Stephen Ruiz

Stephen Ruiz is an associate editor and content writer for Military.com. He previously worked for more than 30 years as a copy editor, writer and online producer for various newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel. His writing also has appeared in Reserve & National Guard, Military Families and Military Influencer magazines. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys running, playing with his dog, Holly, and rooting on his hometown New Orleans Saints.

Latest Articles

'Did I Make the Right Decision?' How to Take the Guesswork out of Army Basic Training

The goal of basic training is to transform a recruit into a soldier. It's as much about constructing the proper mindset as it...

A self-portrait by former Army and professional football player DeWitt 'Tex' Coulter.

The Last First-Round NFL Draft Pick from a Service Academy Was Also a Respected Artist

A self-portrait of the last player from a U.S. service academy to be drafted by an NFL team in the first round is for sale by...

Pvt. Henry Johnson, shown circa 1919, was nicknamed 'Black Death' after surviving 21 wounds, killing 4 Germans and injuring 10-20 others during an encounter in the Argonne Forest in France during World War I.

How the Story of This Medal of Honor Recipient Wounded 21 Times Was Almost Lost to History

Henry Johnson's discharge papers contained no mention of his heroic actions or injuries, depriving him of any awards or...

Army Brig. Gen. George Owen Squier, also a notable inventor and aviation enthusiast, is shown in his military uniform.

Before He Founded Muzak, This General Brought Innovation to the Army

Looking to improve the military's long-range communications, George Owen Squier tested his theories on whatever resources...

Vets2Industry founder Brian Arrington participates in a Feeding the Homeless event on Thanksgiving in 2019.

How a 'Mad' Former Airman Is Helping Transitioning Service Members

Vets2Industry (V2I) compiles information about military transition resources onto one website to support service members...

Facilitator Christina Kim prepares to record Nancy St. Claire and her husband, Tom Garcia, as part of StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative tour in Nashville, Tennessee.

You Can Record With StoryCorps' Military Voices Initiative in 2023 in These States

In 2020, former Army cavalry scout and sniper Garett Reppenhagen spoke with StoryCorps -- a nonprofit that chronicles the...

Former Air Force flight nurse Jim Lorraine is the president and CEO of America's Warrior Partnership, a nonprofit that partners with communities to try to prevent veteran suicide.

Former Flight Nurse's Nonprofit Takes Community Approach to Combat Vet Suicide

During his 22-year military career, first as an Air Force reservist and then on active duty, Jim Lorraine tended to service...

Marine Corps Reserve Sgt. Kolton Lehman, left, is on the field at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with other finalists for the USO/NFL Salute to Service Showdown Madden tournament in November.

How the USO's Focus on Gaming Is Sending 2 Service Members to the Super Bowl

As Kolton Leyman advanced in the USO/NFL Salute to Service Showdown video-gaming tournament, he could not contain his...

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society visiting nurse T’Sheira Scott, based in Yokosuka, Japan, teaches a healthy girl interactive workshop.

Visiting Nurses Handle Patients with Care as Relief Society's 'Best-Kept Secret'

NMCRS nurses conducted almost 15,000 visits in 2022, a nearly 20% increase over the previous year, according to data provided...

Professor Mike Morris addresses members of the first Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in July 2007.

How Veterans Are Supercharging Their Businesses Through a Free Entrepreneurship Program

More than 2,200 vets have graduated from the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans program since its launch in 2007.

Gen. Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, shown in the late 1940s. (Sanaa Lasher/Air Force Scientific Advisory Board photo)

From Aviation to Aid Society, Air Force's Only 5-Star General Changed Service Forever

Because of Arnold's charitable nature, thousands of undergraduate college students receive assistance today through a grant...

Marine Corps wheelchair basketball player Carlos Cruz-Tejeda shoots against Team Canada at the Department of Defense Warrior Games near Orlando, Florida, Aug. 23, 2022.

How the Warrior Games Create a Special Bond for Military Athletes with Disabilities

Camaraderie unites the 300 athletes representing the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command...

Warrior Games athlete Gabe George, a retired Navy hospital corpsman, demonstrates how he competes in archery despite having his right arm amputated.

After 2-Year Pandemic Break, Warrior Games Athletes Get Another Shot at Competition

Hosted by the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, the 2022 Department of Defense Warrior Games are scheduled for Aug. 19-28...

Joseph Beyrle, who served multiple stints as a German POW during World War II, fought for the U.S. and Russian armies. (Facebook photo)

How This POW Became the Only Soldier to Fight for the US and Russia During WWII

While with the Red Army, Beyrle was involved in several firefights with Germans and helped blow open a safe at one of the POW...

Gangster Monk Eastman served in the 27th Infantry Division of the New York National Guard, which helped the Allies crack the Hindenburg Line, the last line of German defense on the Western Front during World War I.

How the 'First Real New York Gangster' Turned Guardsman Helped End World War I

Born Edward Osterman, Edward "Monk" Eastman led a collection of criminals that, at one point, numbered nearly 1,200.

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Most Popular Military News

Twenty dollar bills are counted in North Andover, Mass.

