Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni near Hiroshima is facing a growing infestation of invasive spider species, exterminating more more venomous spiders this year than in any year since record-keeping began nearly two decades ago. (from @hanakusumoto.bsky.social & @janiquarob.bsky.social)

A former U.S. Army employee pleaded guilty in September in federal court to sexually abusing two children under age 16 while he worked in Japan.

Military installations on Guam are undertaking precautionary testing of their water supplies after a banned pesticide was recently found in a well near Andersen Air Force Base. (from @alexmwilson.bsky.social)

President Donald Trump called up 200 National Guard troops for deployment in Portland, Oregon, a move strongly opposed by the governor that immediately prompted a lawsuit saying Trump overstepped his authority.

South Korea's military said it fired warning shots early Friday to drive away a North Korean merchant ship that briefly crossed the disputed western sea boundary between the rival neighbors.

North Korea has no intention of surrendering its nuclear weapons, which leaves the United States to either to neutralize a nuclear threat or develop something like a normal relationship with Pyongyang, an expert in international affairs said Friday.

North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted four Russian aircraft Wednesday in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, the command announced the following day.

Beijing’s recently announced plan to establish a nature reserve on a contested shoal in the South China Sea is really a form of “lawfare” aimed at establishing sovereignty, according to a pair of experts in international relations.

The Navy has awarded a $289.7 million contract to a local conglomerate to build and outfit a communications facility at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz on Guam, the latest in hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding flowing to the U.S. island. (from @janiquarob.bsky.social)

ICYMI: The Army on Monday identified the four special operations soldiers killed last week in a helicopter crash near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Andrew Cully, Andrew Kraus, Donovan Scott and Jadalyn Good were members of the 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).

Rash of Russian breaches of NATO airspace brings calls for shootdown response

Naythen B. Previously Rinehart is the new entertainment director for Soldiers' Theater in Vicenza, Italy! Rinehart previously worked at KMC Onstage in Kaiserslautern, where he oversaw operations at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’s community theater, KMC Onstage. Read more:

Tiny Hawaiian island used for Navy bombing practice eligible for historic listing

France recognized Palestinian statehood Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the United Nations aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. More nations are expected to follow, in defiance of Israel and the United States.

A new language learning app, launched this month by a former Defense Department school student in Japan, uses artificial intelligence to help people gain confidence speaking Japanese. (from @janiquarob.bsky.social)

A cultural program that brings together American and Japanese high school students to learn about each other's traditions and build friendships expanded this year to include activities in surrounding communities. (from @janiquarob.bsky.social)

The commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said he was unfazed by media reports that the Pentagon’s draft National Defense Strategy will prioritize defense of the American homeland over challenging Beijing and Moscow globally because “the homeland is in the Pacific."

PACIFIC STORM TRACKER | Peipah has been upgraded to a tropical storm, with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's latest forecast track continuing to take it southeast of Sasebo Naval Base over the weekend.

A newly established reception unit expects to save the U.S. Army approximately $72,000 annually by digitizing the in-processing experience for incoming soldiers.

A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, a spokesperson said Monday.

An Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon that crashed off South Korea’s western coast last year went down after an engine stall caused by hardware failure, according to Pacific Air Forces’ investigation.

A Chinese man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly walking onto a U.S. Air Force base on Okinawa, local police said. He told police he believed he could “freely enter” the base.

Okinawa's prefectural governor has accused U.S. military police of failing to coordinate with local authorities before taking nine Marines into custody during a joint patrol earlier this month in Okinawa city. (from @brianmcelhiney.bsky.social & @keishirkoja.bsky.social)

Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Monday and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, local health workers said.

Marine base in Japan reports surge in invasive redback, widow spiders (by @janiquarob.bsky.social and @hanakusumoto.bsky.social)

Students at a Defense Department middle school on Okinawa were released two hours after the school day began on Tuesday due to a cooling problem.

ICYMI: For the third time in less than a week, NORAD scrambled fighters Sunday to intercept a Russian intelligence-gathering plane in the expansive Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.

Transgender troops confront forced separations and eroding retirement rights (by @janiquarob.bsky.social)

North American Aerospace Command intercepted another Russian surveillance flight Thursday in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, the second such flight in the same region in two days.

During an Aug. 8 media tour aboard the PS Mizuki at Naha New Port, Naha Coast Guard Office director Momotoshi Saisho touched on the Japan coast guard response to vessels that enter its territorial waters.

ICYMI: About half of the 800 National Guard troops deployed to Washington D.C. as part of President Donald Trump's crime crackdown have arrived in the city as logistics for the mission are still being figured out.

The surgeon general of the Navy has ordered medical providers who screen sailors for some of the service's most hazardous assignments to undergo training after findings flaws in the health exams.

Japan denies China fired warning shots at destroyer that breached territorial waters

MOVIES | ‘Better Off Dead’ is the ’80s cult classic that refuses to die

A blistering heat wave sweeping across the Korean Peninsula has forced the U.S. and South Korean militaries to postpone half of their upcoming field training drills later this month, scaling back one of their largest annual joint exercises. (from @choiboy.bsky.social)

WATCH: Hiroshima pauses in silence to mark 80 years since the world's first atomic bombing.

Israel said early Friday that it plans to take over Gaza City in another escalation of its 22-month war with Hamas. The decision, taken after a late-night meeting of top officials, comes despite mounting calls to end the war and protests that fear for the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

The U.S. Army announced this week that it will begin work in September to disinter 19 students from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School cemetery in Pennsylvania to return the remains to two Native American tribes whose children were sent to the school on the local Army base.

Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday naming himself the chair of a White House task force on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and said he would possibly send the military back to the city in order to protect the Games.

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday, as experts warned that the territory is on the brink of famine after Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of security have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid.

Residents in Bucks and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, who live near military bases had higher levels of four "forever chemicals" known as PFAS in their blood than the typical American, according to research by federal health officials.

UPDATE | The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Russia's Far East early Wednesday and prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the devastating 9.0 quake off northeast Japan in March 2011. No major injuries have been reported.

Air Force ends exercise in Japan that local officials say exceeded scope

Thirty-one Palestinians were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, while Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 others, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said. Updates: www.stripes.com/theaters/mid...

PACIFIC STORM TRACKER | Traffic is picking up on the northwest Pacific’s Typhoon Turnpike. Tropical Storm 06W now has a name: Nari. Meanwhile, Tropical Depression 07W has formed southwest of Sasebo Naval Base. www.stripes.com/theaters/asi...

Pacific storm update, as of 5:15 a.m. Sunday, July 6, Japan time: Danas has been upgraded to a Category 1-equivalent typhoon by Joint Typhoon Warning Center. www.stripes.com/theaters/asi...

The Marine Corps is deploying 200 troops from North Carolina to support federal immigration agents in Florida, while another 500 troops are slated to move to locations in Texas and Louisiana.

A North Korean soldier was taken into custody by the South Korean military Thursday after crossing the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, according to the South’s Ministry of National Defense.

Air Force set to launch its largest test of Pacific maneuver strategy

Five overseas U.S. military installations will lose Patriot Express service this fall due to low ridership. The Patriot Express is the commercial charter contracted by the Defense Department that provides flights to personnel on official duty.