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

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.

In this June 19, 2012 file photo, Dr. Bruce Stowell examines a patient at his office in Grants Pass, Ore. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)

New VA Rules on Access to Outside Care Leave Many Unknowns

Barebone details released last week raise many more questions than they answer, experts say.

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Most Popular Military News

The altar of the main church for the House of Prayer in Hinesville, Georgia, features a large cross and a reference to a verse from the gospel of Matthew.

House of Prayer, a Church Accused of Squeezing Veterans for Benefits, Stripped of GI Bill Eligibility

A church former members have described as a cult has lost its GI Bill eligibility after two decades of allegedly bilking...

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Republicans Vow to Put 'Woke' Military in Crosshairs if They Win in November

Republicans will have more opportunities to take aim at Biden administration defense policies they've decried as "woke,"...

New Navy flame-resistant, two-piece organizational clothing prototype.

New Uniforms Coming for Sailors as Navy Looks to Leave Flammable Clothing Issue Behind

The Navy has ditched its iconic and beloved coveralls for sailors aboard ships for a new, two-piece uniform that was finally...

Front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington.

'Tens of Thousands' More Veterans Will Be Eligible for VA Health Care Starting Oct. 1

Under the toxic exposures law passed in August, several groups of combat veterans will be able to enroll in VA health care.

The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court Weighs Exception to Vets Disability Deadlines

In a case before the court Tuesday, an attorney for Navy veteran Adolfo Arellano said exceptions should be made "in cases...

Soldier takes the Army Combat Fitness Test at Fort McCoy.

The Army's New Fitness Test Is Here. For Real This Time. No, Seriously. But Its Future Is Uncertain.

A staple of military service, the fitness test has effectively been sidelined as officials tuned it and soldiers got familiar...

Latest Military Videos

Cost of Battle Comes at a High Price in Lyman

Recently liberated streets of Lyman in Donetsk still bear the scars of battle. Many are still without water, electricity...

Several Dead After Al-Shabab Attack in Somalia

Islamic extremist fighters on Monday targeted the local Somali government headquarters, leaving 20 people dead and 36 wounded in...

North Korean Missile Soars Over Japan

Recent images from North Korean state media show what Japan's defense minister said was the missile that Pyongyang launched...

US Provides $625m More in Military Aid to Ukraine

The US announced plans on Tuesday to provide an additional $625 million in military aid to Ukraine, a package...

Investigations and Features

Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol

What Happened to Members of the Military Accused of Storming the Capitol on January 6?

At least five service members allegedly were part of the deadly pro-Trump mob that assaulted the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Peter Antioho greets his son Mark to the world

Young and Dying: Veterans Are Getting Brain Cancer and Struggling to Get Benefits

A joint investigation by Military.com and Public Health Watch found that glioblastoma, while rare, has struck hundreds of...

Army News

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III provides testimony during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Defense Department’s fiscal year 2023 budget request in Washington, D.C.

Austin Orders Renaming of Bases that Honor Confederate Rebels

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday signed off on an independent commission's recommendations to rename military bases...

Army Vet Caitlin Bassett Finds Herself Playing an Army Vet on 'Quantum Leap'

"Quantum Leap," the hit sci-fi TV series from the late 1980s/early '90s, has been reconstituted and revived by NBC for the...

Navy News

A U.S. Marine with Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, holds the portrait of Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class (Fleet Marine Force) Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California, during a memorial service at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

Feres Helps Military Avoid Accountability for Harm. New Ruling Could Be a Chance for Justice.

On the nine-hour drive from their home in California's central valley to the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, south of Los...

Ensign Terrance Wever signals to an F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan.

USS Ronald Reagan Heads Back to Korean Coast After Latest North Korean Missile Test

The USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is returning to waters off the coast of South Korea in the latest show...

Air Force News

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rey Sedantes of the 61st Civil Engineering and Logistics Squadron at Los Angeles Air Force Base receives instruction on how to operate the Princeton Power Systems' bidirectional electric vehicle charging stations from vehicle operations contractor Oscar Machado during a training demo in El Segundo, Calif.

Air Force Looks to Alternative Fuel and Mini-Nuclear Reactors to Address Climate Change

The Air Force's 20-page Climate Action Plan comes as natural disasters have become a regular issue for bases, something...

The Air Force’s newest commissioned officers, part of Officer Training School class 19-07, throw their flight caps in the air following their graduation ceremony Sept. 27, 2019, in Montgomery, Alabama.

Ban on Pregnant Service Members and Civilians Applying to Air Force Officer Training School Lifted

Pregnant service members and civilians can now apply to Air Force Officer Training School, reversing the service's policy...

Space Force News

U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, deputy chief of space operations for Operations, Cyber and Nuclear, speaks during the Air Force Association Schriever Space Futures Forum in Beverly Hills, California.

New Space Force Chief Confirmed

President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Space Force was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate, giving the service its second...

The Bronze Star is authorized by Executive Order No. 9419 on Feb. 4, 1944, and is awarded to a person in any branch of military service who, while serving in any capacity with the armed forces of the United States on or after Dec. 7, 1941, shall have distinguished him or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.

Space Force Guardians Are Officially Eligible for the Bronze Star and Other Awards, Biden Says

The changes made by President Joe Biden add the Space Force, founded in December 2019, into executive orders issued over the...

Marine Corps News

Feres Helps Military Avoid Accountability for Harm. New Ruling Could Be a Chance for Justice.

On the nine-hour drive from their home in California's central valley to the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, south of Los...

A gavel lays on the Uniform Code of Military Justice inside the 28th Bomb Wing courtroom at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., July 17, 2018. (Airman 1st Class Nicolas Z. Erwin/U.S. Air Force photo)

Judge Orders Navy to Review the Medical Discharges of at Least 3,700 Sailors and Marines

A federal judge decided last week that a policy used by the Navy to determine whether members were eligible for medical...

Coast Guard News

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy transits the Arctic Ocean to the North Pole

Coast Guard Reaches North Pole for Just 2nd Time. Then Crew Members Had Some Fun, Too

The U.S. Coast Guard and a crew of scientists journeyed to the North Pole — for only the second time in history.

Capt. Eric Jones, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle's commanding officer, shakes hands with Petty Officer First Class Henry Cylkowski after a promotion ceremony onboard the Eagle.

Coast Guard Suspends Policy That Booted Troops Who Weren't Promoted Quickly Enough

The move comes as Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan has pledged to make workforce management a top priority.