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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Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer has been forced out by the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
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The Navy officer pardoned for war crimes by President Trump is expected to be removed from the SEALs. Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher and three other SEALs could be ousted from the elite force.
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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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The first day of a Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria is alarming U.S. allies there and could expand.
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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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In a series of tweets over the weekend, President Trump called off a potential deal with the Taliban, throwing into question a reported plan to draw down the troop presence there.
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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.
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Days after Turkey defied NATO and the U.S. by accepting the first components of an advanced Russian missile defense system, the White House says Turkey won't be able to buy 100 new F-35 fighter jets.
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Before the two tankers were attacked Thursday there were four other ships attacked in the last month around the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy watches the sea lanes there closely.
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Warships from the U.S. and Russia narrowly avoided a collision in the Philippine sea. The countries are blaming each other.
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Gen. Robert Neller will step down as Marine Corps commandant this fall. In a wide-ranging interview, he talks about Russia and China, cyberwarfare, female Marines and sexual assault in the Corps.