Task & Purpose: Leading the charge in military affairs

Task & Purpose is a leading American digital publication established in 2014, focusing on military affairs and the armed forces. With millions of monthly users, it features contributions from veterans, active-duty members, and civilians.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. History

3. Important Works

4. Contributing authors

Introduction

American digital publication Task and Purpose was established in 2014 and focuses on military affairs and the armed forces. Every month, they provide services to millions of users.

History

In 2014, Lauren Katzenberg, Brian Jones, and Zachary Iscol established Task and Purpose. The company was founded out of HirePurpose, a job board, and its first material was geared towards assisting veterans in getting back to life as civilians.

The CEO, Zachary Iscol, asked managing editor Adam Weinstein to rename a ProPublica article he had done on the Dept. of Veterans Affairs improper influence on the agency, which led to Weinstein stepping down in 2018. In an effort to exert excessive influence over ProPublica’s editorial autonomy, Weinstein claimed that Iscol completely disapproved of the editorial’s headline and the veracity of the material. In a bid to cater to more orthodox readers, Weinstein alleged that management—more especially, Iscol—had previously meddled in the writing process.

Paul Szoldra took over as editor-in-chief in October of 2018. Szoldra, a former member of the United States Marine Corps, is the creator of the well-known military humor site The DuffelBlog.

Task and Purpose revealed in 2019 that eight Navy personnel who worked on the Eddie Gallagher case had received the Navy Commendation Medal. President Donald Trump requested the medals to be revoked in response to the report.

October 2020 saw North Equity LLC purchase Task and Purpose.

James Clark was elevated to the position of deputy editor at Task and Purpose in March of 2021. Clark has more than six years of experience with the magazine.

Marty Skovlund Jr. assumed the role of editor-in-chief in November 2022. Marty was a Ranger in the Army and was a member of the 75th Ranger Division. He’s served in five combat tours. He served as Coffee or Die’s inaugural editor and became one of the first writers for Task and Purpose.

Important Works

Late actor Michael K. Williams and John Boyega starred in the film “Breaking,” which was based on an article written by Aaron Gell in 2018 titled “‘They didn’t have to kill him’: The death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley.”

Contributing authors

Task and Purpose has published works by over 500 contributing writers. A combination of active duty members, veterans, and civilians have written for these pages. Prominent writers who have written for Task and Purpose comprise former Senator John McCain and President Barack Obama.

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