Jennifer Barnhill

In addition to her reporting, Jennifer Barnhill is also the host of Military Dinner Table Conversations, a monthly reverse town hall with military families. She is the author of The Military Stories You've Been Told: And the Ones You Need to Hear (October 2025) as well as the 2025 AFI Navy Spouse of the Year, a 2023 Bush Institute StandTo Veteran Leadership Program Scholar, the editor-in-chief of the National Military Spouse Network’s Career Connections Magazine and the military spouse liaison on The League of Wives Memorial Project.

Latest Articles

The minuteman statue in front of the headquarters building following a snow storm

Why No One Understands National Guard Families

Despite making headlines for helping after the catastrophic flooding in Texas or being politicized as President Donald Trump...

Applications sit on a table at Marston Pavilion aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., for potential volunteers with Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

The Cost of Spouse Volunteerism

Military spouses are often encouraged to pursue volunteerism as a way to stay professionally relevant during relocations and...

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

For Military Spouses, OPSEC Isn't Political. It's Personal.

Military families know that OPSEC is more than a political talking point; it is a matter of life and death.

A teacher engages her 5th grade students in an interactive lesson at Kessler Elementary School

The Trump Administration Wants to Promote School Vouchers for Military Families. Would It Help?

In January, the Trump administration issued an executive order requiring the Department of Defense to come up with a proposal...

A military spouse carries a copy of their resume during a job fair at Ramstein Air Base.

Pentagon Ruling Eases One Employment Barrier for Military Spouses Overseas

Rules that had prevented some military spouses from holding jobs while stationed overseas have been relaxed, a parting gift...

Middle School students are picked up by bus

Banned Books, School Walkouts, Child Care Shortages: Military Families Confront Pentagon's Shifting Rules

At a public school, the protest might have led to a detention and maybe some revoked after-school privileges. But on a...

The Daily Stress Weighing on Military Spouses

The stress the military community holds is not just related to our proximity to deployments or combat zones. It is woven into...

A crew removes the statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson

How the Trump Administration Is Erasing History and Ignoring the Wishes of Descendants of Confederate Leaders

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently renamed Fort Liberty, North Carolina, choosing the name Fort Bragg. Not that Bragg...

person types on a laptop keyboard in North Andover, Mass.

The Return to Work Order Is Creating Chaos, Anguish for Military Spouses

Military spouse unemployment has been around 20% for half a century.

free hiring event held for service members, veterans and military spouses

Military Families Need the Same Legal Protections as Service Members

Although many states offer legal protections that could theoretically prevent discrimination on the basis of marital status -...

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Adrienne Warren, the 99th Air Base Wing command chief, greets drivers during a Suicide Prevention Awareness Month base wave-in at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

What Happens to Military Families After a Loved One's Suicide?

When a member of the military community dies by suicide, their neighbors, friends, brothers in arms, and families gather...

Does the Military Need Social Media Influencers?

New military influencers are popping up daily talking about military life -- the good, the bad and the ugly.

Military family members give a thumbs up while flying over Albuquerque

How Are Foreign-Born Military Spouses Doing?

Being a military spouse is challenging, and for foreign-born spouses, there are even more stressors to keeping a family...

A home is advertised for sale in Hampton Roads, Va.

Confusion, Misinformation and the VA Loan

The VA loan is designed to help and protect service members as they buy a home.

Moving boxes sit in the old home of a logistics flight commander in Las Vegas, April 28, 2020.

How Moves Put Military Families of Color at Risk

Moving may be a part of military life, but for families of color and other groups, military moves pose more than an...

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Tennessee Man Shot Dead After Flipping Middle Finger at War Memorial

Albert Sturgill Jr., 63, was confronted by a group while gesturing at the flag and monuments at Cumberland County Veterans...

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Army News

Vietnam War veteran John L. Smith is shown at Essex County College.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Wash

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Navy News

False Threat Led to Naval Academy Lockdown and Then a Mistaken Shooting

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An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Maryland.

1 Injured in Naval Academy Shooting; No Active Shooter

The U.S. Naval Academy was on lockdown Thursday evening after a person was injured in a shooting and after the military...

Air Force News

Senate Democrat Tries to Formally Condemn Funeral Honors for Ashli Babbitt

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Col. Edward Segura, director of manpower, personnel and services, Air Force Reserve Command, speaks

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Marine Corps News

The sign at the entrance at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Camp Pendleton Officer, Wife Sue Military Housing Company over Crash That Killed 8-Year-Old Son

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A retail services specialist 3rd class, assigned to the USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) supply department, conducts a command fitness class in the hangar bay.

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