A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II crashed Friday morning at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, sending black smoke above the base and igniting a brush fire near the flight line. The pilot ejected before impact and reached a local hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The aircraft went down at approximately 10 a.m. south of Miramar Road near Mitscher Way, according to Times of San Diego. The Marine Corps classified the incident as a Class A mishap but has not announced a cause, identified the pilot or disclosed what the aircraft was doing before the crash…
The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, DEERS, is the database that quietly underpins nearly every benefit a military family uses day to day: Tricare coverage, commissary and exchange access, base facility access, and the ID card that gets checked at every gate. It’s also one of the easiest things to let lapse without noticing, because the consequences don’t usually show up until you’re standing at a pharmacy counter or a Tricare claim gets denied. What Actually Expires — And What Doesn’t Two different things can go out of date, and they’re not quite the same problem. The physical ID card…
The days of choosing substance over style are far behind us. Once upon a time, you could only get a pair of good hiking boots in brown or dark brown. The outdoor industry has expanded massively since those days, and now there are loads of fun (and beautiful) designs for gear that’s also functional and reliable. We’re highlighting several new collaborations this week that do exactly that, including gorgeous new binoculars inspired by bird species, backpacks with a Wes Anderson aesthetic, running and swim gear co-designed by Olympic athletes, and tons more. Find the latest and greatest of the outdoor…
For the first time in U.S. history, a parent has been convicted of murder for their role in their child’s violence. Colin Gray, the father of the student who shot and killed four people and injured seven others at Apalachee High School in Georgia in 2024, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars on Thursday. Gray purchased the rifle that was used in the shooting for his son as a gift even after an earlier police investigation into his son for allegedly threatening a school shooting as well as his documented history of mental health…
One of the most consistently underused benefits available to service members and their families is also one of the simplest to access: free, confidential, nonmedical counseling through Military OneSource, up to 12 sessions per issue, with no referral, no diagnosis and no reporting back to anyone’s chain of command. What It Actually Covers Military OneSource counseling is designed to be short-term and solution-focused, aimed at the everyday pressures of military life rather than clinical mental health treatment. That includes relationship and marital communication problems, parenting challenges, grief and loss, stress management, deployment and reintegration adjustment, anxiety, self-esteem, loneliness and working…
Skinny sport ropes feel great until they don’t. When I go sport climbing these days, I usually want a skinny cord. I want one that is easy to clip and feeds lightning fast out of my belayer’s GRIGRI, so I waste no time on hard redpoint attempts. But I’ve started to realize those thin ropes often wear down pretty quickly. They get soft spots from too many big whippers, turn fuzzy from running through draws, or end up with core shots after a hard season of projecting. Enter the Petzl Arial 9.5 ($280-350). This rope feeds nicely, but it comes…
The Department of Veterans Affairs approved $1.2 billion in facility infrastructure improvements during the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, the agency announced July 20, bringing total obligated spending from its record $4.8 billion, nonrecurring maintenance budget to $2.3 billion for the year so far. The fiscal 2026 non-recurring maintenance, or NRM, budget is the largest in the VA’s history. The funds go toward significant maintenance, replacements and upgrades at VA medical facilities nationwide, intended to maintain and improve both operational capability and health care delivery. Where the Money Is Going Of the $1.2 billion approved in the third quarter,…
Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More Backcountry: Up to 40% Off (Photo/prAna) You can find nearly everything you might need for outdoor adventures at Backcountry. And you’ll find major deals on that gear during Backcountry’s Summer Sale. Get up to 40% off a variety of apparel, shoes, tents, and more. I’m partial to suggesting prAna’s Stretch Zion Pants. With many sizes and colors on sale for 30% off, it’s a solid choice for pants that will last a very long time. I’ve had my pair for over 10 years, and…
Buying and leasing both have their advantages, but the cheaper option depends on how long you plan to keep the vehicle, how much you drive, and whether you’re expecting a PCS, deployment, or other life changes. Before you sign on the dotted line, here’s what military families should consider. How Does Leasing Work? Leasing a vehicle is similar to renting it as you pay a monthly fee for the ability to use the car for a certain amount of time, which is typically two to three years. During that time, your lease agreement will dictate how you can use the…
An overseas deployment can be tough on any relationship between a member of the military and a loved one left behind. That can be especially true for a soldier and ‘Man’s Best Friend,’ who may be separated by the call of duty. That was the plight of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Casillas and his beloved Husky companion Margaery, away from each other for six months while he’s been deployed to Okinawa, Japan. Their happy reunion was arranged with the help of the nonprofit Paws of War. U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Casillas is reunited with his beloved dog, Margaery,…
