Richard Sisk

Richard Sisk has more than 45 years of journalism experience in reporting and editing in the U.S. and abroad for United Press International, the N.Y. Daily News and now for Military.com. He has covered police beats, the courts, transportation and politics in New York City and Washington, D.C., and had numerous assignments in the Mideast, Europe and Latin America. He has covered six presidential campaigns and since 2016 has been Military.com’s Pentagon reporter. Sisk is a Vietnam veteran who served with the 2nd Battalion, Fourth Marines, in 1967-68.

Latest Articles

Lt. James Crotty as lieutenant junior grade aboard a Coast Guard cutter. (U.S. Coast Guard)

POW Hero: Coast Guard’s Jimmy Crotty Came Home After 77 Years

Jimmy Crotty’s courage under fire and in captivity became legendary — a story of sacrifice, endurance and homecoming.

The Little-Known Role of Jimmy Doolittle in Nagasaki Atomic Bombing

Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle famously led the first U.S. strike against the Japanese homeland during World War II, and...

A help-wanted sign is displayed at a live music and blues club in Chicago.

Veterans Unemployment Rate Drops, But Trump Fires BLS Commissioner After Weak Overall Jobs Report

President Donald Trump ordered the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Friday following a weak jobs report...

Author Guy Gugliotta’s book, ‘Grant’s Enforcer,’ tells the story of how President Ulysses S. Grant picked a little-known postwar official in Georgia named Amos T. Akerman (above) to become his attorney general and fight the Ku Klux Klan.

Ulysses S. Grant Picked a Confederate Slave Owner to Take Down the KKK

Amos T. Akerman was a curious case to become President Ulysses S. Grant's attorney general, as depicted in Guy Gugliotta’s...

Scientists and other workers rig the world's first atomic bomb.

Trinity Test Fallout Victims in New Mexico Finally Get Compensation After 80 Years

Congress earlier this month finally got around to making New Mexico fallout victims of the first test of an atomic bomb and...

Four Chaplains Day

Feb. 3 marks the anniversary of the sinking of the United States Army Transport Dorchester and the selfless acts of four Army...

President Harry Truman holds up a handful of pens

Presidents Sometimes Use 4th of July Celebrations to Unveil Major Policies. Most Times, They Don't.

The past offered little guidance for President Trump on whether to make a major policy announcement on the Fourth of July...

Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television

Air Force's Bunker-Buster Bomb Could Take Out Iran Nuclear Facility, But Israel Hints at Other Options

The Israeli campaign to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons will be considered a failure if the centrifuges deep...

U.S. Coast Guard landing barge at Normandy, France during D-Dy invasion.

Coasties Braved Withering German Fire to Put Troops Ashore on D-Day

The role played by Coast Guard personnel who crewed the Higgins boats was critical to the success of the D-Day landings in...

What Ike Remembered When Returning to the Beaches of Normandy 20 Years After D-Day

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division tried to ease the concerns of...

President Donald Trump speaks during an event

White House Says Trump’s Proposal to Rename Veterans Day Has Been Scrapped

The White House has backed off President Donald Trump’s stunning social media proposal to change the name of Veterans Day to...

Helicopter aboard the USS Blue Ridge pushed into the sea off the coast of Vietnam

Frantic Refugees, Helicopters Pushed Overboard: Memories of the Fall of Saigon 50 Years Later

Fifty years later, the surreal images of U.S. sailors and Marines scrambling to push, drag and muscle helicopters overboard...

Colonial militia reenactors prior to the Boston Marathon

British General Gave Order 250 Years Ago that Sparked Revolution in What Became America

The anniversary of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War precedes a slew of planned celebrations when the United States marks...

Secret Recordings Show President Roosevelt Debating Military Desegregation with Civil Rights Leaders

More than a year before Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt heard arguments from the civil rights leaders of the...

Modular housing for homeless veterans in Los Angeles

Appeals Court Wary of Supreme Court Reversal on Case Calling for Housing LA Homeless Veterans

The appeals hearing was the latest in a legal battle between veterans and the VA on whether the campus in LA will be cleared...

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Most Popular Military News

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., left, confronts House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Federal Government Shutdown Grinds into a Second Week as Tempers Flare at the Capitol

As the federal government shutdown enters a second week, there’s no discernible endgame in sight.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) questions U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Trump Targets Blumenthal, Calling for Investigation into Senator's Vietnam Service Claims

President Donald Trump is targeting U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal again after Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator grilled U.S...

Pvt. Paul Douglas, age 50, performs a rifle inspection with his drill instructor aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot S.C., 1942. Douglas, at age 50 was the oldest recruit in the history of Parris Island, and went on to become a purple heart recipient and Chicago senator (DVIDS).

At 50, He Survived Marine Boot Camp — Then Fought at Peleliu and Okinawa

When 50-year-old Paul Douglas showed up at Marine Corps boot camp in 1942, the white-haired economics professor looked more...

Pack and transport platoon of the Russian army. Southern Military District. Ministry of Defense of Russia (Wikimedia Commons).

