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The Duffel Brief · the free edition, Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Vol. 15 · No. 130 · Sunday, 1 November 2026

Veterans

Spirit Halloween store to become pop-up ICE detention center

DHS praises seasonal retailer's expertise in occupying abandoned buildings and disappearing overnight

Army FRG unveils haunted house featuring spouses saying ‘I’m fine’

Hasan execution venue double-booked with Comic-Con

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Vol. 15 · No. 130

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Vol. 15 · No. 130 · Deployed worldwide

Sunday

1 November 2026

1608 Zulu

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· Page 2

DoD: Spouses selling snake oil and potions at all-time high

Filed · 1538

THE PENTAGON — A thriving market of completely useless and laughably marketed schemes peddled by military spouses has exploded in military communities around the country this year, Pentagon sources said today.

According to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook, get-rich-quick pyramid scams like “It Helps!” and “Blexxus,” once derided as “clearly bullshit” and “obvious Ponzi schemes,” have proliferated at an alarming rate.

"The sudden growth has been attributed to the efforts of spouses running wild on social media, empowered by erroneously claiming to be small business owners," Cook said.

Service members around the Department of Defense have been complaining up the chain of command and on social media to vent their frustration. One junior Army Officer, seeking to remain anonymous, confided that the trend was getting out of control.

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