Rachel Nostrant

Rachel Nostrant is a Marine Corps veteran and freelance journalist, with work published in Reuters, New York Magazine, Military Times and more.

Latest Articles

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...

USS Boxer (LHD 4) conducts flight quarters while transiting the Pacific Ocean

Troubled USS Boxer Returns Home 10 Days into Deployment Due to Maintenance Issue

The maintenance-embattled USS Boxer is heading back to San Diego just 10 days after deploying due to an engineering issue, as...

Pentagon Press Secretary U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder

Pentagon Asks Watchdog to Investigate Abuse Issues in Base Day Care Centers After Military.com Report

The inspector general's office told Military.com in an email that it was reviewing the request "to determine the appropriate...

Volunteers place wreaths at Fort Richardson National Cemetery

Alaska Is Still Waiting to Get its First State-Run Veterans Cemetery. A Backlog Stands in its Way.

Veterans make up nearly 10% of Alaska's population, according to the U.S. Census, and yet it has been repeatedly passed over...

Marine Corps Becomes the First Military Branch to Pass a Financial Audit

The Corps will hypothetically be able to better focus on modernizing its workforce following the clean audit.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville walks through Capitol Hill

Back Pay for Officers Caught in Tuberville Hold Gets Momentum in House, But Guard Bonuses Still Uncertain

The House bill mirrors bipartisan legislation unveiled on the Senate floor on Dec. 7 and would pay hundreds of officers who...

U.S. Space Force recruits recite the Oath of Enlistment

Space Force May Soon Offer 8-Year Active-Duty Enlistment Options for New Guardians

As the youngest branch of the U.S. military tries to grow its force, longer active-duty contracts may be an option for...

Former Air National Guardsman Facing Child Porn Charges May Have Defected to Russian Military

Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, a former security forces technical sergeant with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, allegedly fled...

U.S. Coast Guard boat patrols the East River in New York

Coast Guard Is Short on Manpower, But Lack of Data Makes 'True Magnitude' Unknown, Watchdog Says

A May report from the GAO suggested the Coast Guard is around 4,800 members short, marking the fourth consecutive fiscal year...

Navy Lt. Paul Johnson is set to begin his 3,000-mile run from Los Angeles to New York City on Friday.

Surface Warfare Officer Attempts to Break World Record, Running from Los Angeles to New York in 40 Days

Navy Lt. Paul Johnson, an active-duty surface warfare officer, will begin his 3,000-mile run from Los Angeles to New York...

U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) as the ship returns to Yokosuka

Navy Chief Allegedly Shared Classified Information with Foreign National While Stationed in Virginia and Japan

Chief Petty Officer Bryce Steven Pedicini, a fire controlman, was charged in January on allegations of committing espionage...

A Nurse with an Amputation Hopes to Join the Air Force. A New Bill Could Allow Her to Do So.

The "Hannah Cvancara Service Act," a bill introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., would allow amputees interested...

U.S. Marines during bi-lateral Close Quarter Battle training in Spain

Marine Corps Sends Special Response Unit to Haiti After Partial US Embassy Evacuation

U.S. Southern Command said that the need for the FAST came at the request of the State Department, and that it "is prepared...

Chinese National Attempted to Run Gate at Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base in California

The suspect briefly made it past gate guards, but was immediately apprehended by military police, Marine spokesperson Maj...

Marksmanship Sustainment Training Exercise at Riverroad Training Site

After 9,000 Guardsmen Weren't Paid Owed Bonuses, House Lawmakers Say They Want Answers

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has sent a letter to the National Guard's commanding officer, demanding answers for the...

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Most Popular Military News

Lights shine inside the U.S. Capitol Building as night falls in Washington.

Troop Pay Safe After Congress Approves Extension of Government Funding

Troop pay is no longer in jeopardy after Congress approved legislation to keep the government funded through mid-March and...

Weeks before his retirement, Marine Col. Aaron Cunningham, left, and his wife, Jennifer, joined their only son, Mason, this summer when he was commissioned as a Marine second lieutenant.

They Fought in Iraq’s Bloodiest Battle. Will Their Kids Be the Next Generation of Marines?

No matter the profession, parents and children in both civilian and military families must navigate delicate decisions about...

14.5% Junior Enlisted Pay Raise, Restriction on Care for Transgender Military Kids Headed to Biden's Desk

The 4.5% raise will be added to all service members' paychecks at the beginning of January, while the remaining 10% extra for...

Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division receive the Army Commendation Medal.

Army Set to Debut Master Combat Badges in Spring, Memo Says

The Army is set to begin awarding Master Combat Badges, which will combine expert and traditional combat badges, next spring...

