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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As Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, a teenager was separated from his family at the airport and wound up on a plane without them. He's been in the U.S. ever since — alone.
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Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive is underway. Many wonder how successful it will be in pushing back Russian forces, but U.S. defense officials are calling the war a marathon, not a sprint.
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Analysis of what declining Army recruitment might mean for the U.S. moving forward.
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The NPR Taking Cover podcast team tracks down the family of an Iraqi man who was mistakenly killed by Marines.
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Pentagon officials met today with other nations supporting the war, and Kyiv says it's steadfast in pushing Russia out of the country altogether.
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President Biden is ordering the intelligence community to further secure sensitive information after a major breach, allegedly by a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman.
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NPR podcast Taking Cover delves into the worst Marine-on-Marine friendly fire incident in modern history.
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After a self-detonating drone killed an American contractor and wounded five soldiers, U.S. forces launched a retaliatory strike in Syria against a facility being used by Iranian-backed militias.
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As Russia's war with Ukraine reaches the one-year mark, many say the war is entering a critical phase. But some Republican lawmakers are raising questions about the ongoing support from the U.S.
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Russia throws new conscripts into battle — beginning a winter offensive in Ukraine. Ukrainians plan their own offensive soon. Can either side avoid a stalemate?