Tom Bowman
Tom Bowman is a NPR National Desk reporter covering the Pentagon.
In his current role, Bowman has traveled to Syria as well as Iraq and Afghanistan often for month-long visits and embedded with U.S. Marines and soldiers.
Before coming to NPR in April 2006, Bowman spent nine years as a Pentagon reporter at The Baltimore Sun. Altogether he was at The Sun for nearly two decades, covering the Maryland Statehouse, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the National Security Agency (NSA). His coverage of racial and gender discrimination at NSA led to a Pentagon investigation in 1994.
Initially Bowman imagined his career path would take him into academia as a history, government, or journalism professor. During college Bowman worked as a stringer at The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. He also worked for the Daily Transcript in Dedham, Mass., and then as a reporter at States News Service, writing for the Miami Herald and the Anniston (Ala.) Star.
Bowman is a co-winner of a 2006 National Headliners' Award for stories on the lack of advanced tourniquets for U.S. troops in Iraq. In 2010, he received an Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of a Taliban roadside bomb attack on an Army unit.
Bowman earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont, and a master's degree in American Studies from Boston College.
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Striking a combative tone, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. media was more focused on "cheering against" President Trump than covering airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sites. -
The Pentagon provided a briefing on the U.S. airstrikes on Iran Sunday morning, after President Trump took direct action for the first time in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave new details Sunday morning about the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites. -
U.S. Northern Command says the infantry battalion would be supporting the National Guard troops "who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area." -
The memo obtained by NPR says troops would be used in activities, including in "night operations and rural interdiction," as well as "guard duty and riot control" inside detention facilities. -
As part of its "warrior ethos," the Pentagon has ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, named after the pioneering gay rights icon.
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There is a list of other possible name changes of ships named after prominent women and civil rights leaders, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly tells NPR. -
The NSC has traditionally played a pivotal role in advising the president for his biggest diplomatic and security decisions. But in Trump's second term, it has seen its influence shrink. -
If approved, the move would be the first time Guard troops at the national level have been asked to assist in the removal of migrants in the U.S. without legal status. -
Veterans and others express outrage as the Trump administration ends special protective status for Afghans who had relocated to the U.S.
