The “Summer Surge Incentive,” announced this week with other recruiting reforms, is open to current members who reenlist and airmen transferring from active duty or the Air Force Reserve.

The incentive, first reported by Task & Purpose, comes as other services are offering large bonuses to retain talent. The Army is offering bonuses exceeding $200,000 to keep aviation warrant officers in the ranks, and the Navy is offering up to $150,000 for select aviation roles.

In addition to the bonus, the Guard said that it is now sending its highest-performing recruiters to wings struggling to meet recruiting goals, rather than limiting them to their home states. Other initiatives include a 179% increase in local market funding and a social media collaborator program.

U.S. Air Force Col. Mark Williams, director of Recruiting and Retention for the Air National Guard, said the changes are meant to modernize the force.

“It is all part of an effort to continue reaching individuals seeking purpose, growth and the opportunity to make a lasting impact,” he said.

The Guard also instituted a policy allowing wings that maintain at least 90% manning strength to temporarily fill positions above their authorized numbers.

The change, according to Chief Master Sgt. James Chubb, chief of the Air National Guard Recruiting and Retention Accessions Branch, said was designed to prevent recruiting momentum from stalling once units reach their prescribed limits.

“One of our greatest challenges is balancing recruiting success with limited authorized vacancies,” Chubb said in the announcement. “As recruiters successfully fill formations, available positions naturally become scarce, creating an artificial ceiling on continued growth.”

For fiscal year 2026, the Air National Guard is looking to recruit 8,842 enlisted airmen, 1,123 line officers, 68 chaplains and 53 warrant officers.

The event, scheduled for Oct. 26-30 at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, will bring together military personnel, government employees, industry and academic partners and contractors supporting the government. Participants will choose one of two tracks: developing AI agents on the Defense Department’s GenAI.mil platform or advanced AI development using the service and school’s resources.

The hackathon’s intent, according to the message, is to “generate practical, digital solutions that solve registered requirements while accelerating the Marine Corps’ ability to integrate AI-enabled capabilities into operations.”

Participants will spend at least two full days hacking — at the unclassified level — before final presentations and judging on the fourth day.

Those interested must apply by Oct. 9. Chosen attendees will be notified by Oct. 16.

The military’s push toward AI and automation is being driven in part by the sheer volume of information expected on a future battlefield. During an exercise earlier this year, the Army found that a large-scale conflict could require troops to process as many as 1,500 targets a day, which is a workload far beyond what a headquarters staff could manage without automation.

Schiess will succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman, who has served as Chief of Space Operations since November 2022 and is expected to retire later this month. Upon assuming the position, Schiess will be promoted to four-star general, becoming the Space Force’s senior uniformed officer and serving as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

President Donald Trump nominated Schiess in May following Saltzman’s planned retirement.

Schiess currently serves as deputy Chief of Space Operations, a role in which he oversees the Space Force’s global operations, readiness, sustainment and training. Before joining the Space Force headquarters staff, he commanded U.S. Space Forces–Space, overseeing military space operations and integrating space capabilities in support of combatant commanders worldwide.

Earlier in his career, Schiess served as an Air Force missile officer and held assignments in military launch, GPS and satellite communications before commanding the 21st Space Wing and the 45th Space Wing. His 34-year military career also includes operational, staff and joint assignments supporting U.S. Central Command, U.S. Space Command and multinational operations.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in July, Schiess told lawmakers the Space Force must continue organizing, training and equipping Guardians to defend U.S. space capabilities, protect the joint force from space-enabled attack and deliver the capabilities needed to support military operations across the full range of missions.

“Our purpose is not confrontation, but deterrence, ensuring no adversary believes aggression against the United States will succeed,” Schiess told the committee.

He said he would work to ensure Guardians remain ready, the service’s capabilities remain resilient and its partnerships remain strong.

In written responses to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Schiess said he would prioritize strengthening the connection between force design, acquisition programs and combatant commanders’ operational requirements.

