Blake Stilwell

Blake Stilwell is a former Air Force combat photographer with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations and Middle Eastern Affairs. Instead of using those, he (eventually) became a writer. His work has appeared on Business Insider, Military Times, We Are The Mighty, Fox News, ABC News, NBC Sports, HBO Boxing, and at the White House. Blake is based in Los Angeles but is often found elsewhere.

Email: Blake.Stilwell@Military.com

Latest Articles

The First Recipient of the Air Force Cross Was the Only Casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis

For nearly two weeks in October 1962, the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation.

Tim Cruickshank had a storied career as a Navy SEAL before founding Bonefrog Cellars and Bonefrog Coffee. (Courtesy of Tim Cruickshank)

A Navy SEAL Founded Two Companies to Keep the Memories of Fallen Heroes Alive

Tim Cruickshank founded Bonefrog Cellars and Bonefrog Coffee in 2019 with the goal of sharing the stories of those who fought...

The USS Samuel B. Roberts was struck by an Iranian mine on April 14, 1988. Luckily a lot of lessons were learned from the attack on the USS Stark (seen here) the previous year. (U.S. Navy)

The Captain of a Navy Frigate Saved His Sinking Ship by Not Fighting a Fire

Cmdr. Paul X. Rinn was in command of the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts as it sailed into the Persian Gulf in...

The Bar in 'Top Gun: Maverick' Doesn't Exist, But You Can Visit the Real Location That Inspired It

The good news is that there's a place both exactly like it and even better at the same time.

Don't interrupt this guy while he's on the toilet. (U.S. Army)

The Ghosts of the US Military Academy at West Point

West Point is the oldest continuously active Army post in the United States, but before it officially became the U.S...

A Nonprofit Business Accelerator Is Offering Grants to Veteran Small Business Owners

If there's one problem veteran entrepreneurs have in getting their businesses off the ground, it's access to capital.

This article is going to make you want nachos. (Courtesy of Ricos)

A US Army Veteran Brought Stadium Nachos to America and the World

Who would have thought that a handful of tortilla chips, three slices of jalapeño and a cheese sauce that never congeals in...

he explosion of the Marine Corps building in Beirut, Lebanon on October 23, 1983 created a large cloud of smoke that was visible from miles away. (U.S. Marine Corps)

5 Surprising Facts About the 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing

A massive suicide bomber attack on the Marine Corps Barracks in October 1983 led to the eventual withdrawal of American...

This Cemetery Is the Final Resting Place for the Army’s ‘Dishonorable Dead’

The most infamous stories lie in plot E of the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in Northern France.

A Navy hospital corpsman treats a wounded Afghan in a Helmand province village. (NATO Training Mission Afghanistan)

Call of Duty Endowment's Call to Action to Recognize Medics and Corpsmen in Civilian Health Care

America needs its medical veterans, and former medics and corpsmen want to get to work.

Dan Blocker poses for a photograph dressed as his 'Bonanza' character, March 1, 1968. (Department of Defense)

‘Bonanza’ Star Dan Blocker Fought Communists in the Korean War

Dan Blocker fought in what is today North Korea for 209 days, receiving a Purple Heart.

The Best On-the-Job Training Advice Veterans Can Find

Even if a veteran doesn't have a mentor to help them through their transition to civilian life, there is still a lot of...

The Best High-Paying Jobs That Require Zero Experience

The hardest part about getting out of the military and finding a new job is the realization that no matter what job you get...

'Battle Bars' Wants You to Share the Stories of Your Local Heroes

Besides elevating the standard for protein bars, this veteran-owned business wants to do real good for vets and first...

Evan Hafer and Black Rifle Coffee Company employees. (Courtesy of Black Rifle Coffee Company)

The Barstool Fund and Black Rifle Coffee Want to Help Veteran-Owned Businesses

The Barstool Fund has raised $35 million to keep small businesses and their employees at work.

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Most Popular Military News

The altar of the main church for the House of Prayer in Hinesville, Georgia, features a large cross and a reference to a verse from the gospel of Matthew.

House of Prayer, a Church Accused of Squeezing Veterans for Benefits, Stripped of GI Bill Eligibility

A church former members have described as a cult has lost its GI Bill eligibility after two decades of allegedly bilking...

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., sits empty in the early morning a few hours prior to the 59th presidential inauguration.

Republicans Vow to Put 'Woke' Military in Crosshairs if They Win in November

Republicans will have more opportunities to take aim at Biden administration defense policies they've decried as "woke,"...

New Navy flame-resistant, two-piece organizational clothing prototype.

New Uniforms Coming for Sailors as Navy Looks to Leave Flammable Clothing Issue Behind

The Navy has ditched its iconic and beloved coveralls for sailors aboard ships for a new, two-piece uniform that was finally...

Front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington.

'Tens of Thousands' More Veterans Will Be Eligible for VA Health Care Starting Oct. 1

Under the toxic exposures law passed in August, several groups of combat veterans will be able to enroll in VA health care.

The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court Weighs Exception to Vets Disability Deadlines

In a case before the court Tuesday, an attorney for Navy veteran Adolfo Arellano said exceptions should be made "in cases...

