National military correspondent for The New York Times
When a boat hits a wave, the jolt can intensify 10x between the deck and the head of a crew member. That counter-intuitive physics is leaving some of the Coast Guard's most elite rescuers with serious brain injuries that go undiagnosed. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/u...
Rescue Boat Crews Show Signs of Brain Injuries, but Coast Guard Isn’t LookingUntreated and undiagnosed, the crews that save lives in the roughest seas face the relentless pounding of waves.www.nytimes.comFor the first time the military provides number on transgender military service. And they’re stunning. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/u...
Number of Trans Troops Far Lower Than Estimated, Pentagon Figures ShowThe Defense Department said 4,240 service members, or about 0.2 percent of those in uniform, have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Previous estimates had put the number at triple that figure.www.nytimes.comIn Marine Drill Instructors, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide. Important reporting by @kelsbbaker.bsky.social and @dflawrence.bsky.social. Would like to know what the instructor's blast exposure was in the years before their last assignments. Military.com www.military.com/daily-news/i...
Military and Veteran Benefits, News, Veteran JobsMilitary.com helps millions of military-connected Americans access military and veteran benefits and news, find jobs and enjoy military discounts.military.comThe NDAA requires comprehensive action on blast exposure and brain injuries www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/u...
Defense Bill Orders Military to Take New Action on Brain InjuryMandates in the annual appropriations act, passed on Wednesday, call for the Pentagon to track and mitigate risks to troops’ brains from firing their own weapons.www.nytimes.comThe US spent almost 20 years trying to eradicate Afghanistan’s opium industry. The Taliban has succeeded www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/w...
The Once Booming Drug Town Going Bust Under Taliban RuleFunding its war against the United States, the Taliban reaped millions from boom towns trading opium, heroin and meth. Victorious, the group crushed the trade, leaving ghost towns in its wake.www.nytimes.com“Since God made the subways, people have been doing stupid things on them.” www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/n...
Subway Surfing’s Deadly Lure in New York CityFor more than a century, people have climbed on top of moving trains in search of a thrill. Now social media has attracted a new generation of daredevils.www.nytimes.comTree bark and toad poison and a quest for healing. How combat vets are seeking relief from brain injury through psychedelics. The trend is strong among Special Operations, especially Navy SEALs. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/u...
Seeking Relief From Brain Injury, Some Veterans Turn to PsychedelicsUnable to find effective treatments at home, veterans with brain-injury symptoms are going abroad for psychedelics like ibogaine that are illegal in the U.S.www.nytimes.comGoogle said its quantum computer needed less than five minutes to perform a calculation that one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers could not complete in 10 septillion years, a length of time that exceeds the age of the known universe. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/t...
Google Makes New Quantum Computing BreakthroughGoogle unveiled an experimental machine capable of tasks that a traditional supercomputer could not master in 10 septillion years. (That’s older than the universe.)www.nytimes.comThe Navy says flying jets does not cause brain injuries, but this fall it launched a confidential effort, called Project Odin's Eye, to screen every TOPGUN pilot. Pilots say its about time. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/u...
Top-Gun Navy Pilots Fly at the Extremes. Their Brains May Suffer.A confidential Navy program is studying whether intense fighter jet operations can cause devastating brain injuries in flight crews.www.nytimes.comHow Pete Hegseth evolved from a by-the-book young officer to a defender of troops accused of war crimes. Latest episode of The Daily. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/p...
The Metamorphosis of Pete HegsethThree military deployments reshaped the views of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department.www.nytimes.comWhen Pete Hegseth was an earnest, young Army lieutenant, he was cleareyed that warcrimes were indefensible. By the end of his Army career, he was their leading defender. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/u...
Pete Hegseth’s Metamorphosis: From Critic of War Crimes to Defender of the AccusedPresident-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department was described by peers as a skillful soldier who became embittered by military dysfunction.www.nytimes.comAfter being grounded for months following a string of crashes, the V-22 Osprey is back in the air. But there are questions as to whether it should be. apnews.com/osprey-safet...
The Osprey's safety issues spiked over five years and caused deaths. Pilots still want to fly itThe Osprey is back in the air after being grounded for months following a crash last November that killed eight U.S. service members in Japan. But there are still questions as to whether it should be.apnews.comMore than a decade of costly and time-consuming prevention efforts don't seem to be working. www.militarytimes.com/news/pentago...
Military suicides rose in 2023, continuing a troubling trendOfficials said that the suicide rate among troops has increased steadily over the last decade.www.militarytimes.com“Seeking an edge in combat, the Navy has created boats so powerful that riding in them can destroy sailors’ brains” via @NYTimes www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/u...
Chronic Brain Trauma Is Extensive in Navy’s Elite Speedboat CrewsThe pounding that sailors’ brains take from years of high-speed wave-slamming in the Special Boat Teams can cause symptoms that wreck their careers — and their lives.www.nytimes.com