Watch full video on YouTube
Gun control advocates continue to maintain that gun control works, that passing laws restricting the right to keep and bear arms on law-abiding citizens somehow keeps criminals from getting guns. They even have (incredibly flawed and unserious) studies that “prove” this. Yeah, right.Of course, it might be easier to believe that if I didn’t see countless news reports every single day of the week regarding felons being arrested for possessing firearms, to say nothing of other things like drugs. In fact, I suspect most such arrests never really make the news unless the arrest included something…
A 27-year-old accused of murdering a man near Boston Common early Wednesday morning was out on bond after being arrested on gun charges earlier this summer. CBS Boston reports that Ashlie Jeremie is also suspected of assaulting another man with a metal pole about four hours after the murder in downtown Boston. So why was Jeremie out on the streets after his arrest just a few months ago? According to court documents obtained by WBZ-TV, Jeremie was arrested back on May 18 after he allegedly tried to bring a loaded handgun in a backpack into the Tip…
House lawmakers plan to “fight” against a proposal to extend U.S.-Israel military cooperation that was passed in the annual defense spending bill. The House of Representatives approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 21 by a 216-212 vote, authorizing roughly $1.15 trillion in national security spending while establishing policy priorities for the Department of Defense (DOD) for the coming fiscal year. One of the parts of the bill, Section 2019, would expand U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation. It has been overwhelmingly supported by House Republicans while House Democrats have been split on its…
This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that AI companies that are bleeding billions upon billions of dollars are great investments because there is a possibility that someday they will eventually become profitable. But the losses just keep getting even bigger every year. Meanwhile, we are spending trillions of dollars to build even more AI infrastructure. There is no way that the AI industry is ever going to generate the sort of revenue that will justify that level of investment. What we are witnessing is a capital misallocation of…
We’ve been covering the anti-gun shenanigans in the U.S. Virgin Islands for quite awhile now. As an American territory, lawmakers there are bound by the same constitutional limits as any state, but like so many states, they think the Second Amendment doesn’t apply to them. So, they keep trying to tighten the noose on the right to keep and bear arms.Lately, though, as we’ve noted previously, they’re not having the best string of luck. In fact, based on everything we’re seeing, it must really suck to be an anti-gunner there right now unless you have…
Colion Noir has a knack for finding videos that make people on both sides of the gun debate squirm. His latest target? A police recruitment ad where an officer looks straight into the camera and tells prospective recruits they don’t need to be an expert shooter to become a cop. Cops admit in a new recruitment video that they don’t have to be an expert shooter to join the department. That’s a pretty awkward message considering one of the most common talking points from gun-control advocates is that firearms should be left to the “trained professionals. “So…which is it?” is…
Reading the tea leaves is a dicey business for automotive industry forecasters, especially over the past two years, as a change in White House administrations signaled a 180-degree turn from supporting battery-electric vehicles to one favoring internal-combustion engines of every size. How can automakers plan for the future while fuel prices fluctuate with each bombing in Iran, while tariffs hinder profitability and force consumers to pay more for new cars, while emissions regulations swing quickly from strict to lenient, and while lagging consumer confidence makes it hard to contemplate buying a new vehicle? Truck Demand Strong Despite Affordability Concerns, Says…
Police in the state of Washington have detained 23 people who allegedly threw a party in a veteran’s empty home and caused an estimated $50,000 in damage. Piere County Sheriff’s Deputies detained those in question, aged between 14 and 20, after deputies caught the individuals hosting a party at an empty home owned by Michael Legue, a retired U.S. Air Force tech sergeant. The incident took place last week. “On July 18th around 9:15pm, deputies were dispatched to a home listed for sale in the Graham area where 23 juveniles had broken in, vandalized the whole home, and were having…
On my second run after a 5-week hiatus, I clocked my fastest 5K of the year on flat pea gravel trails. It was most definitely the shoes. The evidence is anecdotal, but I consistently found my pace was faster than perceived while running in the Salomon Aero Glide 4 GRVL shoes. In a bit of a sample mix-up, I first ran in the road shoe version, the Salomon Aero Glide 4, which immediately impressed me with its speed and cushioned support. When I switched to the gravel version, the Salomon Aero Glide 4 GRVL, the feeling wasn’t too far off.…
The Third Circuit’s decision striking down New Jersey’s assault weapon ban was just the latest blow to the Garden State’s gun control scheme. While there are still plenty of gun control laws on the books there, the reality is that the judicial landscape isn’t supportive of the idea that they’re constitutional, even a little bit. After all, it was a Biden-appointed judge who wrote the majority’s decision in that most recent case. Even the liberal judges are starting to recognize that the time for gun control is well in the past.But New Jersey isn’t going…
