Tom Bowman

Tom Bowman appears in the following:

Top Pentagon Officials Defend Islamic State Strategy Before Lawmakers

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, defending the Obama administration's strategy on the self-declared Islamic State.

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They Survived Training, Now Female Marines Await Word On Ground Combat

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

The women who trained on tanks and armored vehicles say they proved they belong. Such ground combat jobs will open to women in January unless the Marine Corps makes the case they should be closed.

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U.S. To Send Heavy Armor To Eastern Europe

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Defense Secretary Ash Carter heads to Europe to unveil plans to deploy tanks and other heavy armor in the Baltic states and Eastern Europe. Russia says the move is provocative and may send more armor to its Western borders.

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U.S. Military Officials Say Iraq Needs More Fighters To Battle Islamic State

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

The nation's top military officials said the U.S. needs a greater commitment from Iraq in the fight against the self-declared Islamic State but argued against sending any U.S. combat troops there.

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U.S. To Deploy 450 More Troops To Iraq

Thursday, June 11, 2015

They'll speed up training and equipping of Sunni soldiers in Anbar province. The aim is to get more Sunnis working with the Shiite government to defeat the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

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Obama Orders 450 Troops To Help Iraq Fight Self-Declared Islamic State

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The United States will send an additional 450 troops to Iraq to act as trainers. The move comes not as a change in policy, but to speed up training and equipping of Sunni soldiers in Anbar province.

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Obama To Honor Harlem Hellfighter With Medal Of Honor

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

President Obama will award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Henry Johnson, an African-American soldier whose combat bravery occurred during World War I, but whose actions were ignored for decades.

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Iraqi Forces Prepare To Reclaim Ramadi From Islamic State

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Iraq is preparing to take back parts of Anbar province after the city of Ramadi fell to the self-declared Islamic State earlier this month, dealing a blow to the Iraqi government and ...

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He Calmed Kandahar. But At What Cost?

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Lt. Gen. Abdul Raziq has imposed control on the city where the Taliban were born. He's been praised by the U.S. and the Afghan leadership, but his forces have also been accused of human rights abuses.

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Fall Of Ramadi Sparks New Criticism Over U.S. Strategy In Iraq

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The fall of Ramadi, Iraq, to self-declared Islamic State militants has highlighted possible shortcomings in the U.S. strategy to fight the Islamic State.

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ISIS Takes Control Of Ramadi, Key Iraqi City

Monday, May 18, 2015

The so-called Islamic State, also known as Isis, seized Ramadi after government forces left their positions. The action came despite U.S. airstrikes and efforts of Iraqi ground forces to repel ISIS.

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Top Veterans Affairs Official Says Agency Skirts Federal Purchasing Laws

Thursday, May 14, 2015

At a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, a senior official at the Department of Veterans Affairs accused his agency of waste, fraud and mismanagement in the way it purchases medical care and supplies.

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Afghan Army Makes Progress; Will Government Services Follow?

Thursday, May 07, 2015

Afghans are now in charge of the fight against the Taliban. But many civilians remain frustrated over a lack of basic services like water and electricity, which may still fuel support for extremists.

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The Frightened Vietnamese Kid Who Became A U.S. Army General

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Forty years ago, Viet Luong was a 9-year-old Vietnamese boy fleeing Saigon with his family. Today he's the first Vietnamese-American general in the U.S. Army and is helping train the Afghan military.

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On Its Own, The Afghan Army Takes The Fight To The Taliban

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Afghan army is now fully in charge of combat operations. NPR's Tom Bowman heads out on a mission with troops as they engage the Taliban in one of its strongholds near the Pakistani border.

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With The U.S. In The Background, Afghan Commandos Step It Up

Monday, April 27, 2015

With fighting expected to pick up this spring, Afghanistan's security is heavily dependent on elite forces like the commandos. NPR's Tom Bowman profiles the top enlisted man.

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Suicide Blast Kills More Than 30 In Afghanistan

Saturday, April 18, 2015

An attack in Jalalabad killed more than 30 people Saturday. President Ashraf Ghani says ISIS may have claimed responsibility. If confirmed, it would be the group's first major attack in Afghanistan.

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Kabul Appears To Be More Tense Since U.S. Troop Drawdown

Thursday, April 16, 2015

In Afghanistan, U.S. forces are a tenth of what they were at the height of the war. In addition, their lead combat role has given way to a training mission. How are Afghan security forces faring?

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Biden Says ISIS 'No Longer On The Move' In Iraq

Thursday, April 09, 2015

Vice President Joe Biden says that the self-proclaimed Islamic State is no longer on the move in Iraq.

"The jury's still out, but the momentum is in the right direction," Biden said in a speech at National Defense University in Washington, in advance of a visit next week by Iraqi ...

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Pentagon Chief Searches For Beginning And Mid-Career Talent

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the military is looking for cyber professionals and others, saying it may have to waive barriers like age requirements in order to attract enough tech-savvy recruits.

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