Kelsey Baker

Kelsey Baker is a Military and Defense reporting fellow at Business Insider. Previously, she spent six months at The Washington Post as a 2024 Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow on the general assignment and international desks. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and a Marine Corps veteran.

Latest Articles

In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide

Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark...

A U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor marches a platoon of recruits

Always Faithful, Always On: The Taxing Job of a Marine Corps Drill Instructor

Marine Corps drill instructors represent one of the most legendary roles in the military. From the 1987 war movie "Full Metal...

A drug user prepares heroin, placing a fentanyl test strip into the mixing container to check for contamination

'You Can't Fix the Problem If You're in Denial:' The Military's Surge of Fentanyl Overdoses

Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and tiny amounts can kill.

"Man/Ready" Vietnam by artist Paul MacWiliams.

How Trauma Before Service is Shaping a Generation of Troops

Acknowledging the prevalence of pre-service trauma -- and how it affects adult service members -- can be helpful for many...

An Army Initial Entry Training soldier naps

Troops Still Aren't Getting Enough Sleep, and the Defense Department Isn't Taking Responsibility, Watchdog Says

A recent GAO report recommends more top-level ownership in the military to help improve troop sleeping patterns.

U.S. Army soldiers with the Wichita Recruiting Company hosted a recruitment booth at Hutchinson

The Army's Recruiting Problem Is Male

A decade of declining recruitment numbers for the Army is almost entirely attributable to a significant drop in male...

Feds Arrest Former Navy Europe Commander Alleging Bribery Scheme that Led to $500,000 Civilian Salary

Robert Burke allegedly directed the lucrative Navy contracts to the company in 2021 while serving as a four-star admiral, and...

A cavalry scout fires the M17 9mm pistol at Fort Carson

31 Pistols Went Missing from Fort Moore, Georgia. The Army Is Offering $5,000 for Information.

The M17 is a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol with a 17-round magazine capacity. The handgun was adopted by the Defense Department in...

Veterans at Risk of Losing Homes Could Get More Time as VA Urges Extended Pause on Foreclosures

The VA's call aims to give nearly 40,000 veterans more time to find ways to stay in their homes, and comes just ahead of the...

Gavel and American flag with scales of justice.

Soldier Who Was Inspector General Noncommissioned Officer of the Year Faces Sexual Assault, Harassment Charges

Master Sgt. Christopher Dehn is set to be arraigned June 5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state on four counts of...

Veterans Affairs Department in Washington.

VA Says It Cut Wait Times for Primary, Mental Health Care as Veteran Enrollment Surged

The shorter waits come even as the VA has enrolled more than 400,000 veterans in health care over the past year, a 30%...

Clarence Sasser, Vietnam Medic Awarded Medal of Honor for Treating Troops Under Fire, Dies at 76

After returning to the U.S. from Vietnam, Sasser received his Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon in 1969, in a...

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Family Child Care provider

Military Must Focus on Efforts to Keep Its Child Care Employees to Shorten Waitlists, Watchdog Says

In 2022, turnover within the DoD child care sector ranged from 34% at Marine Corps child care facilities to 50% turnover...

The new Fort Liberty sign is displayed outside the base

Fort Liberty Soldier Sentenced to Over 3 Years for Romance Scams, Bilked Over $350,000 from Victims

Specialist Sanda G. Frimpong, who was serving on active duty until his arrest in 2023, was ordered to pay back over $350,000...

U.S. Marine retirement ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps

Marines Leaving Service Must Now Notify Corps at Least 6 Months Before Departure

Previously, Marines could resign or retire with as little as four months of advanced notification. The update went into...

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Most Popular Military News

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin

Air Force Chief's Sudden Retirement Raises Question of 'Who Is Next' in Leadership Shake-Up

Policy experts told Military.com that the departure raises alarm amid other leadership changes within the Department of the...

Boxes of the medications Wegovy and Zepbound

Pentagon Drops Coverage of GLP-1 Weight Loss Meds for Medicare-Eligible Retirees

Tricare officials said the Defense Health Agency is eliminating coverage for its Tricare for Life beneficiaries and others to...

