For the almost 40% of the US military with real jobs. 

We talk business, news, and culture for the PART⚡TIME warrior.

This week:

• New BAH Rates Just Dropped: Check Yours

• The Pentagon REALLY Wants You Using AI

• My Homie Wrote a Book: Not Our Problem

• Reservists You Should Know: Adam DeRito

• USERRA Problems at Work? Hit up Brian Lawler

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — The Double Life of the Guard Operator

• News Roundup: What Happened Last Week?

Interested in becoming a featured newsletter sponsor? Want to be highlighted or contribute? Reach out to [email protected]

New 2026 BAH Rates Just Dropped…Check Yours Below

The Pentagon REALLY Wants You Using AI

The Pentagon goes all-in on AI. They want you using AI. Like really, creepily, want you using AI. The Defense Department just launched GenAI.mil, a new hub powered initially by Google’s Gemini for Government, giving troops and civilians a one-stop shop for gen-AI drafting, analysis, and decision support. The pitch: move faster than America’s rivals. The vibe: “use AI or Die”.

The DoD now has roughly 38 branch-specific AI tools, but only this one comes with a Cold War era, dictator-chic aesthetic poster campaign at the Pentagon. I’m not asking who owns stock in Google at DoW and neither should you.

Link to story

My Homie Wrote a Book: Not Our Problem

My dude and former VA National Guard infantryman Spencer Sullivan wrote a book with his Afghan interpreter. It's called Not Our Problem: The True Story Of An Afghan Refugee, An American Promise, And The World Between Them. The book tackles one of the most unique legacies of the Afghan war- the relationship between American service members and their Afghan counterparts. This is extremely topical given the recent shooting in DC and the fallout for the SIV program. Go pre-order a copy today, it helps get the story out to as many people as possible. Check out the book website for full details: NotOurProblemBook.com

Book Synopsis:

In an Afghan village, a boy learns his letters under a mullah's stick and dreams of a life free of the Taliban; in Virginia, a cadet learns to read a map and lead a platoon into combat. Years later, on a wind-scoured ridgeline overlooking Zabul Province, helicopters roaring overhead, Afghan interpreter Abdulhaq Sodais and U.S. Army Lieutenant Spencer Sullivan must learn to trust each other if they hope to survive.

In 2021, when the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan, the Taliban reassert their rule, disappearing, torturing, and killing U.S. collaborators, including Abdulhaq's fellow interpreters. Yet Abdulhaq's applications for asylum in America are repeatedly denied.

With the Taliban closing in, Abdulhaq embarks on a cross-continental trek toward freedom. Caught up in the global refugee crisis, Abdulhaq must surrender himself to safehouses and human smugglers while Spencer fights his own war back in the U.S. to honor America's promise.

Not Our Problem, a war memoir and refugee story revealed in alternating voices, follows an Afghan refugee and an American soldier across borders and continents, tracing the long distance between a promise and its keeping-interrogating a world in crisis while celebrating how friendship can outlast the war that created it.

Pre Order here. 

Reservists You Should Know: Adam DeRito

In our second iteration of Reservists You Should Know, we have another PART⚡TIME boi running for Congress, which is awesome. Is he also the grandson and heir of the inventor of Doritos? I don’t know, but let’s go with that.

Adam DeRito serves as a Civil Affairs operator Officer who thrives in the places where leadership, diplomacy, and grit intersect. Whether coordinating with partner nations or standing shoulder to shoulder with American soldiers, he brings a steady hand and a warrior’s sense of duty. Off the battlefield, Adam works in Colorado’s oil and gas industry, protecting communities and strengthening one of the most critical sectors in the state.

Now he is stepping forward to run for Congress in Colorado’s 8th District as a bold, proven, and principled voice for those who have worn the uniform and worn hard hats in critical infrastructure unions. Adam has spent more than 15 years fighting for veteran justice in Washington, pushing for real accountability and reforms that protect service members from abuse, neglect, and bureaucratic indifference. His commitment is unwavering. Put veterans first. Put America first. Ensure that every man and woman who served is honored with action, not empty promises.

Adam’s Campaign Website

X: @DeRito4Congress / @AdamDeRito Instagram: @DeRitoForCongress / @Adam.DeRito2010 Facebook: DeRito For Congress

Your Job. Your Service. Your Attorney.

Boss giving you grief about your military commitments? Call Brian Lawler.

If you’re running into problems with your employer due to your military service, contact Brian Lawler.

Brian’s a former Marine pilot, reservist, and one of the top USERRA attorneys in the country. He knows the law better than your HR department, and he’s made a career out of holding employers accountable.

Free consult. No win, no fee.
If your job’s on the line, Brian’s the guy you want in the fight.

Set up a meeting here.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - The Double Life of the Guard Operator

by Joel Hendry

photo cred: 20thspecialforces 

Part two of a three part series about National Guard Special Forces. 

To the average observer, the distinction between a National Guard Green Beret and his active-duty counterpart seems largely invisible. In the past decades of GWOT, operators from the 19th and 20th Special Forces Groups seamlessly integrated into global theaters and executed the same core special operations missions as their active-duty counterparts.

For a Guard Green Beret, the commitment goes far beyond the advertised "one weekend a month". Between scheduled deployment cycles and JCETs, Guard operators are consistently grinding to maintain perishable skills. In order to accomplish this, most units have moved to a MUTA 10 (five-day) drill model on a quarterly basis, with an additional school or two per year.

Whether it's shooting, breaching, language immersion (Duolingo streaks still count), or attending schools like Combat Dive and Military Freefall, it can be a significant time commitment, especially with a "real job". Guard SF guys may often spend almost a full year or two as a "Guard bum", bouncing from school to deployment and back to school, before they transition back to civilian life and career.

What sets the Guard component apart is the staggering depth of "non-military" experience found in a single team room. In the Guard, the 18B weapons sergeant doing weapons maintenance might be a database architect, the 18D could be a full-time trauma surgeon, a medical school student, or a big-city firefighter, and the 18C doing inventory is a construction project manager.

In many cases, it may be the opposite with SF medics as SWAT officers, weapons guys as consultants, or engineers as paramedics, bringing a unique level of cross-training from civilian to military careers. Others leverage full-time careers in the government, engineering, consulting, or corporate program management. A sizable percentage of our formations are prior active-duty soldiers, who bring even more depth of experience and knowledge from previous units and deployments. In short, this combination creates a unique unit capable of executing tactical operations while possessing the civilian acumen to address complex diplomatic and infrastructure challenges, no matter the mission.

Merch Up. Rep the P⚡T Culture or Design Your Own Custom Unit Gear

If you want to make baller ass unit gear repping our logo suite, check out The Fratty Guard Unit Collab Store.

Or for the GOAT classics, check out The Fratty Guard Store.

PART⚡TIME News: What Happened Last week

US seizes sanctioned oil tanker off coast of Venezuela, Trump says
Opinion | U.S. Military-Industrial Waste and the Cost of Forever Wars
Congress cracks down on veterans hiring companies for disabled recruits
National Guard, judge clash in LA over Trump order
In a surprise move, Congress reverses course, saves dozens of Navy Reserve centers
Troops to get 3.8% pay raise under proposed defense bill
Navy partners with Palantir on $448 million AI submarine and shipbuilding deal
House passes defense bill, raises troop pay and overhauls weapons purchases
Drill sergeants accused of covering up sexual assault of trainees

Support the Fight

If you support the work that Friendly Forces does, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help keep the lights on. Every bit helps. Turns out stuff is expensive and we put countless man hours into the work.

That’s it for this week.

Absolutely massive things coming.