Gina Harkins

Gina Harkins previously covered the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard for Military.com. She has covered troops and their families for nearly a decade, reporting from the U.S., Central and South America, and at sea. Before joining Military.com, Gina was a longtime reporter and managing editor for the independent Marine Corps Times. Her story on two recruits trapped at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina was runner up for the 2013 Military Reporters and Editors award for domestic military coverage. She holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and studied political science and international relations in her undergrad at Northeastern Illinois University.

Latest Articles

Why the USS Cole's Commander Pushed to Keep His Crew Together After Deadly Bombing

On Oct. 12, 2000, two suicide bombers in a small boat laden with explosives targeted the guided-missile destroyer Cole.

Marines Send More Embassy Guards to Haiti as Riots Turn Deadly

A squad-sized Marine detachment arrived in Haiti to bolster security at the U.S. embassy there as protests turned violent.

Amazon, SpaceX Leaders Will Headline Major Air Force Conference

Two business executives leading space travel and technology advancements will speak at the Air Force Association conference.

Ronald Shurer, Medal of Honor Recipient Who Died of Cancer at 41, to Be Laid to Rest at Arlington

Shurer died in May at the age of 41 after a years-long lung cancer battle.

Troops and Military Families Call for Change After El Paso, Dayton Shootings

"My family shouldn't be the ones who feel like they are in a combat zone."

Commissaries Limit Toilet Paper, Other Sales as Shoppers Hoard Supplies

Limitations will change from store to store, but directors are authorized to place restrictions on certain products.

The Military Doesn't Bar Troops from Being Members of Hate Groups. That Could Change

"Active participation" in groups that advocate supremacist, extremist or criminal gang ideologies is prohibited.

Trump Says Fired Navy Captain 'Wanted to Be Ernest Hemingway' in Warning Letter

Trump declined to offer his thoughts on whether Crozier should be reinstated as commanding officer of the USS Roosevelt.

Sgt. 1st Class Reymund Transfiguracion, with 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), died Sunday following wounds sustained during an Aug. 7 patrol in Afghanistan's Helmand province. (Army photo)

Army Special Forces Soldier Dies After IED Blast in Afghanistan

A Washington-based Special Forces soldier has died from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device.

A CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 465, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, flies back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar during the Marine Air-Ground Task Force demonstration at the 2018 MCAS Miramar Air Show on MCAS Miramar, Calif., Sept. 29, 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo/Julian Elliott-Drouin)

Four Marines Safe After Super Stallion Helicopter Catches Fire Mid-Flight

Four Marines were able to get out of a heavy lift helicopter safely after it made an emergency landing just miles from their...

Navy Esports Team to Resume Streaming on Twitch After Trolling Caused Weeklong Hiatus

The Navy is standing by its decision to block some users on its livestreaming channel.

U.S. Marines play a game of Memoir 44’ on Camp Schwab, Okinawa.

The Marines Are Pumping Millions into a High-Tech Wargaming Center. Here's Why

A new Marine Corps Wargaming and Analysis Center is expected to be up and running in Quantico, Virginia, by 2024.

A Navy esports team player holds a game controller.

Navy Kicks Sailor Off Esports Team After Racist Usernames Appear in Game Stream

A sailor has been kicked off Goats and Glory, the Navy's official esports team that streams on the video platform Twitch.

The fast-attack submarine Hampton surfaces through the ice in the Arctic. U.S. 2nd Fleet, which declared initial operational capability on Wednesday, now oversees all military missions and training on the East Coast and in the North Atlantic, where the Russians and Chinese have been active. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Thompson/Navy)

Navy's 2nd Fleet, Brought Back to Counter Russia, Is Now Officially Operational

The Navy's 2nd Fleet has reached initial operational capacity, its commander announced Wednesday.

Thomas Webster at a barricade line at on the west front of the U.S. Capitol

Marines, Infantry Most Highly Represented Among Veterans Arrested After Capitol Riot

More than 40% of the 32 veterans arrested after the Capitol riot are affiliated with the Marines.

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Most Popular Military News

President Donald J. Trump signs the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 at Fort Drum, New York, on August 13. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Scaggs)

Trump's Promises to Radically Change the Military

In this episode, we spoke to two experts with collective decades of experience in analyzing the promises President-elect...

The Battle over Veterans’ Health Care: How the Republican Majority Hopes to Reshape the VA

With the new Congress sworn in and President-elect Trump poised for his second inauguration, Republicans have queued up a...

Troop Pardons Set to Complicate Military's Muddled Response to Jan. 6

As Trump prepares to take office Monday, he has vowed to move quickly on a key campaign promise to pardon many, if not all...