Darryl Chavis, 62, served in the U.S. Army for 2 years as a watercraft operator. He stands outside the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence, a short-term housing facility in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., where he lives.

New Work Rules Could Deny Food Stamps to Thousands of Veterans

Able-bodied SNAP recipients who are between 18 and 54 and don't have children have always been required to work. Veterans...

Armed Officers place handcuffs on a man northwest Washington DC

Trump's Federal Law-Enforcement Crackdown Ripples Through DC Neighborhoods

The White House has credited Trump's crackdown with hundreds of arrests, while local officials have criticized the aggressive...

A screen from the 2013 movie 'Cliffy,' about an Australian potato farmer named Cliff Young who won a 544-mile ultramarathon in 1983.

How an Australian Potato Farmer Changed Running Forever

Released in 2013, the movie “Cliffy” chronicles Australian Cliff Young’s rise from a potato farmer to an ultramarathoner and...

A boat from Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound is shown in Elliott Bay, Seattle.

Family Questions Coast Guard Response to Fatal Sinking

The U.S. and Canadian coast guards responded to a sinking boat last week just off Point Roberts, a U.S.-controlled tip of a...

Latest Military Videos

Smoke Seen over Khan Younis in Gaza as Israel Set to Expand Military Operation

Smoke was seen billowing into the sky in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. (Aug. 20) AP

European Union officials gathered in a video conference call on Tuesday to discuss the outcome of a meeting between...

What to Know About Israel's Plan to Call up 60,000 Reservists

Israel is preparing to launch an expanded military operation in Gaza City, possibly in the coming days, even as...

US Special Envoy Tom Barrack Holds Meetings with Lebanese Leaders in Beirut

The US special envoy to Lebanon continued his meetings with Lebanese leaders in the capital Beirut on Monday. (Aug...

Investigations and Features

In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide

Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark...

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...

Army News

District of Columbia National Guard soldier keeps watch

Walks on the Mall, Shake Shack Burgers and a Car Crash: Scenes from the Guard's Deployment in DC

What started as an 800-troop mission for the D.C. National Guard has ballooned to more than 2,000 troops as Republican...

(Photo courtesy of author Jesse Schraub's family)

100-Year-Old Veteran Kept Jewish Prayer Book over His Heart as He Confronted the Holocaust

Among the challenges I faced was the growing, horrific knowledge of what Hitler was doing to my fellow Jews. I was angered...

Navy News

A U.S. Navy Sikorsky MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 maneuvers toward the U.S. Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14) during a vertical replenishment with the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA-5), not pictured, in the Pacific Ocean.

USNS Cesar Chavez Will Keep its Name, DoD Says

The USNS César Chavez will retain its name after Reps. Gil Cisneros and Sam Liccardo -- both Democrats from California --...

US Destroyers Head Toward Waters off Venezuela as Trump Aims to Pressure Drug Cartels

The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson are expected to arrive soon, said an official, who was not...

Air Force News

A photo of Senior Airman Joshua Aragon from Basic Military Training.

Airman Killed in Off-Base AK-47 Shooting Near F.E. Warren Air Force Base Identified

An airman stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, who died after being shot by an AK-47 fired through the wall of an off...

Air Force Chief's Sudden Retirement Raises Question of 'Who Is Next' in Leadership Shake-Up

Policy experts told Military.com that the departure raises alarm amid other leadership changes within the Department of the...

Space Force News

New U.S. Space Force dress uniform at Buckley Space Force Base, Colo.

Space Force Finally Has its Own Rulebook on Dress, Appearance Guidelines for Guardians

Since being established as the smallest service branch in 2019, the Space Force has used the same guidance given to the Air...

Former Space Force Sergeant Fatally Shot Teen in 'Vigilante Violence,' Colorado Officials Say

Orest Schur received a 54-year prison sentence after a jury in June found him guilty of second-degree murder and attempted...

Marine Corps News

US Naval Academy Gets First Marine Superintendent

Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1991.

Marine Corps Ranks: A Complete Guide to Enlisted and Officer Ranks

Explore U.S. Marine Corps ranks from private to general. Learn rank structure, pay grades, insignia and promotion paths in...

Coast Guard News