Early Bird Brief: November 15, 2024

Welcome to the Early Bird Brief's LinkedIn Edition, a tightly edited round-up of today's most important military and defense stories. To get the full EBB, with dozens of stories, subscribe here .

Today's Top 5:

Military suicides rose in 2023, continuing a troubling trend

(Military Times) Military suicides increased again in 2023, continuing a steady and concerning rise in self-inflicted deaths among servicemembers over more than a decade, according to statistics released by the Defense Department on Thursday. Read More

Piss poor: Inside the ‘sloppy’ practices of a military urinalysis lab

(Military Times) A Marine Corps gunnery sergeant and Afghanistan war hero saw his drug conviction overturned this fall by the Navy and Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Read More

Trump picks former congressman Doug Collins as next VA secretary

(Military Times) President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced former Georgia congressman Doug Collins as his pick to be the next Veterans Affairs Secretary, filling another key Cabinet post with a military veteran. Read More

New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens

(The Associated Press) The Pentagon's latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin. Read More

Exclusive: Houthi arsenal shocks the Pentagon's top weapons buyer

(Axios) Houthi rebels are brandishing increasingly sophisticated weapons, including missiles that "can do things that are just amazing," the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer said at an Axios event. Read More

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