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

George Foster and a soldier examining Hideki Tojo for his new set of dentures.

This Navy Dentist Engraved 'Remember Pearl Harbor' on Hideki Tojo's Dentures

For roughly three months in 1946 and 1947, the man who approved the attack on Pearl Harbor walked around Sugamo Prison with...

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host Tuskegee Airmen at a showing of the movie “Red Tails” at the White House. Cicero Satterfield is in the second row, far right. White House photo. Source: DVIDS

Black History Month Turns 100

Black History Month highlights Black servicemembers whose courage shaped the military despite segregation and discrimination.

Navy Chaplain Cmdr. Jason M. Constantine leads a prayer during Easter vigil in the chapel of amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), April 16, 2022. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nadia Lund)

DoW Christian Service Draws Dozens of Complaints from Members, Contractors

One contractor told Military.com that the email invite was "stark, depressing, almost threatening."

Official U.S.M.C. portrait of PFC. Dan Bullock. He altered his birth certificate to appear older and enlisted in the Marines at 14 -years-old. he died in combat at the age of 15 while acting as an ammunition runner for his unit which was under attack. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Youngest American Killed in Vietnam Enlisted in the Marines at 14

PFC Dan Bullock became the youngest American service member killed in the Vietnam War after forging his birth certificate to...

Why You Didn’t Get the Job: Understanding How Companies Hire

In today’s turbulent, unpredictable and frustrating hiring market, job-seekers are seemingly doing everything right and...

Latest Military Videos

US Troops Evacuate Major Military Base in Northeast Syria

US troops evacuate major military base in northeast Syria.

Photos Show Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Docked on Greek Island

Photos show US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford docked at naval base on Greek island of Crete.

Ukrainians in Kyiv Mourn Four Years of War

Ukrainians in Kyiv mourn four years of war on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

North Korea Congress Reelects Kim Jong Un as Party Chief, Again

North Korea congress reelects Kim Jong Un as party chief, again.

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

Soldiers compete on the Best Operator Lane during the U.S. Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition in Huntsville, Ala. on Feb. 18, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Aaron Troutman)

Army's Inaugural Drone Awards Competition Draws 200-Plus Participants

"Unmanned systems are no longer experimental but decisive capabilities on today’s battlefield," a drone expert told Military...

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) color guard presents the colors during the official ceremony of the 78th year commemoration of Operation Market Garden at Sint-Oedenrode, Netherlands, Sept. 18, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Angelo Mejia)

Did Color Guard Appearance at National Religious Conference Break Protocol?

An Army spokesperson told Military.com the event was "nonpartisan," though Defense Secretary Hegseth attacked previous...

Navy News

Thanks But No Thanks: Trump’s Hospital Ship Plan Provokes Defense of Greenland Health Care System

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and...

Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) honors its 2025 Military Instructors of the Year (Austen McClain/NETC).

Military Instructors of the Year Recognized for ‘Highest Standards of Leadership’

NETC honored its 2025 Military Instructors of the Year in Pensacola, recognizing five Navy and Marine Corps leaders chosen...

Air Force News

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, center, and Under Secretary of Defense Michael Duffey,

US Military Airlifts Small Reactor as Trump Pushes to Quickly Deploy Nuclear Power

The nearly 700-mile flight was hailed as a breakthrough for U.S. efforts to fast-track commercial licensing for microreactors...

DoW Christian Service Draws Dozens of Complaints from Members, Contractors

One contractor told Military.com that the email invite was "stark, depressing, almost threatening."

Space Force News

A Vulcan rocket carrying the USSF-87 mission successfully launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Feb. 12, 2026. (U.S. Space Force photo by Staff Sergeant Samuel Becker)

The Ultimate High Ground: Space in US Defense Strategy

The 2026 Defense Strategy elevates space as the new high ground. In an exclusive interview, Stephen Kitay explains how AI and...

POLARIS at NATO Exercise REPMUS 25 in October 2025. POLARIS is a small, gimballed free space optical communication solution for naval vessels and unmanned surface vessels. (Photo source: NATO DIANA, courtesy of Astrolight)

Russian Satellite Activity Exposes Gaps in Satellite Communications Security

Military.com spoke with Astrolight CEO Laurynas Mačiulis on why laser-based optical communications offer a resilient...

Marine Corps News

Ross F. Gray, a Marine from Alabama, earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Marine Who Crossed a Minefield Unarmed to Wipe Out Japanese Defenses on Iwo Jima

Sgt. Ross F. Gray carried a satchel charge though a minefield while under heavy Japanese fire. What followed became one of...

Football exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (Photo by Robert Billard, Military.com)

Marine Corps Museum Unveils Football Exhibit: Honoring a Winning Legacy

From wartime roots to the gridiron: Uncover the hidden history of Marine Corps football, where Leathernecks produced 21 NFL...

Coast Guard News

A Department of Homeland Security building sign in Washington.

What to Know About the Homeland Security Shutdown

The vast majority of employees at the Secret Service and U.S. Coast Guard will continue their work, though they could also...

More than 12,750 pounds of cocaine and marijuana are stacked on pallets aboard USCGC Seneca (WMEC 906) to be offloaded at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sept. 30, 2025. Seneca is a Famous Class medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia. (U.S Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Diana Sherbs)

Coast Guard Seizes 200,000 Pounds of Cocaine in Six Months in Pacific Ocean

Operation Pacific Viper, which began in August, is getting rave reviews from federal officials.