A submarine for the US government, 1806.

The Submerged History of the Submarine

Submarines played a major role in Word War I. But the first submersible was actually used, though unsuccessfully, in the Revolutionary War.
The first black marines decorated by the famed 2nd Marine Dvision somewhere in the Pacific. (Left to right) Staff Sgt Timerlate Kirven and Cpl. Samuel J. Love, Sr., received Purple Hearts for wounds received in the Battle of Saipan.

Who Were the Montford Point Marines?

The first African-American recruits in the Marine Corps trained at Montford Point, eventually ending the military’s longstanding policy of racial segregation.
A Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) California sea lion waits for his handler to give the command to search the pier for potential threats during International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX in Manama, Bahrain

Navy Seals: Why the Military Uses Marine Mammals

A beluga whale was suspected to be a spy. It's not as outlandish as it may seem.
Private Jessica Lynch Meets With U.S. President George W. Bush in the Oval Office June 17, 2004

How American Soldier Jessica Lynch Became a Symbol

Jessica Lynch was the first woman American POW to be successfully rescued. She became symbolic in ways that had little to do with the facts of her story.
Sacred Cow plane

National Security and the Rise of American Air Power

Intending to rein in spending, the 1947 National Security Act reorganized the military establishment.
Destroyers and aircraft carrier

Examining Trump’s Military Budget

The United States' calling card is its strong military. What role does military spending play in the federal budget? And is more always better?
James Mattis

How Trump’s Generals May Change Washington

President-elect Donald Trump formally named Marine ex-General James Mattis his nominee for Secretary of Defense, following his pick ...
NSA operations center

The National Security Advisor: A Primer

Presidents have appointed National Security Advisors since 1953. Since the 1960s, they've become increasingly powerful within the Executive Branch.
Mary Cassatt's The Young Mother

Maternity, #Meternity, and the Military

Maternity leave as we know it today may have its origins in turn-of-the-century French militarism.