability development and delivery. The Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center supported that effort through its “Radio Rodeo.” Held from March through April of this year, the rodeo consisted of a series of simulated battlefield communications challenges using the center’s unique laboratory and testing infrastructure to create the effects of denied, disrupted, intermittent and limited bandwidth caused by…

The fast-attack submarine USS Tucson (SSN 770) slid into Apra Harbor on July 10, swapping its old home in Pearl Harbor for a new one at Naval Base Guam, in a routine-looking port call that carries real weight for how the U.S. Navy positions its undersea forces against a rapidly expanding Chinese fleet. Tucson, a […]

On Episode 292 of The Menace Podcast, host Dennis “The Menace” James was joined by regular panelists Milos Sarcev and Jose Raymond, and as they discussed the results of the 2026 Mr. Big Evolution Pro, “The Mind” revealed his most suggestible student. Jordan Hutchinson punched his ticket to the 2026 Mr. Olympia final by topping the Open division at the IFBB Mr. Big Evolution Pro on July 6, closely followed by James Hollingshead in second place, and Sarcev’s former client Lorenzo Leeuwe in third. Since retiring, the former Mr. Yugoslavia and Mr. Universe has carved out a reputation for being one…

Recent Pentagon efforts to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption have renewed debate over how quickly advanced decision-support systems should be integrated into military operations and what safeguards should accompany them. As the Associated Press recently reported, United States defense leaders are weighing how to expand battlefield AI capabilities while some military officials and outside stakeholders continue to urge caution and stronger guardrails around deployment in operational environments. That debate comes into sharper focus as the U.S. Army advances an AI-powered battlefield intelligence system trained on real combat data to support real-time situational awareness and decision-making. The initiative reflects a broader shift…

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died on Saturday night of a “brief and sudden illness,” his office announced early Sunday.“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement added.Graham, who had just turned 71 on Thursday, was a close ally of President Donald Trump and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. In June, he defeated five Republican challengers in the Senate primary in South Carolina and was to face Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election.Trump, on social media, called Graham “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”“He was…