Bryan Bender


Bryan Bender is an American journalist. Bender is the defense editor for POLITICO Pro ; previously a D.C.-based reporter for the Boston Globe and Jane’s Defence Weekly, he covered U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and the Balkans. He also writes about terrorism, the international arms trade, and government secrecy. He is author You Are Not Forgotten, the story of an Iraq War veteran’s search for a missing World War II fighter pilot in the jungles of New Guinea. He is a board member of the Military Reporters and Editors Association.
He has covered US military operations in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America and his dispatches have covered a range of topics including the war in Afghanistan; veterans; military training; the anti-war movement; the Boston Marathon bombings; the nexus between climate change and national security; and newly declassified government files on Cuba, Vietnam, and the Kennedy Administration.

Personal background

Bender is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He earned undergraduate degrees in Political Science and English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Professional background

Bender specializes in military affairs, foreign policy, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and government secrecy.
In 1998, Bender was named the Washington bureau chief for Jane's Defence Weekly, a London-based magazine.
In 2007, Bender was a finalist for the Scripps Howard Foundation's Washington Reporting Award for an investigation into an Army cheating scandal.
In 2011, he was a finalist for the Gerald R. Loeb Award for Distinguished Business Reporting for a probe into the growing role of retired generals and admirals in defense companies and as private consultants.
In 2011 he uploaded this article about himself; he was also elected president of Military Reporters and Editors Association, the professional association for journalists covering the US military.
His work has also appeared in The New Republic, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Jane's Defence Weekly, among other publications. He is also frequent television and radio commentator on national security and foreign policy topics.