He also said he would focus on expanding launch infrastructure, improving the Space Force’s testing enterprise and continuing efforts to strengthen the acquisition workforce needed to field new capabilities more rapidly.

Reuters reported this week that the U.S. Army had used up much of its global stockpile of long-range precision missiles during the five-month conflict with Iran, raising concerns about military readiness for future crises.

President Donald Trump on Thursday played down concerns over weapons shortages, saying the U.S. had an almost unlimited supply of some munitions while acknowledging stocks of others were tighter. He added that U.S. defense companies were expanding production capacity.

Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of understanding with Lockheed last month to jointly produce Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, at Rheinmetall’s Unterluess plant in northern Germany. Production facilities are due to be set up next year.

“Naturally, there will also be sufficient capacity to replenish the U.S. military arsenals depleted by the conflict involving Iran,” CEO Armin Papperger told Reuters in an interview conducted on Thursday but published on Friday.

“That won’t happen in two years. It will take much longer.”

Defense companies across the world are racing to meet a surge in demand as governments step up military spending amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and U.S. pressure for Europe to take more responsibility for its own security.

Helping build Europe’s defenses

Rheinmetall has been among the biggest beneficiaries of Europe’s drive to raise defense spending.

Europe’s largest ammunition maker has pursued partnerships and acquisitions to rapidly expand production capacity to meet growing demand.

The ATACMS joint venture still requires approval, but Papperger said the process was well advanced and had the backing of the U.S. government.

The partners intend to target the global market for ATACMS missiles, he added. “There will be a market for missiles for the next 15 years.”

Rheinmetall expects the joint venture to generate its first revenue in 2028, the CEO said.

Talks needed with new Leonardo CEO

Papperger said Rheinmetall remained interested in acquiring Iveco’s military truck business from Italy’s Leonardo, but future talks would depend on new CEO Lorenzo Mariani.

“I had a handshake agreement with his predecessor,” said Papperger. “Mariani can decide on new terms, and we will see if they remain attractive to Rheinmetall.”

The deal is not at risk, Papperger added, saying he hopes to meet Mariani after the summer break.

Boxer contract expected by year-end

Rheinmetall, which on Thursday cut its sales outlook after Germany canceled its F126 frigate program, also expects a multibillion-euro contract to supply Boxer armored vehicles to the German military to be signed by year-end, Papperger said.

“There is absolutely nothing standing in the way,” he said.

Rheinmetall’s share of the contract would be worth €12.4 billion ($14.3 billion), while the total value, including partner KNDS, is expected to reach about €25 billion.

In Wednesday’s announcements, the company explained that its Missionforce National Security platform received Impact Level 5, or IL5, authorization, meaning it is “trusted” to address the “most sensitive, unclassified missions.”

Kendall Collins, the chief executive officer of Missionforce and Government Cloud at Salesforce, said the platform is “modernizing government IT” and that they’re “building the trusted AI backbone for America’s national security.”

According to the announcement, Missionforce is the DoD-authorized variant of the commercial Agentforce platform, which is a network of AI agents designed to support analysis and decision-making.

This is the latest application of the technology since Salesforce won the $5.6 billion contract to build Missionforce in January. In early July, Salesforce said the Air Force deployed Missionforce with the 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron to help manage its $13.5 billion fleet of over 84,000 vehicles across nearly 389 locations.

The company called the approval a “milestone” because it moves the national security and defense entities “beyond predictive AI and chatbots” and onto “autonomous AI execution.” The AI agents will have access to controlled unclassified information as well as unclassified National Security System data.

While Missionforce is tailored for government use, the underlying technology is based on Salesforce’s commercial Agentforce 360 platform, which the company introduced in late 2025.

Ryan Von, a writer for Salesforce Ben, a publication that covers the company’s products, described Agentforce as Salesforce’s “boldest leap into AI,” and called the latest 360 variant, “the most powerful version of the tool yet.” He said it’s marketed as able to deliver “accurate, context-rich responses across text and voice.”

In an early review of the commercial platform, Von said demonstrations were promising. Still, he suggested the AI performed best on routine, keyword-based requests while struggling with more complex questions, such as personalized recommendations.

