Tom Philpott

Tom Philpott has been breaking news for and about military people since 1977. After service in the Coast Guard, and 17 years as a reporter and senior editor with Army Times Publishing Company, Tom launched "Military Update," his syndicated weekly news column, in 1994. "Military Update" features timely news and analysis on issues affecting active duty members, reservists, retirees and their families. Tom's freelance articles have appeared in numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Reader's Digest and Washingtonian.

Book Image of Glory Denied by Tom Philpott

His critically-acclaimed book, Glory Denied, on the extraordinary ordeal and heroism of Col. Floyd "Jim" Thompson, the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, is available in hardcover and paperback on Amazon.

To comment, write Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120 or email milupdate@aol.com or twitter: @Military_Update.

Latest Articles

Isakson Vows 'Blue Water' Relief; Trump Inflates Choice

Still no solution on extending benefits for sailors affected by agent orange, and Choice act gets some funding

Military youth outreach Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph

'Myths' Seen Distorting Military’s Image with Nation’s Youth

Years of war, TV spots depicting wounded warriors' struggles and curbs on advertising budgets have left the military with an...

Military Retirees to Gain Access to Wider Menu of Dental Plans

Retirees must switch to the new plan by November. Vision coverage will also be available for all TRICARE users.

Congress Expands VA Caregiver Plan, Streamlines Non-VA Care

Bill includes major expansion of VA's caregiver program and makes VA CHOICE program permanent.

Customers bag groceries at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. (U.S. Air Force/Joshua Arends)

As Commissary Sales Plummet, Pentagon Seeks 21 Percent Subsidy Cut

The fiscal 2020 defense budget asks Congress to slash funding for commissaries by $271 million, or 21 percent.

Senior Woman Comforting Man With Depression At Home

Senators Urge VA Not to Fumble Expansion of Caregiver Benefits

"VA continues to miss deadlines and not get it right," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Lt. Gen. Charles G. Chiarotti, left, deputy commandant, Installations and Logistics, and Phyllis L. Bayer, center, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and the environment, tour privatized military housing with spouses during a visit to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on Feb. 15, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Isaiah Gomez)

Personnel Chiefs Blame Unsafe Housing on Leadership Failures

Commands across the military had not been attentive enough to the performance of housing contractors, officials said.

Use Scalpel, Not Cleaver, on Medical Billets, USUHS Chief Urges

The president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences worries about cuts to uniformed medical billets.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

VA Secretary Urged to Heed Vet Groups over Access to Community Care

Many worry VA and White House will ignore warnings of veteran groups and adopt liberal access standards for community care.

Rep. Adam Smith speaks to the crowd at an election night party for Democrats on Nov. 6, 2018, in Bellevue, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

New Armed Services Committee Chairman Puts White House on Notice

Rep. Adam Smith says Congress must do a better job of holding the president accountable on misinformation.

'Blended' Military Retirement Plan Not as Popular as Projected

Only 280,000 active-duty members and just over 72,000 reserve component personnel chose to shift out of the High-3 plan.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Scott Henry monitors Naval Aircrewman Mechanical 1st Class David Gilbert’s heart at Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s Urology Clinic. (U.S. Navy/Jacob Sippel)

More Than 17,000 Uniformed Medical Jobs Eyed for Elimination

The reduction will allow those billets to be repurposed as war fighters or combat-support skills to increase lethality.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Dalia Theodule, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing command chief executive assistant, researches the Blended Retirement System at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 31, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class D. Blake Browning)

Final Opt-In Rates for Blended Retirement Yield More Surprises

Comparisons across branches show the singular effectiveness of the Marine Corps' approach to deepening interest in the BRS.

Hospital emergency room sign. Getty Images

VA Misleads Vets on Non-VA Emergency Care, Lawsuit Contends

The VA has been wrongly denying claims and discouraging appeals, according to a lawsuit.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Intrepid (CVS-11) steams in the South China Sea on Sept. 13, 1966, with aircraft of Attack Carrier Air Wing 10 (CVW-10) parked on the flight deck. CVW-10 was assigned to the Intrepid for a deployment to Vietnam from April 4 to Nov. 21, 1966. V.O. McColley/Navy

Appeals Court Gives Blue Water Vets the Win Congress Denied

Unless the Supreme Court reverses the decision, Blue Water veterans have won a victory denied them for two decades.

Military News

Get the Military Insider Newsletter

Get the latest on pay updates, benefit changes and award-winning military content. Right in your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.

Thank you for subscribing!

View more newsletters on our Subscriptions page.

One last step.

Verify your free subscription by following the instructions in the email sent to:

Most Popular Military News

President-elect Donald Trump speaks with Elon Musk

Musk, Ramaswamy Proposal to Slash Spending Could Include VA Medical Services

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy confirmed that they plan to target "unauthorized" federal spending, a category that includes...

A U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak delivers parts to the oil exploration support vessel Aiviq

Coast Guard Set to Receive New Icebreaker by Year's End, Bolstering US Presence in Arctic

The need for ships with icebreaking capabilities is growing as China and Russia increase their presence in the Arctic...

