Sam Fellman

Officers Must Demonstrate Four Leadership Tenets Senior military officers are entrusted with critical responsibilities demanding the highest standards of leadership, impacting national security an

“Next, board file photos must be submitted in a tight-fitting T-shirt tucked into pants to ensure a visibly fit appearance.”

And this is not even the most insane recommendation in this piece that I can’t believe AUSA published (unless they did it for the lolz).

Enjoy.

Iran War Delivers a Tough Lesson in Hard Power to the UK Aside from policy differences with the US, the UK’s Armed Forces’ size and capacity make difficult any large UK involvement in war with Iran.

Hard lessons for the Royal Navy in this RUSI assessment:

"After years of arguing that a smaller fleet was justified because modern warships were as capable as multiples of their predecessors, the reality remains that a ship can only be in one place at one time."

www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

Crazy video of 20 Tomahawks flying through the Iraqi Kurdish mountains near Sulaymaniyah (filmed by someone standing *above* them), seemingly fired from Navy vessels in the Mediterranean

Dozens of U.S. service members in Kuwait suffered serious injuries, including burns, brain trauma and shrapnel wounds, sources say About 30 U.S. service members remained hospitalized Tuesday after an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait.

That deadly attack on US service members also left "dozens w/ injuries including brain trauma, shrapnel wounds and burns. At least one may require the amputation of a limb."

More than 30 are hospitalized.

And credit where due: This is a strong story from CBS News.

www.cbsnews.com/news/strike-...

Minesweeper but it's the Strait of Hormuz. Source: sweepthestrait.com

Click the arrows in the map below to view the verified Tomahawk missile sightings in Iraq last week, including the original footage and geolocation analysis.
bellingcat-embeds.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/2026-march-t...

Number of US warships Spain has agreed to host that are essential to the Golden Dome network: 6

Barring news photographers from Pentagon briefings potentially opens up a fascinating discovery trail should their organizations sue

Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff took issue with photos taken in a rare briefing last week and decided to shut out press photographers from two subsequent news conferences.

Scoop: The Pentagon barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed "unflattering."

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., previously listed as believed to be deceased, has been positively identified by the medical examiner. CWO3 Marzan was killed in action during an unmanned aircraft system attack on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.

U.S. at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry Says

"An ongoing military investigation has determined that the United States is responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings."

Gift link, free article: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/u...

The Navy is increasingly concerned that the Islamic State or other terrorist groups could acquire and deploy cheap naval mines, which analysts say are available on the international black market to any group able and willing to pay. One potential nightmare scenario: A few mines in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East could shut down the key shipping channel for days or weeks. A fifth of the world’s oil supply moves through the narrow passage, the only route connecting the oil-rich Persian Gulf region to the open sea. Blocking it for even a few days could have a significant impact on global markets. To emphasize the concern, the mine-clearing exercise led by the U.S. this spring tested how the international community would respond if a terrorist group placed mines in Hormuz or in other strategic choke points in the region. Reporters for The Virginian-Pilot and the Investigative Reporting Program traveled to Bahrain in April to observe the exercise.

I wrote this a decade ago after traveling to Bahrain while investigating the U.S. Navy's aging minesweeping systems, which had fallen into disrepair:

"One potential nightmare scenario: A few mines in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East could shut down the key shipping channel for days or weeks"

Can America clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iran’s drones and mines? Escorting convoys of oil tanker with warships may give Iran juicy American targets

Pleased to speak with @economist.com for this excellent discussion of Iran's threat to the Strait of Hormuz
www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Iran came up when Trump met with @FIFAWorldCup's Gianni Infantino and White House FIFA task force's @AndrewHGiuliani on Tuesday evening. Trump told Infantino it's ok for Iran's team to play in the tournament in the U.S. @cbsnews.com

A US Navy oiler ran hard aground after its captain urged a last-minute shortcut: 'Let's try to shoot the gap' The USNS Big Horn suffered more than $20 million in damage after the Middle East grounding, a command investigation reveals.