For the Army HRC, the company said AI agents will “provide around-the-clock support, respond to routine inquiries, summarize case histories, and surface relevant policy and career information from approved Army sources.”

According to the company, HRC handles more than 1,500 personnel cases each day. Salesforce estimates the AI agents could save roughly $6 million annually while handling more than 55 million conversations a month.

Bill Pessin, SVP of Missionforce National Security at Salesforce, said that the platform will allow the human staff to “focus more on the complex, career-defining decisions that directly affect the readiness and lives of our Soldiers and less on the mundane tasks that can be handled by AI.”

The airlifter, tail number 01-0194, assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was parked overnight at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas on March 4, 2025, when severe storms and microbursts of up to 80 mph sent two private Bombardier Challenger jets careening into it.

Video shot that morning showed one of the business jets come to rest beneath the C-17’s wing. The same storm system damaged numerous aircraft at airports across the metroplex.

The collision damaged the C-17’s left-side door, fuselage and nose. The crew flew it home with a Boeing-qualified and Air Force-approved temporary nose panel and landing gear down.

Back in Ohio, maintainers repaired the door and fuselage but determined the left nose panel had to be replaced, which is where the job stalled.

Boeing was unable to find a vendor willing to build tooling for a single nose panel, according to the Air Force. After an unsuccessful repair attempt, the jet was looking at a year in storage followed by another year of repair work, sidelining one of only nine C-17s the wing counts as mission-essential.

The wing turned to the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO), a Life Cycle Management Center division at Wright-Patterson that hunts for ways to fabricate parts the supply chain can’t deliver.

Engineers there deemed the panel a good candidate for incremental sheet forming, or ISF, in which a robot presses a flat metal sheet into shape a little at a time. Because the machine follows a digital path rather than a mold, tooling is unnecessary.

Working with the University of Dayton Research Institute, the team began production in January 2026. Boeing, along with maintainers from the wing, installed the finished panel in July, and 01-0194 took to the skies again July 30, nearly 17 months after the storm.

“This is a tremendous win for our maintenance group,” Col. Karen Gharst, the 445th Maintenance Group commander, said in a statement. “Using the ISF technology to rapidly produce an otherwise unobtainable part allowed us to avoid a prolonged work stoppage.”

The event marks the first incrementally formed part to fly on an Air Force aircraft.

Boeing closed the C-17 line in 2015, and the Air Force expects to fly the fleet into the 2070s, meaning this may not be the last time the service has to hunt for parts nobody makes anymore.

The RSO is currently working on parts for a KC-135 and an F-15.

The trial, known as the Psilocybin Intervention for Veterans Overcoming Treatment-Resistant Depression,” or PIVOT, study aims to include at least 240 veterans, all of whom have difficult-to-treat major depressive disorder and some who also have PTSD.

The study will take place at five VA medical centers through June 2031 and will assess patients’ levels of depression before and after treatment, side effects and overall response among participants.

“Far too many veterans are living with mental health conditions that don’t respond to available treatments,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “Under President [Donald] Trump, VA is pursuing all avenues to evaluate new treatments and offer meaningful relief for those who have worn the uniform. This clinical trial reflects another step toward this goal.”

Last month, researchers with Ohio State University’s Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education published the findings of a small, 12-person study on the safety of using psilocybin to treat severe PTSD in veterans.

After receiving eight hours of psychotherapy and two doses of synthetic psilocybin and integrative therapy, nine participants, or 75%, no longer met the clinical criteria for having PTSD.

According to the research, published July 30 in Communications Medicine, participants showed no serious adverse effects, including suicidal ideation or behavior. Non-serious side effects included headache, anxiety and dizziness.

“For a population with severe treatment-resistant PTSD, these results are striking,” said Stacey Armstrong, associate director and senior researcher at the center.

The PIVOT study will involve veterans with major depressive disorder who have not responded to current treatments, including those with or without a diagnosis of PTSD. In the double-blind, randomized trial, veterans will receive one dose of psilocybin or a placebo, along with therapeutic support. They will receive a second dose one month later, also with support, and will be evaluated two to four weeks following each session.

