There are dozens of military and intelligence exercises, war games, conferences, trade shows, and specialty conventions happening every month — both at home and abroad, from every branch of the national security world and their affiliated civilian contractors. We’ve bookmarked a select few, but by no means all, that we’re monitoring this week, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for the unusual or the absurd, the extravagant, the publicized and the secret. If you have any to add that you think are interesting, please let us know!

It’s after midnight. From this mountaintop perch, he can still see the radioactive remains of what used to be Washington, D.C., illuminating the horizon as he exits the helicopter. The nuclear glow serves as stark proof that the intelligence community failed to foresee and prevent the worst, but at least someone was smart enough to build this mountain bunker in rural Virginia for him and his fellow spies to regroup and survive. He opens the reinforced steel door and begins his descent.