Soldier takes the Army Combat Fitness Test at Fort McCoy.

The Army's New Fitness Test Is Here. For Real This Time. No, Seriously. But Its Future Is Uncertain.

A staple of military service, the fitness test has effectively been sidelined as officials tuned it and soldiers got familiar...

Latest Military Videos

Cost of Battle Comes at a High Price in Lyman

Recently liberated streets of Lyman in Donetsk still bear the scars of battle. Many are still without water, electricity...

Several Dead After Al-Shabab Attack in Somalia

Islamic extremist fighters on Monday targeted the local Somali government headquarters, leaving 20 people dead and 36 wounded in...

North Korean Missile Soars Over Japan

Recent images from North Korean state media show what Japan's defense minister said was the missile that Pyongyang launched...

US Provides $625m More in Military Aid to Ukraine

The US announced plans on Tuesday to provide an additional $625 million in military aid to Ukraine, a package...

Investigations and Features

Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol

What Happened to Members of the Military Accused of Storming the Capitol on January 6?

At least five service members allegedly were part of the deadly pro-Trump mob that assaulted the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Peter Antioho greets his son Mark to the world

Young and Dying: Veterans Are Getting Brain Cancer and Struggling to Get Benefits

A joint investigation by Military.com and Public Health Watch found that glioblastoma, while rare, has struck hundreds of...

Army News

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III provides testimony during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Defense Department’s fiscal year 2023 budget request in Washington, D.C.

Austin Orders Renaming of Bases that Honor Confederate Rebels

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday signed off on an independent commission's recommendations to rename military bases...

Army Vet Caitlin Bassett Finds Herself Playing an Army Vet on 'Quantum Leap'

"Quantum Leap," the hit sci-fi TV series from the late 1980s/early '90s, has been reconstituted and revived by NBC for the...

Navy News

A U.S. Marine with Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, holds the portrait of Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class (Fleet Marine Force) Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California, during a memorial service at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

Feres Helps Military Avoid Accountability for Harm. New Ruling Could Be a Chance for Justice.

On the nine-hour drive from their home in California's central valley to the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, south of Los...

Ensign Terrance Wever signals to an F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan.

USS Ronald Reagan Heads Back to Korean Coast After Latest North Korean Missile Test

The USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is returning to waters off the coast of South Korea in the latest show...

Air Force News

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rey Sedantes of the 61st Civil Engineering and Logistics Squadron at Los Angeles Air Force Base receives instruction on how to operate the Princeton Power Systems' bidirectional electric vehicle charging stations from vehicle operations contractor Oscar Machado during a training demo in El Segundo, Calif.

Air Force Looks to Alternative Fuel and Mini-Nuclear Reactors to Address Climate Change

The Air Force's 20-page Climate Action Plan comes as natural disasters have become a regular issue for bases, something...

The Air Force’s newest commissioned officers, part of Officer Training School class 19-07, throw their flight caps in the air following their graduation ceremony Sept. 27, 2019, in Montgomery, Alabama.

Ban on Pregnant Service Members and Civilians Applying to Air Force Officer Training School Lifted

Pregnant service members and civilians can now apply to Air Force Officer Training School, reversing the service's policy...

Space Force News

U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy chief of space operations for Operations, Cyber and Nuclear, speaks during the Air Force Association Schriever Space Futures Forum in Beverly Hills, California.

New Space Force Chief Confirmed

President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Space Force was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate, giving the service its second...

The Bronze Star is authorized by Executive Order No. 9419 on Feb. 4, 1944, and is awarded to a person in any branch of military service who, while serving in any capacity with the armed forces of the United States on or after Dec. 7, 1941, shall have distinguished him or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.

Space Force Guardians Are Officially Eligible for the Bronze Star and Other Awards, Biden Says

The changes made by President Joe Biden add the Space Force, founded in December 2019, into executive orders issued over the...

Marine Corps News

Feres Helps Military Avoid Accountability for Harm. New Ruling Could Be a Chance for Justice.

On the nine-hour drive from their home in California's central valley to the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, south of Los...

A gavel lays on the Uniform Code of Military Justice inside the 28th Bomb Wing courtroom at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., July 17, 2018. (Airman 1st Class Nicolas Z. Erwin/U.S. Air Force photo)

Judge Orders Navy to Review the Medical Discharges of at Least 3,700 Sailors and Marines

A federal judge decided last week that a policy used by the Navy to determine whether members were eligible for medical...

Coast Guard News

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy transits the Arctic Ocean to the North Pole

Coast Guard Reaches North Pole for Just 2nd Time. Then Crew Members Had Some Fun, Too

The U.S. Coast Guard and a crew of scientists journeyed to the North Pole — for only the second time in history.

Capt. Eric Jones, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle's commanding officer, shakes hands with Petty Officer First Class Henry Cylkowski after a promotion ceremony onboard the Eagle.

Coast Guard Suspends Policy That Booted Troops Who Weren't Promoted Quickly Enough

The move comes as Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan has pledged to make workforce management a top priority.