Handcuffs lay on a table at Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Police Say Marine Charged with Escort's Murder Googled Whether It's Possible to Scream While Being Strangled

In what a local official called a "chilling" case, an active-duty Marine stationed in Florida was arrested and charged with...

Lessons from the Air Force Kitchen Police: Volunteer for Everything. Even Pots and Pans

When Ed Meagher reported to Air Force basic training on June 15, 1966, he was a 19-year-old college dropout. Despite two...

Latest Military Videos

Trump Claims Government Knows What Drones Are

In a far-ranging interview news conference, President-elect Donald Trump said the U.S. government "knows what is happening" with the...

Russian Forces Seen Withdrawing Toward Northern Syrian City of Tartus

A lengthy convoy of Russian military vehicles were seen withdrawing from Latakia toward the Syrian city of Tartus on...

Schumer Calls on US Agencies to Use Advanced Technology to Identify Mysterious Drones

After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, U.S...

Mother of American Found in Syria: 'We All Want You Home'

An American citizen who disappeared seven months ago into former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system said he...

Investigations and Features

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...

A patch in the home of retired missileer Paul Hunke

They Stood Sentry over America's Nuclear Missile Arsenal. Many Worry It Gave Them Cancer.

For years, it was an open secret among missileers that the Cold War-era missile alert facilities and launch control centers...

Army News

A photograph of the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Joshua James.

Army Veteran Sentenced to Probation for Milestone Conviction in Oath Keepers Sedition Plot

The judge described Joshua James as a “true American hero” for his military service and praised him for having the courage to...

U.S. Army soldiers conduct a tactical movement in Northeast Syria

Pentagon Reveals 2,000 US Troops Are in Syria – More than Double What Was Previously Reported

In a surprise announcement, the Pentagon revealed that it has not been offering an accurate count of how many U.S. troops it...

Navy News

A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B takes off from the a USS Boxer

Ospreys Cleared to Fly Again, But Problematic Gearbox Gets More Scrutiny

The Navy office that oversees the military's use of the V-22 Osprey is allowing the services to resume flying the aircraft...

'Warfare,' from writer, director and Navy SEAL veteran Ray Mendoza, is in theaters in 2025. (A24)

‘Warfare': A Real-Time Iraq War Combat Film from a Navy SEAL and the Director of 'Civil War'

Scheduled for release in 2025, "Warfare" follows a team of SEALs holed up in an Iraqi home, following their action in real...

Air Force News

NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs

Is the NORAD Santa Tracker Safe from a Government Shutdown?

NORAD's annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War, predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics.

A sign at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Air Force Tears Down Historic Wright-Patterson House After $1.2M Renovation

A little over a decade after the Air Force spent some $1.2 million to renovate a former officer's home on Wright-Patterson...

Space Force News

President-elect Trump and Elon Musk at a SpaceX Starship rocket launch

As Space Force Marks 5-Year Anniversary, Republicans and Trump Aim to Take it Higher

In a month, the president who created the Space Force will be back in the White House, and one of the service's biggest...

Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Moore, senior enlisted leader, 138th Space Control Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Air National Guard, secures equipment aboard a C-17 Globemaster.

Senate OKs Move of Space-Focused National Guard Units. Colorado Governor Says Air Force Wouldn't Negotiate.

The Senate approved the annual defense bill Wednesday that moves National Guard units into the active-duty Space Force after...

Marine Corps News

U.S. Marine reenlists during a ceremony on Camp Courtney, Okinawa

How the Marine Corps Is Changing to Keep Talented Marines in the Service

For decades, the Marine Corps incurred a "remarkably high turnover rate" among its first-term Marines as it prioritized, and...

This 2023 age-progressed photo, released by the FBI Washington Field Office, shows what Austin Tice may look like in his 40s. Tice disappeared at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus, Syria, in August 2012.

Mystery Surrounding Abducted Marine Veteran Austin Tice Enters New Chapter with Syrian Manhunt

The search for missing Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice that stumped the U.S. government for 12 years has entered a new...

Coast Guard News

The SS United States is docked at Pier 82 in Philadelphia.

Coast Guard Halts Departure of Historic Ocean Liner Destined to Become a Giant Artificial Reef

The historic ocean liner the SS United States appears to be staying at a Philadelphia dock for now after the U.S. Coast Guard...

The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball’s 35-foot, long-range interceptor small boat prepares to conduct a joint search-and-rescue exercise in Kagoshima Bay, Japan, with a Japan Coast Guard AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter aircrew.

US Coast Guard to Participate in First-Ever Drill in Tokyo Bay

The coast guards of Japan, the United States, Australia and India are to conduct their first four-country drill at the Port...