Ukrainian Drones Attack Russian Cavalry Troops in Rare 21st-Century Encounter

A short video circulating online this month appears to show a Russian mounted patrol being struck by a Ukrainian drone near...

When The Government Can Afford Everything Except The Essentials

Every shutdown forces the government to decide what counts as “essential.” Air traffic controllers and TSA agents fall into...

Troops Will Miss Paychecks Next Week Without Action on the Government Shutdown

The federal government shutdown is raising anxiety levels among service members and their families, because those in uniform...

Latest Military Videos

Mothers and Wives of Fallen Ukrainian Soldiers Plant Trees to Remember Their Sacrifice

Wives and mothers of Ukrainian soldiers who died in the fight against Russia planted trees in a public park...

Destruction in Gaza Visible from Southern Israel

From multiple vantage points, debris piles are visible as a result of bombing in Gaza. (AP) Oct. 24

Russia Targets Kyiv with Drones, Killing 3 and Wounding 29

Russia attacked Ukraine with 101 drones over Saturday night into Sunday, according to Ukraine’s air force, of which 90...

Master Class: Resume Writing Workshop for Military Members & Spouses

Learn how to translate your military experience into a results-driven resume that speaks to civilian employers. Walk away with...

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

Florencio Davila. His family made sure that his final wish was honored with the help of the local community. (Submitted photo)

Fort Hood Steps In After Shutdown Halts WWII Veteran’s Military Funeral

Florencio Davila, a World War II veteran, died recently at age 99. His dying wish was to be buried with full military honors...

Lauri Törni served as an SS-Untersturmführer in the Waffen-SS near the end of World War II, after Finland's armistice with the Soviet Union forced him to seek other ways to continue fighting against Soviet forces. (Wikimedia Commons)

How a Former Waffen-SS Officer Became an American War Hero Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

A white granite headstone in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery bears a name that sounds American: Larry Allan Thorne...

Navy News

A GOES-19 NOAA satellite image taken October 28, 2025, shows Hurricane Melissa’s eye and spiral bands covering the Caribbean. (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR)

Navy Confirms Evacuations As Hurricane Melissa Roared Toward The Caribbean

The Navy has evacuated 864 family members, civilian employees, and contractors from Naval Station Guantánamo Bay as Hurricane...

In this July 6, 2020, file photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

Crews Are Safe Following Two Navy Crashes

Two Navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz crashed minutes apart in the South China Sea.

Air Force News

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

Former US Airman Threatened to Assassinate Trump Over LGBTQ+ Policies, Feds Say

Joshua Levi Young, 21, of Ishpeming, is accused of issuing several threats since January that called for the execution of...

Shield AI's newly unveiled X-BAT autonomous fighter jets. The VTOL drones are designed to fly combat missions alongside crewed aircraft as part of the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. (Shield AI)

Shield AI Unveils Fully Autonomous VTOL Fighter Jet

A San Diego defense technology company unveiled an artificial intelligence-piloted fighter jet Tuesday that can take off...

Space Force News

U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rachel Harmon and Master Sgt. Tom Anderson, weapons loaders assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, checks an inert GBU 12 laser guided missile on an MQ-9 Reaper at Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base in Springfield, Ohio.

Two Space Force Units Bring the 'Invisible Front Line' to Ohio

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting is planned for Friday for the Space Intelligence Production Cell at the Springfield-Beckley Air...

A painting of a Defense Support Program satellite from the Air Force Art collection. DSP provides a variety of national security capabilities. Its flagship mission of launch detection was made famous during the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force image)

Clearing The Orbits: Space Force Partnerships In Orbital Cleanup

The growing congestion of Earth orbit has raised risks to satellites, space stations, and long-term space sustainability. The...

Marine Corps News

Racers compete in the 50th Marine Corps Marathon on October 26, 2025 (Eric Kayne, Stars & Stripes).

50th Marine Corps Marathon: New Record Set, Marine Major Claims Third Win

The 50th running of the Marine Corps Marathon wrapped up with a record performance by the women's winner, as well as a third...

Runners and Marine Corps service members at the 2024 Marine Corps Marathon. (Photo by Marine Corps Marathon media team)

Marine Corps Marathon Marks 50 Years of Running With Purpose

This Sunday, Oct. 26, the Marine Corps Marathon will mark its 50th anniversary as one of the largest races in the U.S.

Coast Guard News

Coast Guardsmen stand watch behind a barrier at Coast Guard Base Alameda.

Shots Fired, Driver Hurt and Held After Truck Rams Into Coast Guard Base Alameda

No Coast Guard personnel were hurt.

The East Oakland entrance to the military installation — which marks the only way on or off of the island by car or truck — became the site of protests Thursday when federal agents arrived in the Bay Area as part of the next phase of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. (Kyle Martin)

Security Personnel Outside Coast Guard Base Open Fire at U-Haul Truck at Scene of Immigration Protests

Multiple security personnel opened fire Thursday night at a U-Haul truck that had been backing up to the entrance to Coast...