When compared to a rifle, though, a shotgun is less capable on the battlefield because it holds less ammunition, has a significantly shorter range and delivers more noticeable recoil. It also poses logistical hurdles. Someone has to carry it along with ammo that’s incompatible with other squad weapons.

In a nutshell, that’s how anti-drone ammo was born. Connor Schnepf, co-founder of the Arizona-based company Drone Round, explained that about a year ago, he and his partner were already making targets in the defense space when they learned that shotguns weren’t really working to address the military’s drone problem.

“It kind of sparked the idea with one of our other business partners. He was like, ‘Hey, we make ammo. Let’s make a rifle cartridge that almost simulates a shotgun that you can use in a regular battle rifle to shoot down drones,’” he said in an interview with Fox 10 Phoenix.

A small unmanned aerial system, or UAS, equipped with an explosive device can be used to destroy major infrastructure and expensive equipment. In turn, traditional counter measures prove either to be ineffective or too expensive to deploy. Therefore, the U.S. military is prioritizing inexpensive yet practical solutions.

Although Drone Round isn’t the only company making anti-drone ammo, the Marine Corps said in a notice of intent filed in June that its 5.56 L Variant is the only kinetic munition currently available in the commercial and defense marketplace that meets the service’s minimum standards for immediate counter-drone defense.

“Specifically, this round is the only solution offering ‘drop-in’ compatibility that requires no physical modifications, specialized upper receivers, or distinct weapon platforms to be operable in current-issue Marine Corps 5.56mm weapons,” the announcement said, referring to the M27 and M4A1.

Last week, the service confirmed with Task & Purpose that it has already bought 400,000 rounds from the company and plans to buy another 1 million in the next fiscal year.

Justin Lawrence, the company’s other co-founder, explained that the L Variant functions like a standard 5.56mm cartridge, but it has multiple projectiles.

“It’s essentially five bullets coming out of one trigger pull. Basically, what the real technology and advantage is sticking with the one caliber in a rifle platform, your soldier [or] warfighter is already carrying,” he said. “So you don’t have to change to a 12 gauge because these FPV drones move very fast and it’s something you need to have very quickly.”

From a logistical standpoint, a single magazine loaded with anti-drone ammo replaces an entire weapon system or expensive countermeasure.

Schnepf added that although they came up with the idea about almost a year ago, they didn’t have the ability to scale production, so they partnered with the Idaho-based Freedom Munitions. He said together, they now produce millions of rounds per month.

“The capability truly fills a gap in what we call counter UAS or counter unmanned aerial systems, so it is a needed solution … It’s like, you know, we brought water to a desert and they can’t keep enough of it because it’s so needed.”

SOFWERX, in collaboration the Marine Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC, is hosting an event in mid-September to develop ways to replace manual steps for documenting serialized inventory with digital and automated tools.

The July 27 announcement said the event’s purpose is “to design a secure, zero-signature automated armory that relies exclusively on optical recognition and computer vision.”

But here’s the catch: the tools cannot use RFID — the most common technology for tracking inventory — or active Bluetooth or radiating digital transmitters.

“Instead, this event challenges industry partners to develop a passive, image-based inventory system where weapons, gear, and serial numbers are automatically tracked, verified, and logged simply by taking a digital photo or scanning an optical image as items enter or exit the facility,” the invitation said.

It explained that the current process requires a person to manually inventory weapons using handwritten forms, resulting in repetitive data entry and multiple independent records.

“These processes are labor intensive, susceptible to human error, and consume significant man-hours while increasing accountability risk,” it said.

While eliminating “slow, legacy paper-based workflows and human-error bottlenecks,” the desired application would guarantee “absolute property accountability without exposing our facilities to electronic detection.”

Around 2010, the U.S. military began using RFID tags as a practical and simple way to keep track of weapons, but later discovered the technology can pose a major security concern.

An RFID tag, like the ones used by the military, consists of a microchip and a small antenna and does not require a battery. It is programmed with a unique ID signal that can only be activated by a reader.

Once a tag is read by a reader, that reader can be used to continue to track the weapon or clone the ID signal, creating a security risk.

Companies interested in attending the event must submit a request by Aug. 16. While the initial meeting will begins Sept. 17, additional events are planned throughout the year and and will conclude in December.

