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Thursday

A Good Guy: Under Oath
Luke Medina/NPR

Embedded

A Good Guy: Under Oath

There's a promise that all Marines make to defend the Constitution. After Sgt. Joshua Abate participated in the events on January 6, the Corps has to decide: Did he break his oath when he entered the Capitol that day? And what does his case say about the changing narrative around January 6? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Thursday

A Good Guy: 279 Hours
Luke Medina/NPR

Embedded

A Good Guy: 279 Hours

"Have you ever tried to overthrow the U.S. government?" Marine Sgt. Joshua Abate was in the middle of a routine polygraph test to receive top-secret clearance when he made an extraordinary admission: He had followed the crowd that broke into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This admission leads to a different kind of January 6 story. Abate says he's not an insurrectionist. So why did it take him so long to talk openly about that day? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Saturday

John Kerry (center) stands with other military personnel in an unspecified location circa the 1960s.

John Kerry (center) stands with other military personnel in an unspecified location circa the 1960s. The details of Kerry's service during the Vietnam War, and his subsequent anti-war activism, became the focus of a veterans' group's smear campaign against him during his 2004 presidential campaign. Kerry Campaign/Getty Images hide caption

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Kerry Campaign/Getty Images

Politics

A brief history of swift boating, from John Kerry to Tim Walz

Republicans' attacks on Tim Walz's military record mirror a 2004 smear campaign against John Kerry in some key ways. Here's how swift boating played out then — and what's different this time around.

Wednesday

Thursday

What fighting in the Middle East means for the U.S. troop presence in Iraq

Fighters carry the coffin of Abu Baqir al-Saadi during his funeral on Feb. 8. He was a senior commander in Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Iraqi militia, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa via Getty Images hide caption

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Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

What fighting in the Middle East means for the U.S. troop presence in Iraq

After the U.S. killed a commander of an Iran-backed militia in Baghdad, pressure is mounting on Iraq's government to expel America's 2,500 military personnel.

What fighting in the Middle East means for the U.S. troop presence in Iraq

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Sunday

The U.S. military says it struck a Houthi underwater vessel in the Red Sea

The U.S.S. Gravely destroyer is seen in the south Red Sea on Tuesday, Feb. 13. CENTCOM said U.S. forces repelled five Houthi attacks on Saturday. Bernat Armangue/AP hide caption

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Bernat Armangue/AP

Middle East crisis — explained

The U.S. military says it struck a Houthi underwater vessel in the Red Sea

U.S. Central Command said it was the first time the Iranian-backed rebel group had been observed using an uncrewed underwater vessel since starting a series of attacks in the region in October.

Wednesday

U.S. drone strike kills a leader of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq

People, rescuers and security forces gather around a vehicle hit by a drone strike, reportedly killing three people, including two leaders of a pro-Iran group, in Baghdad on Wednesday. Murtaja Lateef/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Murtaja Lateef/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

U.S. drone strike kills a leader of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq

A U.S. drone strike in the Iraqi capital has killed at least one leader of an Iran-backed militia, Kataib Hezbollah.

U.S. drone strike kills a leader of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq

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Saturday

The U.S. targets Iranian proxies for a second day in a row

U.S. Central Command released this undated photo as part of its announcement of renewed airstrikes against Houthi targets on Saturday. U.S. Central Command hide caption

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U.S. Central Command

Middle East crisis — explained

The U.S. targets Iranian proxies for a second day in a row

The new round of U.S. strikes is far more extensive and deadly than those that have been launched since October, when the Israel-Hamas war began and pro-Iranian groups began their attacks.

Friday

U.S. hits Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria in retaliation for deadly strikes

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden attend the dignified transfer of the remains of three U.S. service members killed in a drone attack on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan, at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Friday. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

U.S. hits Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria in retaliation for deadly strikes

The strikes are more extensive and deadly than those launched since last October, when the Israeli-Gaza war began and pro-Iranian groups started an uptick of attacks.

U.S. hits Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria in retaliation for deadly strikes

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Sunday

U.S. identifies the 3 service members who were killed in drone strike in Jordan

A soldier takes a break during the "Eager Lion" multinational military exercises that the U.S. is part of in Jordan in September 2022. Khalil Mazraawi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Khalil Mazraawi/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

U.S. identifies the 3 service members who were killed in drone strike in Jordan

The three fallen soldiers were all reservists assigned to the 718th Engineer Company in Fort Moore, Ga. Meanwhile, the number of those wounded by the attack rose to more than 40.

Monday

The military is turning to microgrids to fight global threats — and global warming

U.S Marine Corps Col. Thomas M. Bedell, the commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, poses for a photo at the station's Energy and Water Operations Center on MCAS Miramar. Lance Cpl. Jose S. GuerreroDeLeon/U.S. Marines/DVIDS hide caption

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Lance Cpl. Jose S. GuerreroDeLeon/U.S. Marines/DVIDS

NPR's Climate Solutions Week

The military is turning to microgrids to fight global threats — and global warming

The military is among the largest buyers of independent power systems known as microgrids. They make tactical sense; and environmentalists hope they can help the transition from fossil fuels.

The military is turning to microgrids to fight global threats — and global warming

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Wednesday

U.S. Army soldiers march in a parade as part of the 75th South Korea Armed Forces Day ceremony in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday.

U.S. Army soldiers march in a parade as part of the 75th South Korea Armed Forces Day ceremony in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Ahn Young-joon/AP hide caption

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Ahn Young-joon/AP

Politics

What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military — and national security

Service members would work without pay, and many civil servants are likely to be furloughed. Congress has yet to pass a separate bill to guarantee military pay as it did in previous shutdowns.

What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military — and national security

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Wednesday

Travis King isn't the 1st U.S. soldier to enter North Korea. Here's a history

Charles Jenkins (left), age 64, his wife Hitomi Soga (second from left) and their daughters arrive at Japan's Sado Island in December 2004, almost 40 years after he defected to North Korea. Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images

History

Travis King isn't the 1st U.S. soldier to enter North Korea. Here's a history

Travis King crossed the border into North Korea on Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. service member to do so since 1982. A handful of American soldiers defected in the years after the Korean War.

Tuesday

The U.S. promised Ukraine cluster bombs. In Laos, they still kill civilians

View of a collection of defused cluster bombs and grenades used by an international bomb disposal group for training in Savannakhet, Laos, on May 2, 2006. Jerry Redfern/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

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Jerry Redfern/LightRocket via Getty Images

Perspective

The U.S. promised Ukraine cluster bombs. In Laos, they still kill civilians

The U.S. dropped over 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos, including cluster bombs, in the 1960s and '70s. To this day, many people are killed, crippled and disfigured by them, writes Lewis M. Simons.

Sunday

Discharged over sexual orientation, military still owes thousands of vets

Ret. Lt. Col. Bob Alexander stayed closeted in the Air Force for 20 years because of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He came out when the policy ended, and when he retired, he decided to help those who weren't discharged honorably because of their sexual orientation. He resides in Washington D.C., and works as a cybersecurity attorney. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

National

Discharged over sexual orientation, military still owes thousands of vets

Twelve years after repeal of the ban on gay and lesbian troops serving openly, no one in the military or the VA knows how many vets are still without the benefits they're owed.

Discharged over sexual orientation, military still owes thousands of vets

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