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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The State Department has shuttered the team involved in South China Sea security, getting rid of top experts on the subject at a time when the administration says security in the region is a priority. -
NPR has learned that the Pentagon has also approved the expansion of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for the same purpose. -
The Pentagon and U.S. military officials in Europe are working with NATO members to ship more Patriot missile systems to Ukraine and release more munitions that were briefly halted. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Federal authorities have restricted helicopter flights near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The move comes days after a deadly collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter. -
President Trump is eliminating federal DEI programs, including in the Department of Defense. He is also aiming to end investigations into extremism in the U.S. military.
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Already the subject of much public scrutiny, President-elect Trump's pick to lead the U.S. military, Pete Hegseth, appears on Capitol Hill today for the opening of Senate confirmation hearings.
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The new NPR podcast debuts Friday. It tells the story of Sergeant Josh Abate, who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 along with two of his fellow Marines.
