The Okinawa Military Housing Office has delayed repair work on spalled concrete at housing towers at Camp Kinser after discovering asbestos in some balconies. www.stripes.com/theaters/asi...

A senior North Korean diplomat who defected two years ago painted a grim picture of life in the hermit kingdom as he described his disillusionment and escape from the totalitarian regime. www.stripes.com/theaters/asi...

Once popular gathering spots and community hubs, many local veterans posts are struggling to remain relevant amid steep drops in membership.

Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, President Donald Trump's nominee to be the Air Force's top officer, discussed a range of topics during his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, including modernization, maintenance, readiness and ensuring China remains a key area of focus.

Some civilian employees at U.S. Navy bases overseas are getting the service's help explaining to landlords why their rent may not be paid on time as the partial federal government shutdown drags into its second week.

The first of the Coast Guard's new icebreaking Arctic cutters will be built in Finland, with the Trump administration authorizing construction there rather than domestically because of "urgent national security needs" in the polar region. (from @wyattwolson.bsky.social)

ICYMI: David Slater, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, was sentenced this week to nearly six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to disclosing national security information about the Russia-Ukraine war to someone claiming to be a Ukrainian woman he met on a foreign dating site.

The government of Grenada said Thursday it is "carefully reviewing" a request by the Trump administration to deploy radar and other equipment in its territory as part of the U.S. campaign against drug cartels operating from Venezuela.

U.S. soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in Italy are taking insights gleaned from their Ukrainian counterparts fighting Russia to shape the Army's future battlefield capabilities.

The federal government shutdown has grounded the Blue Angels from its crowd-pleasing, stunt-filled airshow at San Francisco's Fleet Week. But Canadian air force pilots and Colombian sailors will be on hand to make sure the show goes on, organizers said this week.

Venezuela's government has requested an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on recent U.S. military actions in the Caribbean, accusing the Trump administration of seeking to topple President Nicolás Maduro and threatening "peace, security and stability regionally and internationally."

With the federal government shutdown in its second week and an end not apparent, U.S. service members in Japan are making plans to weather a lengthening closure. (from @alexmwilson.bsky.social & @brianmcelhiney.bsky.social)

Israel's Cabinet early Friday approved President Donald Trump's plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas, a key step toward ending a ruinous two-year war that has destabilized the Middle East.

About 75 U.S. service members are volunteering to keep score for professional golfers and collect information for broadcasters during the PGA Tour's event this week at Yokohama Country Club.

A federal judge partially blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to the Chicago area, but did not detail specifics in her ruling Thursday.

The United States is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, non-governmental organizations and private sector players, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Expedited tests of all water sources at U.S. military bases on Guam have determined the water "safe to drink," according to the joint command.

GREAT NEWS, RUNNERS! 🏃🏽‍♂️🥇 The Army 10-Miler will step off at the Pentagon on Sunday morning as initially planned after they spent recent days considering canceling the event amid the federal government shutdown.

Once popular gathering spots and community hubs, many local veterans posts have closed as participation from younger generations drops and shows scant signs of a turnaround. “I’m not about to join a local post, drink stale beer and talk about stories from the past,” one veteran said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has proposed that Qatar could mediate to end the U.S. military presence in international waters near Venezuela, shortly after he said Colombians may have been aboard a small boat the U.S. attacked last week.

A parade of ships streamed up and down the Delaware River beside Philadelphia to kick off a celebration of the 250th birthdays of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach had planned to retire before receiving a call to be the next Air Force chief of staff. “I said yes because I love this country, and I love the Air Force.”

Some civilian workers assigned to Navy bases overseas are getting the service’s help explaining to their landlords why their rent may not be paid on time as the partial government shutdown enters its second week. Check it out:

SPORTS: The Dragons overcame a penalty- and mistake-filled first half to score 21 second-half points and pull away from Nile C. Kinnick for a 35-13 victory at newly inaugurated Red Devils Field. It was the first game for both teams after the one-week layoff due to the government shutdown.

Staff with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said the remains, recovered in Papua New Guinea, have been identified as that of U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade Ell T. Simantz.