According to the July 1 policy message, the service announced the Voluntary Enlisted Early Release Program as “a deliberate force-shaping initiative” that allows eligible Marines to apply for separation before the end of the fiscal year.

Yvonne Carlock, a spokeswoman for the service’s Manpower and Reserve Affairs, told USNI News that the program was “designed to balance the Marine Corps’ end strength and ensure long-term fiscal health and operational readiness.”

The program allows certain enlisted Marines to leave active duty early if they meet eligibility requirements. According to the message, eligible Marines must serve in one of 24 military occupational specialties and have an end-of-active-service date on or before Sept. 30, 2026.

The eligible fields range from infantry jobs and amphibious vehicle crews to Marine Corps band members and other specialties.

The move comes despite the Marine Corps meeting both its recruiting and retention goals ahead of schedule last year. Earlier this year, the service also offered reenlistment bonuses of up to $50,000 for select enlisted jobs.

The early-release program appears aimed at reshaping specific career fields rather than reducing the force broadly. The Marine Corps has not publicly identified how many Marines it expects to separate through the program or explained why the 24 military occupational specialties were selected.

A review of Marine Administrative Messages shows the Marine Corps has announced at least four voluntary separation programs since 2020.

In 2025, the service offered two early separation programs for enlisted Marines but did not specify which military occupational specialties were eligible.

In 2021, the Marine Corps allowed enlisted Marines and officers serving on tank crews to apply for voluntary separation as the service moved away from its tank battalions.

The announcement sparked speculation that similar barracks could be built elsewhere, but the service said the Okinawa complex is a unique case rather than a blueprint for installations in the United States.

A Marine Corps official told Task & Purpose this week that the service has no plans to build similar barracks for corporals and below at its U.S. bases.

The official said the Okinawa project differs from typical Marine Corps barracks because the Japanese government funded the $320 million complex as part of an agreement between the United States and Japan.

The official defended the service’s existing shared-room model, saying it “promotes camaraderie and small-unit leadership, which are foundational to the Marine Corps ethos.”

The official added that shared rooms also make more efficient use of available space and resources, “maximizing our ability to provide quality housing for all personnel.”

News of the private rooms was first reported by Stars and Stripes, which attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility in June. About 1,100 Marines are expected to move into the new barracks complex in August.

Joseph Scala, director of Camp Hansen, where the barracks are located on Okinawa, described the facility as “just phenomenal.”

“If I was Joe Scala, lance corporal, way back when … I would love to live here,” he told the outlet.

According to the Marine Corps, construction of the three new barracks was completed in May. In addition to private bedrooms, each unit includes a kitchenette, washer and dryer.

In announcing the project, the service called the facilities “a major step forward in the Marine Corps’ initiative to enhance the quality of life for enlisted Marines and Sailors.”

The guidance is considered “interim” because it has not yet been incorporated into the Marine Corps Safety Management System, but it remains in effect until it is formally adopted or superseded.

The new guidance directs commanders and officers in charge to ensure personnel receive training on the causes, prevention and treatment of heat and cold stress injuries. Leaders also must develop standard operating procedures for training and operational activities conducted in hot and cold environments.

Required training includes work-rest cycles, heat flag warning systems, the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index and the wind chill index. The guidance also stresses the importance of trained medical personnel in evaluating and treating Marines who suffer heat or cold injuries.

In addition to requiring medical personnel assigned to Marine units to maintain rapid response plans and designated cooling or warming areas, the guidance notes that personnel exposed to excessive heat stress may require evaluation by a qualified health care provider to determine whether they have suffered a heat-related injury.

The guidance places particular emphasis on using the WBGT index to assess environmental heat stress. Unlike the standard heat index, which measures only temperature and humidity, the WBGT factors in direct sunlight, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover, providing a more complete picture of conditions that can contribute to heat illness.

Additionally, the guidance has reporting requirements in that the unit safety representative must enter all confirmed heat or cold injuries into the Risk Management System.

The updated guidance comes as weather-related injuries continue to affect all branches of service.

According to a recent report by the Military Health System, 2,751 servicemen and women experienced heat-related injuries — heat exhaustion and heat stroke — in 2025 with the Marines reporting 641 of them. However, the data also shows that the total number of cases for the Marines dropped from 655 the year before.

