
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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A government shutdown is looming but not every federal office will close completely. Some critical services will continue as employees work without pay.
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As House Republicans struggle to keep the federal government open beyond September 30, NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with a trio of NPR correspondents about the potential impact of a government shutdown.
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At the Minnesota State Fair, Army recruiters are trying to entice young men and women to sign up. But they are facing serious challenges.
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Twenty-two years after the Sept. 11 attacks, different motivations are drawing Marine recruits into service. New recruits were born years after the attacks.
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For many Americans, 9/11 is now simply a date to mark, much like December 7th and the Pearl Harbor attacks. Even the military war colleges are moving on.
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Hundreds of nominees for military positions have been stalled as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., protests Pentagon abortion policy, and that total could swell to 650, the Pentagon says.
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Last night, eight of the Republican candidates running for president took the debate stage for the first time. They had one major point of disagreement: Russia's war on Ukraine.
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John Sopko has long been a U.S. government-appointed watchdog for how money was distributed in Afghanistan. He believes there are lessons that apply to aiding Ukraine's fight against Russia.
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Kabul fell to the Taliban close to two years ago, but desperate Afghans continue to flee, even taking the dangerous journey into the U.S. across the Mexican border.
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Kabul fell to the Taliban close to two years ago, but desperate Afghans continue to flee, even taking the dangerous route into the U.S. across the Mexican border. Here's the story of one such family.