The captain of a US Navy oiler ordered a route change to get into port faster: "Let's try to shoot the gap there."

Things went very wrong from there, as @byjepstein.bsky.social breaks down: www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-ship...

Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts US Military Under Unprecedented Strain As the conflict extends towards a third week, an arsenal of attack drones and ballistic missiles has helped make Tehran unlike any adversary the US has faced.

The US has burned through over 1,000 Patriot interceptors ($4 million each) to stop an onslaught of Iranian drones ($20k to $50k each).

Using my last gift link from Bloomberg, which is doing some of the best reporting anywhere on the war.

🎁 🔗

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

The US Navy has failed to prepare for a risk known *for decades*

www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-face...

This Pentagon announcement on an Operation Epic Fury soldier's 'believed to be' death is very unusual Former military spokespeople said the Pentagon statement was a break from the norm and criticized what they characterized as awkward phrasing.

Announcing a death before a medical examiner's positive identification breaks with two decades of Defense Department practices for its most solemn duty:

www.businessinsider.com/the-pentagon...

Whoa, the first ship is one of the new Soleimani-class missile corvettes.

These are the most heavily armed ships of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps:

www.businessinsider.com/iran-islamic...

It’s no secret that investigative journalism is on life support. The economics of the profession, always shaky, have become increasingly untenable. If you enjoyed this, or any of my other work, and are looking for a full-time editor or writer, get in touch!

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Unpopular position of the day: The use of JAG lawyers as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys does *not* violate the Posse Comitatus Act—because, as a 2017 brief of mine explained (see note 7) Congress has *expressly* authorized military lawyers to represent the United States in civil or criminal cases:

A different time. And a very different mindset.

They Came to Spy on America. They Stayed to Coach Little League. In the wake of the Cold War, some Soviet bloc spies decided their fake American lives weren’t so bad.

Not going to give away any plot spoilers from @zachsdorfman.bsky.social's riveting spy tale, but I am astonished by the final CIA/FBI decision towards these Soviet illegals:

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

A Strait Comparison: Lessons from the Dardanelles for a Strait of Hormuz Closure On June 22, the United States launched precision airstrikes as part of Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and

warontherocks.com/2025/06/a-st...

pete hegseth: today will be the “most intense day” of strikes against iran.

trump yesterday: war is “very complete, pretty much”

Why Washington’s Kurdish Gambit Could Backfire in Iran The Trump administration should abandon any plans to arm Iranian Kurdish forces before the first fighter crosses the Iraqi-Iranian border. Not refine it.

"An American-backed Kurdish incursion would hand the regime precisely the narrative it needs to reconsolidate," Albert B. Wolf writes in this critique of US strategy:

warontherocks.com/2026/03/why-...

This problem was completely foreseeable before the war, by the way. It is a function of the geography of the Strait, and Iran has prepared to leverage it for decades. 3/4

Exclusive: U.S. dismissed Ukraine deal for anti-Iran drone tech last year Snubbing Ukraine's offer ranks as one of the U.S.'s biggest tactical miscalculations before the war, officials say.

SCOOP: In August, Ukraine tried to sell battle-proven tech for downing Iranian drones — & made a PowerPoint showing how it could protect US & its allies in a war

But the Trump adm dismissed it until now

@barakravid.bsky.social
@demarest-colin.bsky.social & I

www.axios.com/2026/03/10/u...

Iranian threats to the Strait of Hormuz are part of its core playbook. The threats are credible due to its arsenal of naval mines, fast assault craft for hijacking, short-range missiles, drones, limpet mines.

Iran gambles that its drones and missiles can outlast the US and Israel A central test of the war is whether Iran's armed forces can preserve their arsenal of drones and missiles that the US and Israel are hunting.

Military analysts assessed how Iran's response differed from last June. "They seem to be trying to wear down the US and its allies," one said:

www.businessinsider.com/iran-gambles...