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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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces have begun their new offensive against cities in the east and south and that a "substantial part" of the Russian army is taking part. -
Some 13,000 Afghan refugees who escaped the Taliban forces find themselves in an Army base in rural Wisconsin. They await resettlement in communities across the nation. -
The U.S. promised to pull all troops out of Afghanistan by May 1 when it signed a deal with the Taliban last year. Now, it looks like it will miss that deadline as peace talks crawl along.
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The Pacific Deterrence Initiative aims to beef up the military in the Pacific and work more closely with partners and allies. But some experts are cautious about inflating the Chinese threat. -
The U.S. and NATO were to decide this week on whether to pull their troops out of Afghanistan at the end of April. But that decision was put on hold as the Biden administration reviews its options.
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The deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6 has forced military leadership to confront the threat of domestic extremism. Rioters that day included current and former service members.
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The nation's capital was quiet amid unprecedented security on Inauguration Day — but there were also celebrations for the history-making vice president.
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The source says the Pentagon was informed about 68 subjects in FBI domestic extremism investigations in 2020. The vast majority are former military, many with unfavorable discharge records. -
Joe Biden's inaugural will be one that we haven't seen before. Ten thousand National Guard soldiers will help provide security. And because of the pandemic, there will be no inaugural balls.
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"Military and some civilian leaders have been in constant damage control over the last four years. The old 'cleanup on aisle 4, then 6, then 8,' " a retired officer says of President Trump's tenure.
