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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Defense officials say that the hospital ship USNS Comfort will now accept patients with Covid-19. And, the acting Navy secretary has resigned over his handling of a virus-stricken aircraft carrier.
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Right now just over 2,000 members of the National Guard are assisting governors in 27 states, but the head of the National Guard Bureau said that number could double by this weekend. -
Following the December attack on a naval air station, the Pentagon has suspended training of all Saudi military students, as investigators conduct a review of the more than 800 students in the U.S. -
Defense Secretary Mark Esper says U.S. troops will be repositioned in Iraq, but will not leave the country. His comments come after a letter from the U.S. military suggested a withdrawal.
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Following the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed the top Iranian general, the U.S.-led military coalition fighting ISIS said it's temporarily stopping that fight to brace for retaliation from Iran.
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The U.S. has killed Iran's top military leader in a strike on Baghdad airport. The Pentagon says the general was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq.
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U.S. forces fighting ISIS could leave northeast Syria in just days. They are caught between two opposing armies: the Turkish military and Syrian Kurdish forces.
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Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi confirms that he's moved fighters to the border to protect Kurdish interests. He also denounced President Trump's claim that Turkey could lead the fight against ISIS.
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Two U.S. officials tell NPR that military leaders involved in countering ISIS were surprised by President Trump's sudden policy shift — pulling support for Kurdish allies from Northern Syria.
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President Trump says the U.S. Navy ship shot an Iranian drone down. That statement conflicts with those of Pentagon officials who say the Boxer used electronic jamming to take it down.
