Richard Sisk

Richard Sisk has more than 45 years of journalism experience in reporting and editing in the U.S. and abroad for United Press International, the N.Y. Daily News and now for Military.com. He has covered police beats, the courts, transportation and politics in New York City and Washington, D.C., and had numerous assignments in the Mideast, Europe and Latin America. He has covered six presidential campaigns and since 2016 has been Military.com’s Pentagon reporter. Sisk is a Vietnam veteran who served with the 2nd Battalion, Fourth Marines, in 1967-68.

Latest Articles

Lt. James Crotty as lieutenant junior grade aboard a Coast Guard cutter. (U.S. Coast Guard)

POW Hero: Coast Guard’s Jimmy Crotty Came Home After 77 Years

Jimmy Crotty’s courage under fire and in captivity became legendary — a story of sacrifice, endurance and homecoming.

The Little-Known Role of Jimmy Doolittle in Nagasaki Atomic Bombing

Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle famously led the first U.S. strike against the Japanese homeland during World War II, and...

A help-wanted sign is displayed at a live music and blues club in Chicago.

Veterans Unemployment Rate Drops, But Trump Fires BLS Commissioner After Weak Overall Jobs Report

President Donald Trump ordered the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Friday following a weak jobs report...

Author Guy Gugliotta’s book, ‘Grant’s Enforcer,’ tells the story of how President Ulysses S. Grant picked a little-known postwar official in Georgia named Amos T. Akerman (above) to become his attorney general and fight the Ku Klux Klan.

Ulysses S. Grant Picked a Confederate Slave Owner to Take Down the KKK

Amos T. Akerman was a curious case to become President Ulysses S. Grant's attorney general, as depicted in Guy Gugliotta’s...

Scientists and other workers rig the world's first atomic bomb.

Trinity Test Fallout Victims in New Mexico Finally Get Compensation After 80 Years

Congress earlier this month finally got around to making New Mexico fallout victims of the first test of an atomic bomb and...

Four Chaplains Day

Feb. 3 marks the anniversary of the sinking of the United States Army Transport Dorchester and the selfless acts of four Army...

President Harry Truman holds up a handful of pens

Presidents Sometimes Use 4th of July Celebrations to Unveil Major Policies. Most Times, They Don't.

The past offered little guidance for President Trump on whether to make a major policy announcement on the Fourth of July...

Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television

Air Force's Bunker-Buster Bomb Could Take Out Iran Nuclear Facility, But Israel Hints at Other Options

The Israeli campaign to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons will be considered a failure if the centrifuges deep...

U.S. Coast Guard landing barge at Normandy, France during D-Dy invasion.

Coasties Braved Withering German Fire to Put Troops Ashore on D-Day

The role played by Coast Guard personnel who crewed the Higgins boats was critical to the success of the D-Day landings in...

What Ike Remembered When Returning to the Beaches of Normandy 20 Years After D-Day

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division tried to ease the concerns of...

President Donald Trump speaks during an event

White House Says Trump’s Proposal to Rename Veterans Day Has Been Scrapped

The White House has backed off President Donald Trump’s stunning social media proposal to change the name of Veterans Day to...

Helicopter aboard the USS Blue Ridge pushed into the sea off the coast of Vietnam

Frantic Refugees, Helicopters Pushed Overboard: Memories of the Fall of Saigon 50 Years Later

Fifty years later, the surreal images of U.S. sailors and Marines scrambling to push, drag and muscle helicopters overboard...

Colonial militia reenactors prior to the Boston Marathon

British General Gave Order 250 Years Ago that Sparked Revolution in What Became America

The anniversary of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War precedes a slew of planned celebrations when the United States marks...

Secret Recordings Show President Roosevelt Debating Military Desegregation with Civil Rights Leaders

More than a year before Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt heard arguments from the civil rights leaders of the...

Modular housing for homeless veterans in Los Angeles

Appeals Court Wary of Supreme Court Reversal on Case Calling for Housing LA Homeless Veterans

The appeals hearing was the latest in a legal battle between veterans and the VA on whether the campus in LA will be cleared...

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Most Popular Military News

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., left, confronts House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Federal Government Shutdown Grinds into a Second Week as Tempers Flare at the Capitol

As the federal government shutdown enters a second week, there’s no discernible endgame in sight.

Pvt. Paul Douglas, age 50, performs a rifle inspection with his drill instructor aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot S.C., 1942. Douglas, at age 50 was the oldest recruit in the history of Parris Island, and went on to become a purple heart recipient and Chicago senator (DVIDS).

At 50, He Survived Marine Boot Camp — Then Fought at Peleliu and Okinawa

When 50-year-old Paul Douglas showed up at Marine Corps boot camp in 1942, the white-haired economics professor looked more...

Pack and transport platoon of the Russian army. Southern Military District. Ministry of Defense of Russia (Wikimedia Commons).