Insert the "doink doink" from "Law & Order" here. (U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Joshua Magbanua)

Army Veteran Caught Faking Severe PTSD, Purple Heart Award to Steal $779,000, Feds Say

Kevin Paul McMains, of Milton, Florida, was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for theft of government money...

Biden Pardons Fauci and Milley in an Effort to Guard Against Potential 'Revenge' by Trump

Retired Gen. Mark Milley says he’s grateful to President Joe Biden for a pardon.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Trump Vowed to End the War in Ukraine Quickly but Moscow and Kyiv Are Digging in Before Any Talks

Both sides have taken tough negotiating postures that leave little room for compromise.

Latest Military Videos

President-Elect Donald Trump Pays Respects To Former President Jimmy Carter in the Capitol Rotunda

President-elect Donald Trump, who has alternated among praising, criticizing and even mocking Jimmy Carter, came Wednesday to the Capitol...

Ukraine President Says Deadly Russian Strike On Zaporizhzhia ‘Absolutely Deliberate'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's latest attack on Zaporizhzhia, which killed at least 13 people and injured around...

Why Greenland? Remote but Resource-Rich Island Occupies Key Position in Warming World

Remote, icy and mostly pristine, Greenland plays an outsized role in the daily weather experienced by billions of people...

Denmark Prime Minister Responds After Trump Refuses To Rule Out Taking Control of Greenland

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the US Denmark’s “most important and closest ally" in response to President-elect Donald...

Investigations and Features

Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall and his wife Kate, cradle their daughter

Unsupervised: Military Child Care Centers Slow to Report Abuse with Little Oversight

A Military.com investigation into military day care centers revealed that service branch rules generally prioritize...

A patch in the home of retired missileer Paul Hunke

They Stood Sentry over America's Nuclear Missile Arsenal. Many Worry It Gave Them Cancer.

For years, it was an open secret among missileers that the Cold War-era missile alert facilities and launch control centers...

Army News

Space where a portrait of retired Gen. Mark Milley hung

Mark Milley's Portrait Disappears from Pentagon on Trump's Inauguration Day

The portrait of Milley hung in an ornate hallway that is dedicated to the history of the Joint Chiefs and displays 19 other...

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers

Veterans in Oath Keepers, Proud Boys Convicted for Jan. 6 Crimes Have Sentences Commuted by Trump

Five of the Oath Keepers who had sentences commuted by the president on Monday -- including Rhodes, who was facing 18 years...

Navy News

Boarding team members from USS James E. Williams board North Korean cargo vessel Dai Hong Dan to provide assistance on Oct. 30, 2007. (U.S. Navy)

That Time US Navy and North Korean Sailors Teamed Up to Battle Somali Pirates

While the United States isn't specifically required to help North Korea, an important part of the U.S. Navy's ongoing mission...

This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa.

Yemen's Houthis Signal They'll Now Limit Their Attacks in the Red Sea Corridor to Israeli Ships

The Houthis' announcement, made in an email sent to shippers, likely won't be enough to encourage global firms to reenter the...

Air Force News

Capt. Matthew Lohmeier instructs a trainee

He Met Trump After Being Booted from the Space Force. Then, He Was Tapped to Help Lead the Air Force.

In 2021, Lohmeier was fired from command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado by then...

Dr. Troy E. Meink, principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office

Trump Names Former KC-135 Navigator, Spy Agency Official to Be Next Air Force Secretary

Trump said on social media that Troy Meink, currently the principal director of the National Reconnaissance Office, was his...

Space Force News

He Met Trump After Being Booted from the Space Force. Then, He Was Tapped to Help Lead the Air Force.

In 2021, Lohmeier was fired from command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado by then...

Trump Names Former KC-135 Navigator, Spy Agency Official to Be Next Air Force Secretary

Trump said on social media that Troy Meink, currently the principal director of the National Reconnaissance Office, was his...

Marine Corps News

Gen. Eric M. Smith departs an UH-Y at Marine Corps Base Camp Schwab on Okinawa

'Going the Wrong Way:' Booting Marines from Okinawa Could Embolden China, Commandant Says

Gen. Eric Smith said the planned transfer of Okinawa-based Marines to Guam in the coming years will distance the force from a...

Troop Pay Is Competitive with Civilian Workers, Pentagon Finds in Quadrennial Review

The Quadrenial Review of Military Compensation was unveiled and reported that "the department's compensation package is...

Coast Guard News

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan delivers remarks

Trailblazing Coast Guard Commandant Fired by Trump Administration

Adm. Linda Fagan, the first woman to serve in the Coast Guard's top job, was relieved following the swearing-in ceremony for...

A Caucus of Military Veterans Seeks to Bridge the Political Divide in a Polarized Congress

In a deeply partisan Congress, one group of lawmakers with a shared background is working in a bipartisan way to try to pass...