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New Navy ships are years behind schedule, because manufacturers can't find workers to build them

Caption: Shipyard workers look on as the Navy unveils the USS Massachusetts nuclear submarine during its christening May 6, 2023., Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront

Shipbuilders are pursuing a variety of measures to find more workers, including a marketing partnership with Major League Baseball

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The Marine Corps says its pandemic-related uniform shortage is easing and should end by mid-summer

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Marine Corps recruits get sized during their first uniform fitting at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, April 11, 2023., Credit: Jacob Hutchinson / U.S. Marine Corps

The Marine Corps says the private companies that make military uniforms fell behind because of inflation and COVID-related labor shortages.

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The U.S. military is going to Gaza, hoping to deliver food from a football-field-sized floating dock

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Soldiers and family members await the departure of the James A. Loux, an Army watercraft, from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, March 12. It's among several Army and Navy vessels headed to the Mediterranean Sea for a Gaza relief effort., Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront

The mobile dock can deliver up to two million meals a day, but key questions about the mission remain unanswered.

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A lack of base housing is forcing Navy sailors to live on ships, even when they're home in the U.S.

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Commander Robert Molinaro, Executive Officer of the USS Ramage, inspects the ship's sleeping quarters March 22, 2023. Though the Ramage is back in port in Norfolk, Virginia, some sailors have to live on the ship because of a shortage of barracks space on, Credit: Adriones Johnson / U.S. Navy

A lack of barracks space - as well as poor living conditions in some barracks buildings - are contributing to complaints about sailors' quality of ...

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A Navy SEAL's fight against LGBTQ+ policies tests the Pentagon's new extremism rules

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Navy SEAL Bryce Henson, right, speaks into a bullhorn directed into the face of a pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrator at a rally in Orange, California, Sept. 7, 2023. , Credit: Courtesy of Kelly Stuart

The Navy stopped short of invoking the extremism rules against Bryce Henson, who has appeared at rallies alongside the Proud Boys and posted threat...

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A Pentagon report finds that troops' suicides are often preceded by legal or administrative troubles

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate Ryan Cuppernall leads SafeTALK suicide training in Norfolk, Va. on Aug. 9, 2023. SafeTALK is a three-hour course that trains sailors and civilians how to prevent suicide., Credit: Jacqueline R. Ramos / U.S. Navy

About a quarter of all suicide deaths occur among troops caught up in legal or administrative battles - sometimes for minor infractions.

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Despite policy changes, critics say the Army doesn't do enough to find soldiers who go missing

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Kevin and Lisa Bushling - the parents of Joseph Bushling - take a break during a 2012 search for their son near Dugway, Utah. The search, conducted mainly by volunteers, was one of several unsuccessful attempts to find Kevin, who disappeared in 2011 and w, Credit: Tooele (Utah) Transcript Bulletin

After a string of high-profile deaths and disappearances, the Army is trying harder to find soldiers who fail to report for duty.

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After a series of suicides, the USS George Washington returns to sea with more mental healthcare

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: The USS George Washington is returning to sea after a six-year maintenance cycle when it remained in the shipyard in Norfolk, Va., Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront

The deaths among Washington crewmembers occurred during a six-year period when the carrier remained in the shipyard for maintenance.

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A new lawsuit says the military still isn't complying with the federal gun background check law

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Navy corpsman Devon Rideout (left) poses with her mother, Leslie Woods, in Vacaville, California. Rideout was murdered in 2018. Her killer is a former Marine who had been found not mentally competent during a court-martial proceeding two years before the , Credit: Courtesy Leslie Woods

The family of a woman murdered by a former Marine is taking the government to court. They say the killer - who was forced out of the military for m...

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3M has agreed to pay $6 billion over faulty earplugs. Now, plaintiffs must decide whether to accept.

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: 3M's dual-ended "Combat Arms" earplugs were issued to troops from 2003 to 2015. They were designed to let conversation, commands, and other normal sounds through, but blunt the force of loud noises like gunfire., Credit: Jay Price / American Homefront

About a quarter million troops and veterans have signed on as plaintiffs in litigation claiming the "Combat Arms" earplugs - manufactured by a 3M s...

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After decades of desert wars, the Navy and Marines are preparing for bigger global fights

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Troops from Marine Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina monitor a refueling operation during "Large Scale Exercise 2023." The exercise involved 25,000 Navy sailors and Marines and dozens of ships across 22 time zones., Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront

A worldwide joint training exercise simulated a major battle with adversaries like China and Russia.