Bill Guaranteeing Cost-of-Living Increase for Veterans in 2024 Heads to President's Desk

The annual task in Congress ensures that VA compensation keeps pace with Social Security increases.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough.

VA Issues New Warning that Default Could Have 'Catastrophic' Effects for Veterans

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said Wednesday there is "no blueprint for what could happen."

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn.

Navy Fires Destroyer's Leadership as Ship Moves Homeport to Japan

Cmdr. Angela Gonzales, the commanding officer, and Cmdr. Jonathan Zang, the executive officer, were fired from the John Finn...

Class of 2026 during the Acceptance Day parade at West Point.

Academy Cadets with Kids Still Waiting as Pentagon Lags on Rule Change

Military students remain in limbo as final Pentagon guidance for a new policy allowing cadets at America's service academies...

Green Berets conduct combat training in the Republic of Korea.

Army Special Operations Could Be Cut 10% as Military Looks to Conventional Warfare

As the service pivots its focus toward China, Green Berets and other commando units could see cuts in favor of building up...

Front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington.

How Veterans Benefits Could Be Delayed in June by a US Default

Billions of dollars of veterans benefits could be imperiled if the U.S. defaults on its debts, though the full extent of the...

Latest Military Videos

Cocaine Labeled with Swastika Seized in Peru

Peruvian anti-drug police seized 127 pounds of packages of cocaine on Thursday bearing a picture of a Nazi flag...

NASA Launches Storm-Tracking Satellites

Rocket Lab on Friday launched another pair of storm-tracking satellites for NASA from Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. (May...

Hundreds Attend Funeral of Black WWII Veteran

Peter Brown died alone in London without any known family. But hundreds of people — mostly strangers — gathered...

China MOFA Comments on Vietnam, US-Taiwan

China on Friday reasserted its claim over the waters of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea...

Investigations and Features

The Threat from Extremist Groups Is Growing. Service Members and Vets Are Getting Sucked into the Violence.

The U.S. intelligence community deemed racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism -- with adherents such as white...

They Said the Rise in Military Suicide Is a Mystery. Traumatic Brain Injury May Be an Answer.

Veterans who have had a head injury are at higher risk for suicide, but these deaths can be prevented, experts say.

Army News

Retired Staff Sgt. Nick Maimer and retired Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn.

Body of US Special Forces Veteran Turned Over by Russian Mercenary Group

Nick Maimer was killed in the embattled city of Bakhmut on May 15 or 16.

Trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four others charged with seditious conspiracy.

Army Veteran Who Stormed Capitol Gets More Than 8 Years in Prison

Jessica Watkins is the third member of Oath Keepers to receive her punishment this week in one of the most serious cases the...

Navy News

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation.

Defense Secretary Tells Navy Graduates They Are Ready to Serve

The secretary said naval officers have a special understanding of the power of teamwork, and "we need that spirit for the...

U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in BUD/S training.

Navy SEAL Instructors 'Hunted' Weaker Candidates Amid Poor Medical Care, Drug Use

The SEAL training course is rife with overzealous instructors, spotty medical care and students who were so determined to...

Air Force News

Massachusetts National Guard Changes Linked to Leak Case

Top brass at the Massachusetts National Guard said the military outfit is holding off on making changes before findings are...

Redstone Arsenal moves its main gate farther from the interstate

Have Space Command HQ Requirements Changed? Investigations Underway

The secretary of the Air Force, authorized with making the final decision on the permanent home for Space Command...

Space Force News

Have Space Command HQ Requirements Changed? Investigations Underway

The secretary of the Air Force, authorized with making the final decision on the permanent home for Space Command...

Space Launch Delta 30 at the monthly Delta Dash at Vandenberg SVB.

Space Force Rolls Out Fitness Trackers to Guardians in Lieu of Traditional Testing

The Space Force announced it will conduct a two-year testing period on wearable fitness trackers as part of its newly...

Marine Corps News

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers.

Veteran Who Led Oath Keepers Sentenced to 18 Years for Role in Jan. 6 Attack

Stewart Rhodes is the first person charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to be sentenced for seditious conspiracy, and his...

A photo of then Second Lieutenant Lou Schott poses for a portrait in 1943. (TNS/ Jeffrey F. Bill)

102-Year-Old Maryland Veteran Awarded Silver Star for World War II Service in the Pacific

Nearly 78 years after his actions, Schott, 102, was awarded the Silver Star, the U.S. Armed Forces' third-highest military...

Coast Guard News

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas delivered the keynote address at the Coast Guard Academy

Sending Out Ensigns on Humanitarian Missions, Coast Guard Academy Graduates 243

The United States Coast Guard Academy graduated 243 students at its 142nd commencement, preparing to send many to far-off...

U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit (PSU) 311 members and U.S. Navy Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 11 members complete joint agency exercises aboard a 32-foot transportable port security boat off San Clemente Island.

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Plane with 3 Passengers that Crashed off California Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a plane that crashed in the ocean near San Clemente Island on Wednesday...