United States Army

Fort Drum, home to the 10th Mountain Division (LI), has been named 2026 Best Garrison for U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Western Hemisphere. The award recognized performance across categories including mission support, quality of life, real property, safety and security. In fiscal year 2026 the garrison sustained dozens of live-fire ranges and training areas supporting over 251,000 personnel, backed a zero-cost live-fire range conversion for new squad weapons, and trained hundreds of Soldiers on AI-based command and control systems.

Beyond readiness, Fort Drum modernized barracks, launched a fare-free installation shuttle, expanded childcare and spouse employment programs, and reduced crime and harmful-behavior incidents through targeted prevention efforts. It also secured a nuclear microreactor site under the Janus program and added solar capacity to boost energy resilience. The win positions Fort Drum to compete for the Commander in Chief's Award for Installation Excellence, which it previously won in 2020.

Lake County, Illinois voters pick a sheriff on Nov. 3. Democratic incumbent John Idleburg, sheriff since 2018 and a former federal Treasury agent, is seeking a third term after winning close and then wider margins in 2018 and 2022. His Republican challenger, Roman Buchberger, a retired Lake County deputy with 19 years on the job, including post-Katrina work in New Orleans, says the office suffers from "gross mismanagement," pointing to jail staffing shortages and inmates housed in McHenry County.

Idleburg touts gains against illegal guns and trafficking, an expanded K-9 program, and a citizen justice council. Buchberger calls for aggressive correctional-officer recruiting, improved jail rehabilitation programming, and a larger school presence for deputies.

All 14 of Georgia's U.S. House seats are up for election on Nov. 3, 2026, with major-party nominees now set in every district. Most incumbents, including Sanford Bishop, Brian Jack, Hank Johnson, Nikema Williams, Lucy McBath, Rich McCormick, Austin Scott, Andrew Clyde and Rick Allen, face challengers, while District 13 features state Rep. Jasmine Clark against Air Force veteran Jonathan Chavez. Candidates include political organizers, veterans, business owners, a physician, a microbiologist and several first-time contenders.

For prediction markets, the races hinge on incumbency, district partisan lean and name recognition, with most seats considered safe for the incumbent party but a handful, such as Districts 1, 2 and 13, drawing closer scrutiny.

Retired Lt. Col. David Gauntlett received the Bronze Star Medal with Valor during an Oregon National Guard ceremony in Salem on Oct. 19, 57 years after his actions in Vietnam. From May 12 to 14, 1969, then-Sgt. Gauntlett, a 20-year-old Air Force radio operator, stayed at his radio through three days of mortar attacks at Song Be in Phuoc Long Province, continuing to coordinate airstrikes despite a shrapnel wound. His 1969 award recommendation was lost until a fellow veteran rediscovered the original citation around 2000, launching a five-year effort involving Rep. Val Hoyle's office to validate the recommendation. Hoyle is pushing a National Defense Authorization Act amendment to prevent similar delays for other veterans.

Maui-based Alpha Inc. has been selected as contractor for a major restoration of East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. 2 in Hilo. The project will raise and realign nearly 4,500 grave markers, add burial section markers and watering stations, and carry out grading and soil and turf rehabilitation across 5.5 acres on Laimana Street.

The work is funded by a federal grant of up to roughly $6.1 million awarded in late September by the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration, with the state Department of Defense's Engineering Office overseeing construction. Work is slated to begin in early January and take about three and a half years to complete. The county Parks and Recreation Department, which handles day-to-day upkeep, welcomed the collaboration.

The restoration follows a 2021 VA Inspector General audit that found longstanding deficiencies at the cemetery, including improperly installed flat markers and grave sites left unmarked for years due to the county lacking funding and staffing to meet federal standards.

Phillip McCluskey, a former U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division investigator who now works at the U.S. Army Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, received the Veteran Servant Leader Award on Oct. 14 for his volunteer work with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. The award, presented by U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, recognizes veterans who continue to show leadership and service in their communities after leaving active duty.

McCluskey joined the Sheriff's Assist Team in 2022 after reading about a drug cartel placing a bounty on a sheriff's deputy. He reached out to Sheriff Mark Dannels, was connected with SAT commander John Black, and was later sworn in as a volunteer. Colleagues at the Electronic Proving Ground said his community service reflects the same dedication he brings to his civilian work supporting test and evaluation missions. McCluskey credited his family and fellow volunteers for supporting the effort, saying the team is motivated by duty rather than recognition.

Florida and Alabama National Guard units mobilized in response to a hurricane that left roughly 800,000 residents without power and caused significant flooding across the Florida Panhandle and surrounding region. At the peak of operations, more than 5,000 Guard members were activated, with Florida moving thousands of Soldiers and Airmen within 36 hours of impact to support 16 affected counties.

Guard members completed over 100 rescue missions, including saving a family from a sinking truck near Tallahassee, while clearing about 4,000 miles of roadway and removing more than 12,500 cubic yards of debris. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters assisted with damage assessments and transport to isolated areas. Alabama activated roughly 500 Soldiers who staged in the state's southern region, though the state saw less severe weather than expected. Officials noted the Emergency Management Assistance Compact remains available for additional interstate support, while other military units, including the Air Force Reserve's 403rd Wing and the Army Corps of Engineers, assisted with reconnaissance and flood-risk monitoring.