The Army is preparing for the grim possibility of burying fallen soldiers on the battlefield, testing how fast it can dig temporary graves while preserving remains for eventual identification and return to families after the end of a conflict.

During an exercise in North Carolina, engineers, preventative medicine teams, chaplains and fatality management specialists prepared for mass temporary interment not used on a large scale since the Korean War, the Army announced in a release last week.

For more than twenty years during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. air superiority allowed the quick evacuation of remains back to the United States through mortuary affairs channels. Future conflicts — especially those with large-scale combat operations, or LSCO — may not have the same capabilities.

Phase II of Operation Dragon Covenant challenged troops to test and validate temporary burial operations and remains preservation at a large scale. Engineer soldiers involved had to use their equipment to excavate and then fill burial trenches without damaging mock remains, made of skeletal models and water containers, so that hypothetical future forensic teams could unearth and repatriate them after the end of a conflict.

“This exercise allowed us to take a critical look at how we respect, honor, and systematically manage our fallen in a high-intensity conflict,” said Sgt. 1st Class Delbert Ruede, the senior fatality management leader for 3rd Corps Sustainment Command (CSC), in the release. “If we went to war tomorrow, we would be making this up as we went along. What we are doing here is taking a scientific, field-tested approach so that we can maintain positive control and respectfully care for our fallen.” (Read more from “US Army Practices Digging Temporary Battlefield Graves” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

US military on Tuesday unleashed strikes against Iran in retaliation for its “unjustified” downing of an American military helicopter and its two pilots, US Central Command said Tuesday.

President Trump ordered the “proportional” strikes after determining Iran on Monday shot down a US Apache attack helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving a two-month-old cease-fire hanging by a thread.

Trump, however, signaled he wasn’t seeking a return to full-scale war and downplayed the helicopter attack – telling the Wall Street Journal that it “wasn’t a big deal” and “the pilot is fine.”

The military response also was billed as measured, with CENTCOM describing the Tuesday evening mission as “self-defense strikes.”

“CENTCOM forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter,” the combatant command said Tuesday. (Read more from “US Launches ‘Proportional’ Attacks Against Iran in Payback for ‘Unjustified’ Downing of Army Helicopter” HERE)

A search is underway after two U.S. military personnel went missing in Morocco during a joint exercise.

United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced a search-and-rescue operation Sunday for the two service members, who were last seen near a training area being used during the military’s African Lion exercise. The release from AFRICOM noted air, land, and maritime assets were tasked in the rescue operation.

Two U.S. service members participating in African Lion 2026 were reported missing near the Cap Draa Training Area, near the city of Tan Tan, Morocco, May 2, 2026.https://t.co/7zxpKQRHfB

— U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) (@USAfricaCommand) May 3, 2026

“Two U.S. service members participating in African Lion 2026 were reported missing near the Cap Draa Training Area, near the city of Tan Tan, Morocco, May 2, 2026,” AFRICOM said. “U.S., Moroccan and other assets from African Lion immediately initiated coordinated search and rescue operations, including ground, air, and maritime assets.”

“The incident remains under investigation and the search is on-going,” AFRICOM continued. “Our focus is on the service members involved and their families. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”

A defense official later told the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) the incident is not terrorism-related. (Read more from “Search And Rescue Operation Underway For US Service Members Reported Missing Abroad” HERE)

A married mom who vanished last year may be tied to a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances of US scientists and military officials with access to potentially sensitive information, according to a report.

Melissa Casias, who worked with her husband as an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory [LANL] — famous for developing nuclear weapons during the Manhattan Project — has not been seen since she dropped lunch off for her daughter in New Mexico last summer.

She is one of four high-clearance people who have died or gone missing since June 2025 with connections to UFO-linked retired Air Force Gen. William McCasland, who vanished last month, according to the Daily Mail.

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told the Mail he is now worried that she is part of an alarming pattern, as her work as an assistant at LANL may have made her a target for kidnapping.

“In a classified lab, or just a high clearance lab, they would basically be in the know on what’s going on,” Swecker, who spent 24 years with the agency, said. “And it wouldn’t be the first time their administrative assistant has been targeted.” (Read more from “Married Mom Who Vanished Last Year Could Be Tied to Missing and Dead US Scientists: Report” HERE)

Photo credit: GoFundMe