Thomas Novelly

About Thomas Novelly

Thomas Novelly is a reporter for Military.com, where he specializes in coverage of issues that directly impact 700,000 airmen and Guardians and their families. His work ranges from investigations into cancer and health concerns among service members who protect America's nuclear missiles to safety issues with the military's Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, as well as features into marginalized communities and profiles of Department of the Air Force leadership.

For nearly a decade, he has covered military communities and federal politics across the country from the Mile High City in Colorado to the Lowcountry of South Carolina and beyond. He previously was the military and politics reporter for the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston.

He won best breaking news story from the Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Pro Chapter in 2018 for reporting on the FBI's investigation of the University of Louisville basketball team. In 2021, he was part of a team of reporters named as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for a series titled "Rising Water," which examined widespread climate issues and flooding across Charleston. In 2024, he was a Pulitzer Center grantee who investigated health concerns among America's missileers.

Expertise

Air Force/Space Force quality-of-life expert
Journalist since 2017

Professional Roles

Air and Space Force reporter for Military.com
Post and Courier military and politics reporter
Courier Journal breaking news reporter

Education

Holds a bachelor's degree in politics and journalism from Hillsdale College

Achievements

Part of a team that was a 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist
Pulitzer Center Grantee 2024
SPJ Louisville Best Breaking New Story 2018

Connect with Thomas

Email: thomas.novelly@military.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-novelly-36aa4168/

X: https://x.com/TomNovelly

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tomnovelly.bsky.social

Latest Articles

Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher, 24, died during a training mission aboard a CV-22 Osprey when it crashed on Nov. 29, 2023.

Family of Airman Killed in Japan Osprey Crash Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Scrutiny of the military's Osprey aircraft is ramping up as family members of an Air Force special operations airman who was...

160 Years Later, Descendants of Army's Sand Creek Massacre Still Wait for Justice

Friday, Nov. 29, marks 160 years since the Sand Creek bloodshed, and the pain of the tragedy still haunts descendants of...

A CV-22B Osprey from the 352nd Special Operations Wing conducts a flyover at a Veterans Day ceremony at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Cambridge, England.

Steel Company Tied to Deadly Air Force Osprey Crash Faced Defective Parts Lawsuit in 2001

Military officials have refused to say whether they're still working with a company responsible for making the gear that...

Strange Drones Have Been Buzzing US Air Force Bases in the United Kingdom

These latest drone sightings come after it was reported in The Wall Street Journal that mysterious drones swarmed the area...

Donald Trump before the launch of a test flight of the SpaceX Starship

Trump Reportedly Weighs Immediate Discharge of All Transgender Troops. Here's What That Would Mean.

The proposed plan, as first reported by the Times of London, would entail signing an order within days of Trump taking office...

Air Force's Special Operations Crop Duster Plane Will Be Flown for Training at Oklahoma Base

An Air National Guard base in Oklahoma will host the first formal training unit for the service's armed recon crop duster...

Vandenberg unveils new U.S. Space Force name at a ceremony

Vandenberg Space Force Base Deemed Contaminant Free Amid Rising Cancer Concerns Among Missile Personnel

The findings "found no instances of contamination above regulatory action levels" after testing for polychlorinated biphenyls...

Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance

'He's Going to Have to Explain It': Surprise Defense Secretary Pick's History Takes Center Stage

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's surprise pick to be the next defense secretary, has an extensive history of...

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...

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey in 2014

From the Internet Boom to the Press Room: Military.com's 25 Years of Work for the Troops

When Military.com started in 1999, it wasn't clear whether it would survive the rough and tumble dot-com boom in which...

Jeremy Russell during a change of command at Malmstrom Air Force Base

Air Force Commander of Nuclear Missile Maintenance at Malmstrom Fired After Investigation

Col. Jeremy Russell, the commander of Malmstrom's 341st Maintenance Group, was removed from his role "due to a loss of trust...

U.S. Army helicopters, assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, fly in formation during the 25th Infantry Division Review over Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Months After Pregnant Army Spouse Disappeared in Hawaii, Her Husband Is Charged with Murder

The murder count and other charges, including several filed in August, were brought against Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson II of...

Donald Trump speaks at the National Guard Association conference

Space National Guard Could Become Reality Under Donald Trump

Trump said during a National Guard Association of the United States conference in August that "as president, I will sign...

A U.S. airman assigned to the 180th Fighter Wing in Swanton, Ohio, wears a voting sticker on Election Day 2016. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hughes)

Live Election Updates: Trump Wins, Senate Flips

Former President Donald Trump secured enough electoral college votes to return to the White House, and there are plenty of...

Pedestrian walks past boarded up stores near the White House in Washington

National Guard on Standby in Many States as America Faces Tense Election Day

Many of those deployed are "cyber specialists" and civil support teams, an official said, detailing that there are no...

Military News

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