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

Marine Corps F-35C Was Used in Combat for First Time to Strike Houthis, Military Confirms

Traveling at speeds of 1,200 mph, the F-35C can carry Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, air-to-air missiles and other...

Diversity Day march on Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.

Military Diversity Is Not the Problem

"The main reason for concern about the U.S. military and its performance has to do with the variety of U.S. commitments and...

Privately owned vehicles wait to enter through the Dale Mabry gate at MacDill Air Force Base.

MacDill Airman Gets 5 Years Of Probation in 'Undead Apes' Blockchain Fraud

U.S. District Judge William Jung sentenced Devin Rhoden to five years’ probation, a reflection of Rhoden’s substantial...

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., smiles as he speaks to supporters during an election night rally at the Elks Lodge in Murphysboro, Ill.

House Approves Wide-Ranging Veterans Bill After Bipartisan Compromise Reached

A wide-ranging veterans policy bill that would bolster home caregiver programs and support for homeless veterans, among other...

Latest Military Videos

US to Give Antipersonnel Mines to Ukraine to Help Slow the Russian Advance

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the Biden administration will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied antipersonnel land mines to...

NATO Troops Take Part in Artillery Drills in Finland for First Time Since It Joined Military Alliance

Several thousand NATO troops took part in large-scale artillery drills in Finland for the first time since the country...

Austin Explains Decision to Supply Ukraine With Landmines

Outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin explained a decision to supply Ukraine with anti-personnel landmines during a briefing...

Ukrainian Students Light Candles to Remember 659 Children Killed in Conflict With Russia

Ukrainian students on Wednesday paused to remember the children killed in the conflict with Russia by lighting 659 candles...

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

A soldier fires a SIG Sauer M17 striker-fired pistol during a weapons qualification at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland.

Army Offers $15,000 Reward for Info on Missing Guns and Other Gear at Fort Moore

Army investigators are still searching for 31 M17 pistols that disappeared from Fort Moore, Georgia, earlier this year, but...

Police Report Sheds New Light on Pentagon Nominee Hegseth's Sexual Encounter that Led to Assault Allegation

Pete Hegseth, who is tapped to lead the military and the nation's largest federal bureaucracy, has vehemently denied the...

Navy News

Malaysian fugitive Francis Leonard Glenn, known as Fat Leonard

'Fat Leonard' to Appeal Sentence, While Retired Navy Captain Will Seek a Reduced Charge

The prison term imposed by U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino at the Nov. 5 sentencing hearing was more than three years...

Cher's more formal look in her 1989 music video, "If I Could Turn Back Time," filmed aboard the battleship USS Missouri. (Criteron Studios)

How Cher's 'Turn Back Time' Music Video Made Even the Navy Blush

A video featuring Cher singing to a rowdy group of American sailors would have been no trouble for anyone involved -- if it...

Air Force News

A CV-22B Osprey from the 352nd Special Operations Wing conducts a flyover at a Veterans Day ceremony at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Cambridge, England.

Steel Company Tied to Deadly Air Force Osprey Crash Faced Defective Parts Lawsuit in 2001

Military officials have refused to say whether they're still working with a company responsible for making the gear that...

Air Force's Special Operations Crop Duster Plane Will Be Flown for Training at Oklahoma Base

An Air National Guard base in Oklahoma will host the first formal training unit for the service's armed recon crop duster...

Space Force News

Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, right, Space Force and Command senior enlisted leader, with Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, present President Donald Trump with the official flag of the United States Space Force in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Fear of Losing US Space Command Unites Colorado’s Congressional Delegation

An intense persuasion campaign is heating up across more than 1,200 miles, from Colorado Springs to Alabama, as both states'...

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink 4-36 payload launches

Pentagon Silent on Elon Musk and Starlink Risks as Military Use Expands

In the past year, U.S. news outlets have reported that Musk, who oversees the satellite internet provider, has developed a...

Marine Corps News

Traffic drives past the entrance sign of Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Va.

Federal Judge Dismisses High-Profile Cases of 2 Jordanian Men Accused of Breaching Quantico Gate

U.S. attorneys for the Eastern District of Virginia filed a motion Oct. 3 to dismiss the misdemeanor charges against Hasan...

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Lam fires an MK 22 bolt-action sniper rifle during a battlesight zero range at Mount Bundey Training Area, NT, Australia, May 1, 2024.

New Marine Sniper Rifle Reaches Full Operational Capability Ahead of Schedule

The Marine Corps' Mk22 Advanced Sniper Rifle will eventually replace the M40A6 and Mk13 Mod 7 in the service's arsenal.

Coast Guard News

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sean Regan, commander, District Fourteen, salutes during a ceremony at Kalani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov. 21, 2024. The Coast Guard established its first Hawaii-based JROTC unit, also the 14th Coast Guard JROTC in the U.S.

Coast Guard Establishes First Hawaii-Based JROTC Program

Kalani High School officially activated its newly formed Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program, the first...