As for cold weather injuries, the service reported 107 cases, likewise the second-highest total behind the Army. Those included 40 cases of non-freezing peripheral injury, commonly known as trench foot, 49 cases of freezing peripheral injury, or frostbite, and 18 cases of hypothermia.

According to Task & Purpose, which first reported on the message, this is the first update to the service’s heat and cold injury prevention guidelines in 11 years.

Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross, the director of the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Defense Department’s lead organization for countering drones, described the handbook as “not a technical manual or detailed set of rules” but rather “a common foundation to shape our collective approach to this challenge.”

Using conversational language, freehand sketches and relatable references, Small Drones, Big Problems: A First Principles Approach to Countering-UAS makes the information approachable.

Inside, the handbook introduces the concepts of drones and drone protections. It offers guidance such as “The Four Ps of Drone Threats” and “The Five Ds of Protecting Against Drones,” as well as simple definitions of technical concepts and procedures.

But more importantly, it offers a perspective.

In the opening chapter, the handbook shares a brief anecdote from 1939 about the “happy time” for Nazi Germany because Allied Forces did not yet know how to react to U-boat operations.

“But the ‘happy time’ didn’t last forever,” the handbook reads. “British and American ships learned to adapt to the threat by implementing a convoy system to protect shipping lines, using escort ships, and developing new technologies like sonar, radar, and depth charges.”

The handbook grounds the subject for drone threats, explaining that technology in warfare has always changed, but weapons and equipment don’t win wars alone.

“Learning militaries adapt and innovate, repurposing existing defenses and building new ones to address vulnerabilities exploited by drones,” the handbook reads. “They change how they think about drones and how they fight.”

While a majority of the 100 pages is dedicated to applying tips and techniques to prevent or avoid drone attacks, it also offers a perspective on artificial intelligence, or AI.

“There is a temptation to talk about AI as either a savior or a threat, either a magical solution that fixes everything or a frightening force that removes human control. Neither description is useful. In practice, AI is far more neutral than either of these extreme perspectives suggest,” the handbook reads.

The handbook describes AI as a tool meant for helping analyze data by recognizing patterns and making predictions to assist humans in decision making.

“It does not replace judgment and disciplined decision-making. It does not understand intent or consequences. It does not decide what matters. What it does well is sort, compare, correlate, and highlight signals that would otherwise be lost in the noise,” the handbook reads.

The handbook argues that AI tools can be used for “helping humans apply the principles of detection, denial, disruption, defeat, and discipline more effectively.”

“When protecting against drones, AI is not only useful in moments of crisis, when stress is high in a (Base Defense Operations Center) or when a patrol is already reacting. Its value extends across the entire protection challenge, long before a drone poses a threat,” the handbook reads.

Army Maj. Joe Amoroso, deputy chief of strategic initiatives for JIATF 401, said the handbook offers “vital first principles” to help in “countering the defining threat of our time.”

“It is crucial to build a common foundation for counter-drone efforts as we work with the entire government and interagency partners to respond to this growing threat,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Matthew Tracy, commanding general of the service’s education command, described the Marine Corps Uniform App as giving “immediate access to the guidance they use most often.”

“It is designed to make existing standards more accessible while reinforcing the professionalism and attention to detail that define our Corps,” he said.

Although the service’s uniform regulations are available online, the 263-page document written in Courier typeface isn’t exactly easy to navigate. The new app simplifies that guidance into a much more accessible format.

In a press release, the service said the application is intended to supplement, not replace, MCO 1020.34.

“While it answers many of the most common questions regarding uniforms and grooming, Marines should continue to consult the order for comprehensive policy and detailed guidance,” the service said.

The app’s home screen features six categories: male officer, female officer, male enlisted, female enlisted, male grooming and female grooming.

Selecting a category opens a list of approved and required uniforms for physical training, utilities, service and dress. Each entry includes a description explaining when the uniform is worn.

For example, the app describes the Male Officer Evening Dress uniform as intended for “Field Grade and General Officer white/black tie events and social functions.” It also notes that “It is not a leave and liberty uniform.”

Each uniform page includes a full image of the uniform with every component highlighted. Users can tap individual items or accessories to view additional details. And each component page includes reference images, wear instructions and the applicable regulation.

The grooming guides are more concise. They use dropdown menus to display only the standards relevant to each grooming category.

