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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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. -
Instructors at the Army's premier training ground for officers revealed the academic scandal on Monday, saying it's the worst they've seen since 1976. Some called it a national security issue. -
In the last weeks of the Trump administration, the U.S. is moving to close a two-decade chapter and withdraw from Afghanistan, causing great apprehension among Afghans as the Taliban step up attacks.
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If confirmed as defense secretary, retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin would be the first African-American to run the world's largest employer, with some 2.2 million servicemembers. -
In the final weeks of his administration, President Trump is pushing through policies and making appointments that his successor will have to contend with.
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The president has taken a series of abrupt moves, firing the defense secretary and announcing troop cutbacks in Afghanistan and Iraq. Critics say these actions have no clear strategic goal. -
A recent shake-up in senior leadership at the Pentagon has raised a lot of questions. Those questions increased with news about the administration's plan to pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
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A U.S official has confirmed with NPR that the White House is planning to cut the number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. This news comes in the wake of a shake-up in leadership at the Pentagon.
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The firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper was the beginning of a series of changes to top-level positions at the Pentagon.
