Bryan Bender

American journalist and editor

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Bryan Bender (born May 18, 1972) is a communications executive and former award-winning national security reporter and editor who advises tech companies, nonprofits and research universities for SMI,[1] a Washington, DC, government affairs firm, and is an adjunct professor [2] at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

He is former senior national correspondent and defense editor for POLITICO,[3] where he authored the Morning Defense newsletter and edited POLITICO Space.[4]

He previously served as the Pentagon correspondent for The Boston Globe and Washington Bureau Chief for Jane’s Defence Weekly.

Bender has covered U.S. military and diplomatic operations in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has reported on a range of topics such as domestic and international terrorism; the international arms trade; veterans affairs; military training; nuclear arms control;[5] the anti-war movement; the nexus between climate change and national security;[6] government secrecy;[7] and newly declassified government files on Cuba, Vietnam, the Kennedy Administration, and unidentified anomalous phenomena,[8] or UAP.

He is author You Are Not Forgotten,[9] the story of an Iraq War veteran’s search for a missing World War II fighter pilot in the jungles of New Guinea. He has also extensively covered the U.S. military ongoing search for missing personnel[10] from past conflicts.[11]

Bender is researching a book on the early political careers of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the House of Representatives.[12]

Personal background

Bender is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and attended the United Hebrew Institute in Kingston and Wyoming Valley West High School in Plymouth. He earned undergraduate degrees in Political Science and English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.[13]

Professional background

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.[14][15]

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.[16][17]

In 2013, he was awarded the National Press Foundation's Everett Dirksen Award [18] for Distinguished Reporting of Congress for an investigation of the growing role of think tanks in partisan politics.

In 2023, he was the recipient of the European Press Prize for Investigative Reporting for an investigation into a global teenage network of neo-Nazis in collaboration with the German newspaper Welt.[19]

Bender serves as a member of the advisory board of Americans for Safe Aerospace, a non-profit advocacy organization led by military pilots that is dedicated to securing American aerospace and greater government transparency about UFOs.[20]

He is also former president of Military Reporters and Editors Association, the professional association for journalists covering the U.S. military.[21]

His work has also appeared in The New Republic, The New York Times,[22] Los Angeles Times,[23] Jane's Defence Weekly,[24] among other publications. He is also frequent television and radio commentator on national security and foreign policy topics.[25][26][27]

References

  1. ^ "Bryan Bender Joins SMI". strategicmi.com (Press release). January 17, 2023. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Coursicle – Chat with classmates". www.coursicle.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.[better source needed]
  3. ^ "Profile - Bryan Bender". politico.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Bender, Bryan (July 30, 2021). "POLITICO Space". POLITICO. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Bender, Bryan (July 28, 2023). "The Dangerous and Frightening Disappearance of the Nuclear Expert". POLITICO. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Bender, Bryan (March 9, 2013). "Chief of US Pacific forces calls climate biggest worry". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  7. ^ Bender, Bryan (August 23, 2022). "White House launches new war on secrecy". POLITICO. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  8. ^ Bender, Bryan (May 28, 2021). "How Harry Reid, a Terrorist Interrogator and the Singer From Blink-182 Took UFOs Mainstream". POLITICO. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Bender, Bryan (May 20, 2014). You Are Not Forgotten. Penguin. ISBN 9780307946461. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Bender, Bryan (January 27, 2023). "'Thousands of Men Have Come Home Because of Him'". POLITICO. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  11. ^ Bender, Bryan (December 4, 2021). "How DNA Solved One of the Final Mysteries of Pearl Harbor". POLITICO. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  12. ^ Bender, Bryan (April 29, 2022). "The Night Kennedy and Nixon Were Bunkmates". POLITICO. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  13. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Bryan/Bender [self-published source]
  14. ^ "Scripps Howard Foundation: What's New". Scripps.com. March 7, 2008. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  15. ^ "Army Knew of Cheating on Tests for Eight Years". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  16. ^ "2011 Finalist Bios". UCLA Anderson School of Management. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  17. ^ Bender, Bryan (December 26, 2010). "From the Pentagon to the private sector". Boston.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Bryan Bender". National Press Foundation. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Testi, Federica (April 20, 2023). "The best European journalism of the year: The European Press Prize announces its 2023 Shortlist". European Press Prize. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  20. ^ "Americans for Safe Aerospace". www.safeaerospace.org. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "New chair of Joint Chiefs addresses MRE confab". Medill National Security Zone. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  22. ^ "CIA and the Pentagon urged to assess warming's effect on security". The New York Times. April 9, 2007. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021.
  23. ^ Bender, Bryan (June 10, 2001). "Self-Defense Forces May Soon Look Like a Modern Military". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  24. ^ "Interview: William Cohen, US Secretary of Defense, by Bryan Bender". armscontrol.ru. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  25. ^ "PoliticsNation with al Sharpton on MSNBC". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  26. ^ "Bryan Bender, Nat'l Defense Correspondent, Boston Globe". C-SPAN. Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  27. ^ "U.S. Spends Billions on Iraq, Afghan Conflicts". News & Notes. NPR. October 5, 2006.