My reporting often focuses on the working people far from The Pentagon who make up the military, and how decisions made in Washington affect individual lives and communities.
My first job was delivering my hometown newspaper on my bike and my first real job, after graduating from The Columbia University Journalism School, was working for that newspaper, The Gazette in Colorado Springs. I have covered the military for more than 15 years, and twice have been awarded The Pulitzer Prize for reporting that revealed the unintended fallout of the United States’ wars abroad. I still live in Colorado Springs, a city filled with military bases and veterans that helps keep my reporting grounded.
My latest book, “Alpha, Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALs,” is an account of a Navy SEAL platoon that accused its commander of war crimes and the legal battle that exposed problems in how elite forces operate.
All Times journalists are committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook. For me, that means making the effort to understand issues deeply, and from several angles, and ensuring I cultivate the perspective and independence that allow me to report without fear or favor.
Email: david.philipps@nytimes.com
Facebook: Dave Philipps
LinkedIn: Dave Philipps
Investigators found lapses in the handling of a troubled reservist who went on to kill 18 people, but they rejected suggestions that his Army work had damaged his brain.
By Dave Philipps
A German medic said he was so troubled that he confronted his commander. Others boasted about killings in a group chat.
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
A military lab found distinctive damage from repeated blast exposure in every brain it tested, but Navy SEAL leaders were kept in the dark about the pattern.
By Dave Philipps and Kenny Holston
A growing number of scientists suggest that troops are getting brain injuries from firing heavy weapons. An old party trick involving a beer bottle explains the physics of what happens when a blast wave hits the brain, and the damage it can cause.
By Dave Philipps, Rebecca Suner, Ruru Kuo, Emily Rhyne, Gabriel Blanco and Noah Throop
Soldiers exposed to thousands of low-level blasts from firing weapons like mortars say that they wind up with debilitating symptoms of traumatic brain injury — but no diagnosis.
By Dave Philipps
Amputees who try to join the U.S. armed forces are rejected, no matter how capable they are. Hannah Cvancara wants to change that.
By Dave Philipps
The Pentagon would be required to modify weapons, update safety guidelines, train medical staff and track individual troops’ exposure to repeated blasts that can injure their brains.
By Dave Philipps
An attack by an Army reservist prompted a search for answers about whether the soldier’s service could have been a factor.
By Sabrina Tavernise, Dave Philipps, Jessica Cheung, Clare Toeniskoetter, Olivia Natt, Sydney Harper, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Chris Wood
Exposure to blasts, even at low levels, may play a much greater role in veterans’ mental health struggles than has been known, with implications for treatment strategies and for criminal justice.
By Dave Philipps
A commission in Maine asked former colleagues of the shooter about key moments of inaction before the rampage.
By Jenna Russell