Rebecca Kheel

Rebecca Kheel specializes in covering Congress for Military.com, holding lawmakers accountable for how their decisions affect military personnel and veterans. She has covered the intersection of Congress and the military for nearly a decade, previously working as a defense reporter at The Hill. Kheel’s award-winning work has been recognized with the 2022 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Honorable Mention for National Defense Reporting and the 2023 Joe Galloway Award from Military Reporters & Editors, among other honors.

Prior to coming to Washington, D.C., she was a local reporter at the Orange County Register in her home state of California. She has a bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism and history from Syracuse University.

Email: rebecca.kheel@military.com

Latest Articles

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough

Extra $12B for VA Medical Budget in Limbo After Exclusion from Short-Term Spending Bill

Lawmakers did not include the requested VA funding in the continuing resolution -- and are so far not committing to including...

Guns safes sit against a wall at a gun shop in Lynnwood, Washington.

Veterans Could Get Free Gun Safes Under Suicide Prevention Proposal Introduced in House

Any veteran who wants a lockbox to store their firearm would be able to get one for free from the Department of Veterans...

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services at a confirmation hearing for his appointment as chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Hart Senate Office Building, District of Columbia.

Senate Approves National Guard Chief, Ending 2-Month Vacancy

As part of a batch of military confirmations, the Senate voted by voice Tuesday night to confirm Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus as...

Veterans Day parade in Sacramento, California

Veterans Benefits Safe After Senate Approves $3 Billion in Additional Funding Before Deadline

The Senate approved the legislation to cover the shortfall in Department of Veterans Affairs funding for disability and...

construction of new barracks Joint Base Lewis-McChord barracks

Amid Military Housing Crunch, Lawmakers Propose Incentive for Developers to Build Near Bases

Hoping to provide service members more affordable housing options near military bases, a bipartisan pair of House members...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to reporters

Veterans' Disability, Education Benefits Could Be Held Up if Senate Doesn't Vote to Fill $3B Shortfall by Friday

A $3 billion hole in veterans benefits funding is closer to being filled, but the Friday deadline to fix the issue without...

Medal of Honor recipients visit Arlington National Cemetery

Medal of Honor Recipients Could Get $100,000 Annual Pensions Under Bill Proposed in Congress

Under the Monetary Enhancement for Distinguished Active Legends, or MEDAL, Act, the monthly pension for Medal of Honor...

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren visits to Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

Increase DoD Child Care Staff Pay 'as Quickly as Possible,' Senators Tell Austin

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Rick Scott, who lead oversight of Pentagon personnel policies, are pushing the department to...

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance

Vance Would 'Consider' Expanding Private Care Options for Veterans if Trump Wins

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance expressed support for expanding veterans' ability to use private doctors...

National Guard Moves Closer to Filling Leadership Vacuum with Key Senate Hearing

Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus, right now a top Air Force officer with the North American Aerospace Defense Command, breezed...

Vets with Rare Lung Disease Could Get Benefits More Easily Under Proposed Changes, VA Says

The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking steps to remove the specific challenges veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis...

Congressional Gold Medal awarded to troops killed during Afghanistan withdrawal

Congress Bestows Highest Honor on Troops Killed in Abbey Gate Bombing, with Politics in Background

Surviving family members of the Abbey Gate suicide bombing victims accepted the Congressional Gold Medal as their loved ones'...

Lt. Gen. Ronald P. Clark, then commanding general, U.S. Army Central

Tuberville Holds Up Promotion of Austin's Top Aide over Hospitalization Secrecy

Tuberville is attributing the move to concerns over what role Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark may have played in the initial secrecy...

Coalition forces form a security perimeter at Kabul International Airport

US Military Warnings of Dire Situation in Afghanistan During Withdrawal Ignored, House GOP Report Finds

Warnings from U.S. military officers about the Taliban's swift advances as American troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021...

$12 Billion More for VA Medical Budget Urgently Needed, Department Says

If Congress does not include extra funding for Department of Veterans Affairs medical services in an upcoming stopgap...

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Most Popular Military News

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., smiles as he speaks to supporters during an election night rally at the Elks Lodge in Murphysboro, Ill.

House Approves Wide-Ranging Veterans Bill After Bipartisan Compromise Reached

A wide-ranging veterans policy bill that would bolster home caregiver programs and support for homeless veterans, among other...