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The VA is facing a growing number of claims as a key PACT Act deadline approaches

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Volunteer Veteran Service Officers Hugh Reid (right) and Eric Isaksen help a veteran file a disability claim at American Legion Post 327 in Norfolk, Virginia., Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront

The law passed last year makes millions of veterans eligible for new benefits, including post 9/11 vets who were exposed to burn pits.

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The Pentagon has begun implementing a law to reduce suicides, 18 months after Congress passed it

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr. signs a policy to implement the Brandon Act on May 5. Attending the signing were Patrick and Teri Caserta, the parents of Brandon Caserta, a Navy sailor who died by suicide, Credit: Jack Sanders / U.S. Air Force

The Pentagon has put in place "The Brandon Act" - named after a Navy sailor who died by suicide in 2018. It allows service members to go outside th...

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The Navy has beefed up mental health care for sailors dealing with 'rude awakening' of military life

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: The Navy opened the Embedded Mental Health Clinic at Naval Base San Diego in October. Twenty providers work at the clinic, which serves thousands of sailors. , Credit: Andrew Dyer/American Homefront

After two deadly collisions and a cluster of suicides, the Navy is providing more mental health counseling to sailors where they work.

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A Pentagon-appointed committee says easy access to guns on military bases leads to more suicides

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Anthony Muhlstadt participates in exercises aboard the USS Bataan March 7, 2020. Muhlstadt was a 23-year-old Marine Corps sergeant when he died by suicide November 19, 2021, at Marine Corps Base Twentynine Palms in California., Credit: Kaitlin Rowell / U.S. Navy

The independent committee is calling on the Defense Department to make personal firearms harder to buy and access on base.

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The Army is reviving a decades-old ad slogan, hoping it will reach a new generation of recruits

From: American Homefront Project

The new marketing campaign is based around the tagline, "Be All You Can Be," which was originally featured in Army ads during the 1980s and 1990s.

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The National Guard has patrolled the southwest border for years. Has the mission gone on too long?

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: A mobile surveillance camera vehicle operated by federally-deployed National Guard troops sits alongside Border Patrol trucks at Chimney Park RV Resort's boat launch in Mission, Texas., Credit: Carson Frame / American Homefront

Some government watchdogs say the long-running mission is an inappropriate use of the Guard. Even the Pentagon has been looking for an off-ramp.

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Weapons, tents, generators, and more: The U.S. military is sending supplies to Ukraine almost daily

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Troops at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware load pallets of ammunition onto an aircraft bound for Ukraine Aug. 9, 2022., Credit: Cydney Lee / U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Transportation Command has the primary responsibility to load planes, ships, and other vehicles with supplies bound for Ukraine.

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Policymakers say addressing extremism among veterans is a 'delicate' challenge

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: According to the George Washington University Program on Extremism, more than a hundred veterans were criminally charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol., Credit: Brett Davis / Flickr

While still a small percentage of the total veteran population, the number of veterans committing extremist violence has risen sharply, according t...

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Military suicides have become slightly less common, but are still a 'massive problem'

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Judy Beckett of Cornerstone Equine Therapy Center in Escondido, California is working with the Navy to help build resilience among sailors. She said being around horses can help service members work through a number of mental health issues, such as PTSD a, Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront

Though military suicide has been a problem for decades, critics say the Pentagon hasn’t come to terms with the fact that anyone can potentially be ...

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Under pressure from Congress, some states are making it easier for overseas troops to vote

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Master Sgt. Blayne Ralston, right, speaks with Tracey Hall, installation voting program manager, and Michael Glover, Airman and Family Readiness Center causality assistance representative, during an Armed Forces Voting Week event at Hanscom Air Force Base, Credit: Todd Maki / U.S. Air Force

States are mailing absentee ballots sooner and - in a few places - letting troops cast ballots online. Still, voter turnout among military personne...

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The White House hopes to speed up the immigration process for Afghans who helped U.S. troops

From: American Homefront Project

Caption: Abdul is one of more than 500 Afghan refugees that the Connecticut-based resettlement agency IRIS is helping to navigate the legal system. He did not want his full face or name to be used due to fear for his family's safety in Afghanistan. , Credit: Desiree D'Iorio / American Homefront

This month, the Biden Administration hopes to expedite the process by eliminating temporary humanitarian parole and concentrating resources instead...

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