As its older sibling branches count centuries of service — the U.S. Army and Navy are older than the country itself — the Space Force’s few birthdays thus far “hold special significance,” a spokesperson for the force said.

While all eyes have been on the highly-anticipated Army-Navy academy football match Saturday, a quiet collaboration between the branches bore fruit at Cape Canaveral on Thursday.

The U.S. National Guard celebrated its birthday on Friday, 388 years after the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered the creation of three permanent militia regiments.

The seven-month deployment entailed high-profile exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea, the latter of which prompted flyovers by Russian bombers, and over a dozen port visits.

During the 2024 active season, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew 107 missions into 14 major storms — 12 of the Atlantic’s 18 named storms, and two of the Pacific’s 13 tropical cyclones.

The USS Beloit is named for the city of Beloit, Wis., which was a center for heavy industry in the early 20th century. Officials used the event to praise the U.S. defense industrial base and new littoral combat ships, despite the LCS program’s controversy.

The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Nantucket was commissioned at a ceremony in Boston, Mass., where it was moored “stern to stern” with the USS Constitution, the nation’s first warship.

“We’re making America more secure for sure,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. “But we’re also making history today — as the first woman commander of SOUTHCOM passes the baton to the first African-American commander of SOUTHCOM.”

While the U.S. Marine Corps’ birthday comes just days after the 20th anniversary of the battle for Fallujah, Marines across the country and around the world are celebrating with a forward-facing approach.

Veterans Day is observed on Monday, Nov. 11 this year. Here is a list of restaurants and businesses across the country who are showing gratitude to the nation’s veterans and active duty service members by offering free, or discounted products and meals.