U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor arrives at the ROTC building on a university campus

Kings of Campus: How Some Army Instructors Use Their Clout to Prey on College Cadets

To the young students in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), the officers who run the programs on college...

Sgt. Jacqueline Speights, from 175th Surgical Detachment, 531st Hospital Center, prepares a sample for COVID-19 testing while Spc. Samuel Mawanda, from 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), records data at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital’s COVID-19 sample processing section within the hospital’s Department of Pathology, Jan. 24, 2022. (Maria Christina Yager/Army)

Tricare Changes are Coming in 2025. Here’s What Beneficiaries Need to Know Right Now

Tricare beneficiaries need to be aware of changes taking place in both the East and West regions and may need to take action...

Gay pride flag flies during Pride Observance Month

Naval Academy Graduate Charged with Hate Crime After Pride Flag Ripped from Annapolis Shop

A Naval Academy graduate was charged with a hate crime after a tattoo shop in Annapolis reported its LGBTQ Pride flag had...

Who Is Doug Collins? A Look at Trump's Pick to Head the VA

The former Georgia congressman is a Southern Baptist minister and Air Force colonel.

Squad live fire exercise at Schofield Barracks

Thousands of Women Serve in Combat Roles. Pentagon Nominee Hegseth Says They Shouldn’t.

Pete Hegseth has made clear, in his own words, that he is critical of military service by women and more specifically opposes...

Latest Military Videos

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's D-Day Message

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower began drafting his Order of the Day for June 6, 1944, in February. It was...

French Military Training Ukrainian Troops Ahead of Battlefield Deployment

A French military task force with a festive name — “Champagne” — is wrapping up a mission that's no...

Ukraine Soldiers Focus on Keeping Russian Advances at Bay but Brace for Trump Taking Over in US

Ukrainian soldiers on the front know the re-election of Donald Trump in the U.S. will change their lives, but...

US Military Releases Video Said to Show Impact of Drone Strike on Houthi Rebels

The U.S. military on Wednesday said it had conducted several days of strikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels. (Nov. 14)...

Investigations and Features

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...

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

Sign welcomes visitors to Fort Carson, Colorado

Fort Carson Unveils Largest, First-of-Its-Kind Chemical Battery Installed on a DoD Site

A large new chemical battery at Fort Carson will help ensure the base can keep functioning during power outages and provide...

Sig Sauer Ordered to Pay $11 Million to Army Veteran Wounded by Pistol that Went Off By Itself

A Philadelphia jury has awarded $11 million to a man whose holstered Sig Sauer pistol went off by itself while he was going...

Navy News

Malaysian fugitive Francis Leonard Glenn, known as Fat Leonard

'Fat Leonard' to Appeal Sentence, While Retired Navy Captain Will Seek a Reduced Charge

The prison term imposed by U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino at the Nov. 5 sentencing hearing was more than three years...

Cher's more formal look in her 1989 music video, "If I Could Turn Back Time," filmed aboard the battleship USS Missouri. (Criteron Studios)

How Cher's 'Turn Back Time' Music Video Made Even the Navy Blush

A video featuring Cher singing to a rowdy group of American sailors would have been no trouble for anyone involved -- if it...

Air Force News

Privately owned vehicles wait to enter through the Dale Mabry gate at MacDill Air Force Base.

MacDill Airman Gets 5 Years Of Probation in 'Undead Apes' Blockchain Fraud

U.S. District Judge William Jung sentenced Devin Rhoden to five years’ probation, a reflection of Rhoden’s substantial...

Two Air Force Special Operations Command CV-22B Ospreys fly low and fast in formation on a training range

The Osprey's Safety Issues Spiked over Five Years and Caused Deaths. Pilots Still Want to Fly It

The Osprey is back in the air after being grounded for months following a crash last November that killed eight U.S. service...

Space Force News

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink 4-36 payload launches

Pentagon Silent on Elon Musk and Starlink Risks as Military Use Expands

In the past year, U.S. news outlets have reported that Musk, who oversees the satellite internet provider, has developed a...

The flag of the U.S. Space Command is unfurled at the White House

Colorado Could Lose US Space Command. Trump Is Expected to Move It to Alabama.

Trump's original decision to place Space Command -- the combatant command tasked with military operations in space that was...

Marine Corps News

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

Marine Corps F-35C Was Used in Combat for First Time to Strike Houthis, Military Confirms

Traveling at speeds of 1,200 mph, the F-35C can carry Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, air-to-air missiles and other...