Oriana Pawlyk

Oriana Pawlyk is Military.com’s air warfare reporter covering everything from the latest personnel trends, aircraft, investigations, defense technology, to Air Force operations all over the world. Pawlyk is also an active member of the Pentagon Press Association.

She previously covered air campaign operations in the Middle East and Europe, plus uniforms, cyber, Guard and Reserve duties, physical training and technology for Air Force Times. Pawlyk edited the Military Times Early Bird Brief newsletter in 2015, compiling the top national security stories driving the day. Pawlyk attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she received a bachelor’s in Journalism and English Literature.

Email: oriana.pawlyk@monster.com

Latest Articles

F-16 Thunderbirds Crash Resulted from Wet Runway, Wind

A wet runway and wind gusts made an Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 Fighting Falcon slide and flip after landing during a routine...

Air Force Launches Aviation Inquiry Amid Reports of Increased Mishaps

The Air Force is investigating recent lower-category aviation accidents to determine whether there is a larger trend looming.

Navy Declassifies its Notorious 'UFO Sighting' Videos

The U.S. Navy has acknowledged three incidents reported by F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilots of "unidentified aerial phenomena."

The Pentagon Has 6 Months to Disclose What It Knows About UFOs

Lawmakers are demanding answers from U.S. intelligence agencies and the DoD on the potential existence of UFOs.

Shanahan Launches New Investigation into Deadly 2017 Niger Ambush

The Oct. 4, 2017, incident left four U.S. soldiers dead.

'Extraordinary Sacrifice:' Trump Awards Medal of Honor to Fallen Airman

President Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Tech Sgt. John Chapman at a ceremony at the White House Wednesday.

Air Guard Officer in Congress Calls on Facebook to Crack Down on Romance Scams

An congressman in the Air National Guard is pressing Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg to do more to stop "romance scams."

Pentagon IG Investigating Acting SecDef Over Possible Ethics Violations

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the request alleging Shanahan violated rules by promoting Boeing.

Photos Show Destruction at US Embassy in Baghdad After Attacks

Newly released photos from a Dec. 31 assault on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq show extensive damage to the compound.

Pentagon IDs 2 Airmen Killed in Afghanistan Crash

The Defense Department has identified two airmen killed in an E-11 aircraft crash in Afghanistan on Monday.

More Than a Decade Later, the Air Force Finally Picks a Huey Replacement

The U.S. Air Force has picked Boeing to build the replacement for its UH-1N Huey at a cost of approximately $2.38 billion.

Second Lt. Kenneth Soyars, 14th Student Squadron student pilot, takes off during a virtual reality flight simulation Jan. 10, 2018, at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. Two subjects flew at a time but no other subjects were allowed to watch or learn from other individuals’ sorties. The Adaptive Flight Training Study pushed subjects to learn through the VR technology. (Keith Holcomb/U.S. Air Force)

Here's How the Air Force Plans to Recruit Teenage Gamers

Forget the Xbox. The U.S. Air Force wants kids to play a game to help it locate future airmen.

Gen. Mike Holmes, commander of Air Combat Command, watches Airmen from the 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron load inert weapons onto an F-15E Strike Eagle during training, Feb. 26, 2019, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Kenneth Boyton)

Air Force Commander, Pilot Son to Dogfight in Livestreamed Flight Game

Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mike Holmes will battle his son, 1st Lt. Wade Holmes, an F-16 pilot, in the game Ace Combat 7.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Holmes, the commander of Air Combat Command, and 1st Lt. Wade Holmes, his son, battle each other in a combat flight action video game June 29, 2019, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. (U.S. Air Force/Emerald Ralston)

Air Force 1st Lieutenant Beats 4-Star Dad in Livestreamed Dogfight Game

Score a win for the Viper pilot in the battle over which Air Force fourth-generation aircraft brings the heat.

Hill Air Force Base F-35As fly over the Utah Test and Training Range, March 30, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/R. Nial Bradshaw)

F-35 Dogfight Accidentally Resulted in a Sky Penis, Officials Say

Six F-35 Joint Strike Fighters simulating aggressor air training accidentally created contrails that resembled a penis.