The service said the uniform app is currently available through the Apple App Store, while an Android version is expected sometime in fiscal year 2027.

On Tuesday, the service announced in an administrative message the creation of the new primary military occupational specialty 0315 Scout.

Lt. Gen. Jay Bargeron, deputy commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations, called the new MOS “a critical step in the modernization of our infantry battalions.”

“These Scouts will be our eyes and ears, extending our sensing capabilities and enabling commanders to make faster, more effective decisions to win our nation’s battles,” he said in a press release.

The service said the specialized MOS was born out of “extensive live-force experimentation” — or combat simulations — that highlighted the need for a dedicated battalion-level formation to collect timely and accurate information on the enemy and operating environment.

According to the announcement, scouts will operate as a 26-Marine platoon within a battalion. They will be trained in field craft and advanced communications to conduct ground reconnaissance, surveillance and battlespace shaping through assured long-range communications.

Scouts will carry advanced optics, communications suites, sensors and unmanned systems for reconnaissance missions. They will also be armed with the M4 Service Rifle, M320 Grenade Launcher and M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, or IAR.

Each scout team will also include a Joint Fires Observer, or JFO, to coordinate and control surface-to-surface and air-delivered fires.

To become a 0315 Scout, Marines must complete either the Infantry Common Core Course or the Infantry Rifleman Course, followed by the Ground Reconnaissance Course.

Marines seeking to convert to the new MOS must complete the required training. However, 0317 Scout Snipers will be immediately eligible for a lateral transfer without additional training.

The new MOS takes effect Oct. 1, 2026.

That may be changing.

In January, Marine Corps University began using a modified version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare at its sergeant’s course in Quantico, Virginia, to help strengthen leadership, communication, critical thinking and decision making under pressure.

The program, called Research into Competency Acquisition with Novel E-gaming, or R-CANE, was developed through a partnership with Virginia Tech and the University of Memphis with funding from the Office of Naval Research.

Brig. Gen. Matthew Tracy, commanding general of Marine Corps Education Command and president of Marine Corps University, described R-CANE as enhancing “natural intelligence” rather than traditional training. Although the game has Marines playing avatars that use weapons and fight enemy combatants, he said the purpose is improving cognitive performance.

“What the game allows us to do is manipulate that cognitive load on the Marines’ actual brain and their ability to take in information, process that information, observe, create a plan on the fly, articulate that plan amongst their team, reassess that plan, create another one, rearticulate that, all as they’re being loaded with information coming in,” he told Military Times.

Tracy said that he will “pounce” on the word “training” when it comes to describing the program because he thinks it would benefit anyone in any profession or job set, ranging from a sniper to NFL player to cocktail party host and even to a writer.

“Who would not benefit from enhanced brain performance?” he inquired.

Inside the program

Louis Hickman, an assistant professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Virginia Tech and principal investigator of the project, said Marines are grouped into teams of six, with one Marine assigned to lead the other five. Wearing gaming headsets and sitting behind monitors, they work together as a fireteam to complete missions.

Hickman said the 14 custom-designed levels vary in difficulty and mission. Easier scenarios help Marines familiarize themselves with the game, while more difficult levels challenge them to collaborate and adapt under pressure.

“The goal is not to train the Marines on military protocol,” Hickman said. “It’s to help concretize some of the lessons that are already taught in the sergeant school around leadership, communication and collaboration.”

Gameplay footage shared with Military Times shows Marines clearing an office building before facing a sudden shift in mission: enemy combatants surround the building, forcing the team to move to an extraction point.

The increased pressure quickly creates chaos. Players are killed and respawned to continue the mission, forcing rapid communication and adaptation under stress.

Throughout the exercise, observers monitor player reactions, positioning and communication. Once the level is complete, a large language model, or LLM, trained with military policy, generates prompts for an after-action review.

“The goal is to get the Marines to engage in reflection and metacognition to help concretize potential learnings from the gameplay scenario,” Hickman said.

He added that players may not fully benefit from the experience unless they take time to reflect on what happened and consider how it would translate to a real-world engagement.

A review from the classroom

Master Sgt. Christine Monroig, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge at the sergeant school, said in an email to Military Times that she was initially skeptical of the program but came to see how it could benefit participants after experiencing it firsthand.