They also will receive follow-up six months after their participation.

VA officials said for the study, they will use pharmaceutical-grade drugs and treat veterans in a “safe, controlled, clinical setting.”

The five VA facilities that are slated to host the research include: the Birmingham VA Health Care System and Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, Alabama; the VA Portland Health Care System, Oregon; Cpl. Michael Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia; and VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle.

Trump signed an executive order in April directing the Food and Drug Administration to accelerate the review of some psychedelic therapies to treat mental health conditions. The order also required the FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and the VA to collaborate on psychedelic research.

As a result of the order, HHS and the VA signed an agreement last month to increase coordination on research, including increasing clinical trial participation, training therapists, nurses and doctors to administer psychedelic medications if they are approved and collecting data and evidence to support patients, physicians and federal regulators.

According to the VA, its staff is involved in 20 current clinical trials focused on psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions, including MDMA and LSD.

Studies sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies have shown that 87% of veteran participants in a study on the use of MDMA — the chemical compound known recreationally as Ecstasy or Molly — had significant improvement in PTSD symptoms four months after receiving treatments, and 71% no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the end of the studies.

The advancement of MDMA as a treatment met a setback in 2024, however, when the Food and Drug Administration rejected an application to approve it as a PTSD treatment, requesting more research on its safety and efficacy.

VA officials said in a release on the PIVOT study Wednesday that they strongly discourage self-medication, and veterans should not “replace other mental health treatment options with psychedelics or any other unprescribed substances.”

“Proven, evidence-based treatments are currently available at VA facilities to treat Veterans with mental health conditions,” they wrote.

The official in charge of tracking the Navy’s finances mocked the smell, weight and appearance of subordinates and made hiring decisions that appeared to show bias in favor of other African American women, a new report from the Pentagon’s top watchdog finds.

The 42-page probe concludes that Donjette Gilmore, auditor general of the Navy Audit Service, made a habit of harassing and belittling subordinates, creating a hostile work environment and reducing some employees to tears.

Of 27 witnesses interviewed by the Inspector General, 23 said they had personally witnessed, experienced or heard about this behavior.

Specific comments alleged by witnesses included, “Oh, your perfume stinks. She stinks. You stink;” “Oh, my God, you look like a witch;” “No. Let’s take the stairs because [you need] the exercise;” “Your clothes are too tight;” and “You need to stop eating cookies [because] [y]ou don’t need to eat cookies,” among others.

Employees reported being berated and told to “shut up” in staff meetings and mentioned instances in which two single parents were targeted with derogatory comments.

“Nobody told you all to have kids,” Gilmore allegedly said.

Additionally, according to the report, she created a culture of fear around reporting alleged misconduct.

“Witnesses told us that they and their colleagues were afraid to file complaints against Ms. Gilmore and that no safe or effective channel existed to address their harassment allegations,” investigators wrote. “They believed that previous complaints were ignored and mishandled and that Ms. Gilmore would find out they complained against her.”

Eight witnesses also said Gilmore tried to hide negative feedback from command climate surveys administered in 2023 and 2024, ordering that specific comments be redacted on briefing slides.

This week, the Navy published new guidance on transparency in the administration of command climate surveys. Officials did not confirm to Military Times whether the guidance was linked to the IG report on Gilmore.

“A strong and positive command climate is the bedrock of our warfighting advantage. Because our people are our most valuable asset, a command climate that fosters trust, respect, and psychological safety is not a ‘nice to have’; it is a combat multiplier,” the Navy administrative message states.

The report also finds that Gilmore’s behavior in 17 different hiring actions showed a preference for external candidates and non-competitive practices and thus “created an appearance” of favoritism. Eight African American women were hired to fill 13 of the 17 roles, with some of them being selected for more than one position, the probe found. Nine of the hires were made without a competitive selection process.