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

Hegseth and Other Top Trump Officials Just Failed OPSEC Jeff

The Atlantic editor-in-chief published a bombshell article detailing how members of the administration had accidentally...

Child Development Center Hill Air Force Base

Families at Utah Air Force Base Lose Day Care Center as Pentagon Slashes Personnel Spending

Hill Air Force Base in Utah has closed one of its two day care centers, harming quality of life for some service members...

An operating room specialist rinses surgical instruments

As Pentagon's Top Health Nominee Prepares for Confirmation Hearing, One Senator Has a Lot of Questions

Keith Bass, a retired Navy commander who previously led the White House Medical Unit and the CIA's medical service office...

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...

Rep. Chuck Edwards talks during a town hall

Military Veterans Are Becoming the Face of Trump's Government Cuts and Democrats' Resistance

As congressional lawmakers scramble to respond to President Donald Trump's slashing of the federal government, one group is...

Veterans Day Ceremony at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, Miss.

Lawmakers Try Again on Bill to Give 50,000 Medically Retired Veterans Full VA Disability, Retirement Pay

The Major Richard Star Act, which has been floated since 2020, has the support of more than 40 veterans' organizations and...

Latest Military Videos

Master Class: Federal Employment: What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do

Are you a veteran who expects that dreaded pink email to arrive any day from OPM? Are you a...

NTSB Urges Ban on Some Helicopter Flights at Washington Airport Where 67 People Died

Federal investigators looking for the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near...

U.S. Resumes Military Aid and Intelligence Sharing as Ukraine Says It Is Open to a 30-Day Ceasefire

The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it...

Ukraine Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet on Moscow, AP Explains

Senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks Tuesday focused on ending the three-year-long conflict, hours after...

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

Ranger and Sapper Assessment Program at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa.

Ranger School Is Getting a New Fitness Assessment

The Army's elite Ranger School, long regarded as one of the most grueling leadership courses in the military, is rolling out...

B-17 Flying Fortresses fly over Hungary during World War II.

How a World War II Tail Gunner Survived a Midair Collision Without a Parachute

Sgt. James Raley's account came almost three months to the day after he improbably survived that fall from the skies over...

Navy News

John Phelan, right, President Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of the Navy

Senate Confirms Investment Banker John Phelan as Navy Secretary

The Navy has a new civilian leader with a hefty business resume but no military experience after the Senate voted Monday...

As Pentagon's Top Health Nominee Prepares for Confirmation Hearing, One Senator Has a Lot of Questions

Keith Bass, a retired Navy commander who previously led the White House Medical Unit and the CIA's medical service office...

Air Force News

How a World War II Tail Gunner Survived a Midair Collision Without a Parachute

Sgt. James Raley's account came almost three months to the day after he improbably survived that fall from the skies over...

Families at Utah Air Force Base Lose Day Care Center as Pentagon Slashes Personnel Spending

Hill Air Force Base in Utah has closed one of its two day care centers, harming quality of life for some service members...

Space Force News

NASA astronaut Col. Nick Hague is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft

First Space Force Guardian Launched into Space Returns with Stranded Astronauts

As the commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission, Col. Nick Hague traveled 72,553,920 miles, spent 171 days in space, and...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

FAA Issues Environmental Take on SpaceX Request for More Launches, New Landing Pad

If SpaceX gets its way, the Space Coast will get a lot more rocket rumbles and sonic booms as the company increases Falcon 9...

Marine Corps News

Senate Confirms Investment Banker John Phelan as Navy Secretary

The Navy has a new civilian leader with a hefty business resume but no military experience after the Senate voted Monday...

Boston VA Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Veteran's 'Premature and Preventable Death'

The family of a Vietnam-era veteran who died after his VA doctors allegedly failed to tell him that he had cancer has filed a...

Coast Guard News

The National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, opens to the public on March 25, 2025. (National Medal of Honor Museum)

5 Powerful Artifacts in the New National Medal of Honor Museum

The new National Medal of Honor Museum is set to officially open to the public on March 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.

Marines with Marine Forces Special Operations Command push a zodiac into the water during the Gung Ho portion of Raider Week at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The Age Ranges for Joining US Military Special Operations Programs

You have many options that may or may not require an age waiver. It's time to get to work on that dream job.