Ukrainian Drones Attack Russian Cavalry Troops in Rare 21st-Century Encounter

A short video circulating online this month appears to show a Russian mounted patrol being struck by a Ukrainian drone near...

When The Government Can Afford Everything Except The Essentials

Every shutdown forces the government to decide what counts as “essential.” Air traffic controllers and TSA agents fall into...

Troops Will Miss Paychecks Next Week Without Action on the Government Shutdown

The federal government shutdown is raising anxiety levels among service members and their families, because those in uniform...

Latest Military Videos

Johnson on Military Action in Greenland ‘I Don’t Think That’s Appropriate’

Johnson on military action in Greenland ‘I don’t think that’s appropriate’.

Venezuela's Interim President Declares 7 Days of Mourning for Soldiers Killed in US Attack

Venezuela's interim president declares seven days of mourning for soldiers killed in US attack.

Danish PM Says a US Takeover of Greenland Would Mark End of NATO

Danish prime minister says a US takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO.

Maduro Pleads Not Guilty in US Court Appearance

Maduro pleads not guilty in US court appearance.

Investigations and Features

In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide

Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark...

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...

Army News

American and Australian troops dug in together during the Battle of Hamel. Hamel was fought in the early morning and by a happy arrangement on what was their National Day, United States troops attacked, at battalion strength, for the first time in the British line. Their part in the operation not only made the day memorable for them, but created a great bond between the Americans and Australians. Left to right: five unidentified; Private Jamieson, 42nd Battalion; Lance Corporal Bellamy, 42nd Battalion. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Battle of Hamel: Australian Soldiers Taught American Doughboys to Fight Germans in WWI

For the first time in American history, U.S. soldiers would fight under a foreign command. In 93 minutes, they would help win...

The Second Seminole War (1835–42) took place in Florida between the U.S. military and the Seminole people. (Dade Battle by Ken Hughes 1974/Miami History Center)

Seminole Warriors Fought the US Military to a Stalemate in the Florida Swamps

Fewer than 2,000 Seminole warriors held off an American force that eventually numbered more than 30,000 troops. It became the...

Navy News

Hegseth Censures Sen. Kelly After Warning About Following Illegal Orders

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that he is issuing a letter of censure to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona...

U.S. military aircraft are parked on the tarmac at the airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.

How the US Captured Venezuelan Leader Nicolás Maduro

Trump said a few U.S. members of the operation were injured but he believed no one was killed.

Air Force News

Air Force veteran Dominic Marino was murdered in the fall of 2018. Police are still searching for leads in his case. (Photo from obituary)

Who Killed Dominic Marino? 7 Years Later, Murder of Disabled Veteran Baffles Police

More than seven years after Dominic Marino was brutally killed inside his Connecticut home, police are still searching for...

President Donald Trump talks to the media.

With Capture of Maduro, Trump Treads Into Uncharted Territory

Trump has now twice used U.S. forces to carry out risky operations against American adversaries.

Space Force News

President Donald Trump holds top a signed executive order as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watches in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

How Trump’s 2025 'War' Agenda Rewired the Pentagon

Trump’s 2025 executive actions reshape how the current administration defines national security.

A painting of a Defense Support Program satellite from the Air Force Art collection. DSP provides a variety of national security capabilities. Its flagship mission of launch detection was made famous during the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force image)

Clearing The Orbits: Space Force Partnerships In Orbital Cleanup

The growing congestion of Earth orbit has raised risks to satellites, space stations, and long-term space sustainability. The...

Marine Corps News

GySgt Cord Burgan conducting CBRN training in Okinawa, Japan, in 2022. Burgan was one of the nine appointments designated to switch from Master Sergeant to First Sergeant in January 2026 (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Weston Brown)

Master Sergeant to First Sergeant: Marine Corps Revives Decades-Lost Flexibility

The Marine Corps has launched a pilot program allowing master sergeants to apply for redesignation as first sergeants...

The Green Jackers attend a hearing at the Suffolk County Veterans Treatment Court (Alexandra Imandt/New York Unified Court System)(

Green Jacket Volunteers Help Veterans Succeed in Drug Treatment Courts

The Green Jackets, a volunteer group of Vietnam veterans, are helping other veterans overcome problems with addiction and...

Coast Guard News

US Forces Board Venezuela-Linked Sanctioned Oil Tanker in North Atlantic, US Official Says

A U.S. official says U.S. forces have boarded a Venezuela-linked sanctioned oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing...

The Port of Guam as seen from the motor vessel Kenyo, offloading cement in Guam, on Oct. 20, 2022. The Port of Guam is the island's only deepwater port and receives about 90 percent of the island's imports. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir)

Energy Impact of MARAD Takeover of Deepwater Ports From Coast Guard

U.S. officials said the change in who's overseeing deepwater licenses will boost domestic energy revenue and allow for global...