“I quickly recognized its value as an innovative training tool that complements traditional instruction by enhancing communication, decision-making, adaptability, and cognitive performance in a dynamic and engaging environment,” she wrote. “Rather than replacing existing methods, it serves as an additional capability that can further prepare Marines for the demands of future conflict.”

Monroig said she had very little experience with video games — mostly classic titles like Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog — and limited familiarity with the concept of neuroplasticity, or the nervous system’s ability to adapt, but found that the scenarios closely aligned with warfighting principles taught at the school.

“While I cannot compare it directly to the commercial game, I can attest that the mission-focused design of the training supports the development of skills that are relevant to warfighting and small-unit leadership,” she said.

She added that the program cannot fully replicate the physical demands of live exercises, but it does create cognitive stressors that force Marines to work together and think quickly.

“One of the most valuable lessons I gained was a greater appreciation for the cognitive aspects of learning and performance,” she said. “As Marines, we are often focused on mission accomplishment and operational effectiveness, but this experience encouraged me to think more deeply about how Marines learn, adapt, and develop decision-making skills.”

Up next for the program

Currently, R-CANE is only available at the sergeant school in Quantico, where the school is equipped with 75 systems but has a capacity for 25 students.

Tracy said the deliberate rollout is tied to the program’s research goals. Each student undergoes cognitive testing before attending the course to establish a baseline and measure changes over time.

While the Marine Corps plans to expand the program to sergeant courses at other bases, such as Twentynine Palms and Camp Lejeune, Tracy said expansion will remain limited for now.

“We want to get more data before we start thinking big and asking for resources,” he said. “We have to ensure that we have a body of evidence that is rich enough and convincing enough before we make larger investments into other facets.”

Hickman said he believes video game-based learning could eventually evolve into direct military training applications, particularly for drone operations.

Rather than training on actual equipment, operators could use game-based systems that mirror real-world interfaces and physics without risking damage to costly hardware, he said.

Hickman also said expanding the program’s LLM capabilities could have applications beyond classroom gaming, particularly in after-action reviews.

He said traditional after-action reviews require a human facilitator and are usually conducted in group settings, making them difficult to scale. An LLM could provide a more flexible alternative when facilitators are unavailable.

“They have these large-language-model girlfriends. They have large-language-model tutors. They have large-language-model coaches,” Hickman said. “Here, we made a large language model after-action review facilitator.”

The long-term goal, he said, is to build an LLM capable of monitoring exercises and conducting after-action reviews not only for teams but for individual Marines as well.

“The long-term goal is to take those automated assessments from the scenario and use those as inputs in that large language model after-action review,” he said. “That way it has information about what went on so it can help guide that conversation in a more meaningful way.”

Correction: This story has been updated to include the correct modified Call of Duty video game used by Marine Corps University.

The new MOS, listed as 8899, creates a dedicated career track for Marine officers who earn their doctorate through the service’s PhD-Technical Program and serve in technical research and innovation roles.

In 2021, the service codified the Doctor of Philosophy career field to bolster its technical expertise by recruiting active-duty Marines officers to enroll in doctoral programs through MOS 8890. Although the track was initially listed as a primary MOS, the service cancelled that order in March 2025.

Nevertheless, lieutenant colonels and colonels who are accepted for the lateral move will be primarily responsible for leading and conducting original technical research programs and advising senior leadership at Marine Corps headquarters about them.

Some of the other duties include:

• Collaborating with external research organizations like DARPA, the Office of Naval Research, the Defense Innovation Unit and others.
• Advising and supporting senior leadership ahead of congressional testimonies on science, technology and technical issues.
• Expanding their technical expertise by publishing collaborative research, peer-reviewed articles, and attending conferences related to their field.
• Acting as a liaison to the Naval Postgraduate School to mentor resident master’s degree and PhD students, including junior 8890 Tech PhDs.

Besides completing the 8890 track, Marine officers must obtain a top-secret security clearance and pass an interview with a selection board, which will examine the Marine’s performance as an 8890 and determine if his or her degree aligns with the needs of the service. Once the MOS is assigned, the Marine officer must serve an additional 36 months of service.

With the publication of the message, the service will begin accepting applications for the lateral move immediately. The window to apply will remain open for a total of 60 days. Interviews will begin after the submission window closes.