SPORTS | If the Panthers defeat winless Osan in the season finale they’ll advance to play Matthew C. Perry in DODEA-Pacific’s Division II title game.

U.S. service members in Japan were looking for low-interest loans and visiting food banks as an end to the 9-day-old federal government shutdown appeared nowhere in sight.

SPORTS | Tennis and volleyball summaries from DODEA-Pacific teams in action Oct. 9. Here's what you missed:

STORM TRACKER: Tropical Storm Nakri remains forecast to steer well clear of Okinawa, passing about 180 miles northeast of the island early Saturday morning, packing middling tropical-storm intensity. We'll track the storm for you. Stay informed: www.stripes.com/theaters/asi...

California is challenging President Donald Trump’s grip on the state’s National Guard, telling a federal court the White House used claims of unrest in Los Angeles as a pretext for a deployment that has since expanded nationwide — including now sending troops to Illinois.

President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Illinois is facing legal scrutiny at a pivotal court hearing, a day after a small number of troops began protecting federal property in the Chicago area.

Soldiers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade are taking insights gleaned from observing and advising their Ukrainian counterparts fighting Russia to shape the Army’s future battlefield capabilities.

A construction team inadvertently unearthed a World War II-era explosive device at the Port of Long Beach in California.

A retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who disclosed national security information about the Russia-Ukraine war to someone claiming to be a Ukrainian woman he met on a foreign dating site was sentenced Wednesday to federal prison time.

KTOWN NOW: Celebrate fall in the Kaiserslautern Military Community with these festive events scheduled for this weekend!

#ARCHIVES: US troops train with Iraqi soldiers, 2004 Cpl. Keith Brumlow, right, and Pfc. Nicholas Davenport, left, of the 1st Armored Division, go through close quarter combat training with members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps at Firebase Melody in Baghdad.

FROM THE ARCHIVES | Here's a look back at Firebase Melody in Baghdad.

U.S. service members are volunteering to keep score for professional golfers and collect information for broadcasters during a PGA Tour event at Yokohama Country Club this week.

Expedited tests of all water sources at U.S. military bases on Guam found only a minute presence of a banned pesticide at two wells at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, according to Joint Region Marianas.

WATCH: The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, with sailors in their summer whites manning the rails, recently concluded a decade with the U.S. 7th Fleet and sailed away from Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. Read more about the Benfold here: bit.ly/4h4tybR 📽️: Akifumi Ishikawa / Stars and Stripes

About two-thirds of respondents to a recent poll back bigger European defense budgets, a slight downtick from a year and a half ago, but a result that shows residents are still largely on board with the repeated calls for NATO members to spend more on their militaries.

A new Pentagon barracks task force unveiled this week is charged with tackling the U.S. military's persistent base housing woes that have plagued personnel worldwide, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding a strategy within 30 days.

A man who fatally struck a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in a vehicle collision on a Washington interstate, then carjacked another vehicle to flee, was sentenced this week to nearly four years in prison.

UPDATE | A military spokesperson says an “element” of the 200 Texas National Guard troops deployed to Illinois has now started protecting federal property in the Chicago area.

Build up to bed down: The U.S. military is moving ahead with plans to develop a Norwegian airfield into a "bed-down" site where American and NATO allied forces can be deployed in a crisis.

PACIFIC STORM TRACKER | U.S. bases on Okinawa entered Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 3 on Thursday morning in advance of Tropical Storm Nakri. Nakri is currently forecast by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center to pass about 220 miles east of Kadena Air Base early Saturday morning.

Facing a deadline next week on whether to sign a statement acknowledging new restrictions on how they do their jobs or risk being thrown out of the Pentagon, journalists who cover the U.S. military appear headed toward a showdown with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Japanese prosecutors this week indicted a U.S. Navy officer accused of striking an 87-year-old pedestrian with his car. (from @hanakusumoto.bsky.social & @alexmwilson.bsky.social)

Senate Republicans voted down legislation Wednesday that would have put a check on President Donald Trump's ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels after Democrats tried to counter the administration's assertion of presidential war powers to destroy vessels in the Caribbean.

The Marines of Rotational Force-Darwin are headed home after a six-month deployment filled with military exercises and disaster relief missions across Australia and the Philippines.