Witnesses, who the watchdog noted included seven current and former Audit Service employees who are Black women, also alleged Gilmore made racially specific comments about hiring and employees, including stating “that she needed to keep an employee by keeping him happy because ‘he is white.’”

In addition, the report concluded that Gilmore misused her role in various ways, most notably by pressuring a subordinate to submit sexual harassment allegations as part of an extended effort to discredit another official, Ronnie Booth, who’d previously been selected over her in 2018 to become the Navy’s auditor general.

“Ms. Gilmore took other extraordinary steps in her efforts to discredit Mr. Booth,” the IG found. “Specifically, Ms. Gilmore:

• sent anonymous letters to other potential victims;
• solicited congressional support for her selection as AG in conjunction with the adverse information about Mr. Booth; and 
• coordinated her actions and shared information about the harassment allegations with a Washington Post reporter.”

The DoD IG did find in 2021 that Booth had sexually harassed a dozen female Naval Audit Service employees over the course of more than two decades, engaging in a “pervasive pattern of sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual propositions.”

Booth retired under the shadow of harassment allegations in 2019.

Gilmore, who previously directed the Navy’s public-private partnership housing reviews, became auditor general in 2022. Between May 2023 and June 2024, the Navy received six complaints alleging favoritism, harassment and misuse of her position.

In responses provided to the IG, Gilmore denied wrongdoing, at times claiming she did not recall specific alleged interactions and comments. She also told the IG that she couldn’t remember the passcodes to government-issued cell phones that were seized by investigators and that she didn’t know where a missing SIM card was, according to the report.

In a message to Military Times, Gilmore said that, on the advice of her attorney, she was unable to comment.

As of Thursday, Gilmore appears to remain in her position as the Navy reviews findings.

“We have received and are currently reviewing the DOW IG report,” a Navy spokesperson told Military Times. “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and are committed to workforce accountability. We have no further comment on the matter at this time.”

Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, directed the activation Tuesday, describing Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, or JTF-WHEM, as a purpose-built joint task force that will provide unified command and control at the tactical and operational levels, while integrating military capabilities with the 18 partner nations of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, or A3C.

SOUTHCOM Media Relations Officer Steven McLoud told Military Times the activation of JTF-WHEM “represents an evolution from Operation Southern Spear,” reinforcing the command’s whole-of-government, multinational approach to defending the homeland while building on the successes of Operation Southern Spear.

McLoud said JTF-WHEM serves as SOUTHCOM’s “action arm,” focused on what he described as imposing “total systemic friction” against threats across the hemisphere.

He said the task force builds on Operation Southern Spear, which employed “precise kinetic strikes and maritime interdiction operations” to disrupt illicit trafficking and undermine entrenched criminal networks, by advancing efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat narcoterrorism networks.

According to McLoud, JTF-WHEM coordinates U.S. military actions targeting cartels and narcoterrorist networks while leveraging the commitment of Americas Counter Cartel Coalition member nations through expanded bilateral and multilateral cooperation in border security, countering threats and protecting critical infrastructure. He said enhanced cooperation and information sharing support the president’s national security strategy, the defense secretary’s national defense strategy and SOUTHCOM’s theater priorities.

According to SOUTHCOM, JTF-WHEM will serve as the command’s operational headquarters for executing missions across the region.

The command said the headquarters integrates intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, operational planning and multinational coordination while supporting intelligence sharing, combined training, interoperability, partner-capacity building and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

SOUTHCOM said the task force is intended to increase operational effectiveness against transnational criminal organizations and other threats affecting the United States and partner nations.

“JTF-WHEM strengthens our ability to work alongside trusted allies and partners, synchronize military capabilities and apply sustained pressure against the networks that threaten our collective security,” Donovan said in a statement. “Together, we are increasing security across the hemisphere and protecting our homeland.”

Donovan also said, “Together with the 18 nations of A3C, we are changing the way we confront these threats.”

Gen. Donovan selected Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin Jarrard to command the new task force. Jarrard most recently led U.S. military support to U.S. Department of State-led disaster relief operations following the June earthquakes in Venezuela.