David Nathaniel Philipps (born 1977) is an American journalist, a national correspondent for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and author of three non-fiction books. His work has largely focused on the human impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the people who make up the United States military. He has been awarded The

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

twice, most recently in 2022.

Career

David Philipps has been a military correspondent for The New York Times since 2014. Previous to that he worked for 11 years as a features writer and enterprise reporter at the

Colorado Springs Gazette ''The Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. The company relaunched ...

. His work has largely focused on the impact of war on the people who make up the military. Philipps's reporting in 2023 and 2024 focused on how firing heavy weapons, operating high-power vehicles, and other routine training that the military for generations thought was safe was causing serious brain injuries. Those injuries were often mistaken for PTSD. Philipps documented a broad pattern of debilitating brain injuries in artillery and mortar crews, career Navy SEALs and Navy fighter pilots, prompting a series of corrective actions by Congress and The Pentagon. Dave Philipps on fighter piltos

In 2022 Philipps was part of a team of reporters that exposed how United States military airstrikes in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan caused thousands of civilian deaths that had never been publicly reported. The work was awarde
The Pulitzer Prize for international reporting
The author's 2021 book
ALPHA
examines the high-profile court martial of Navy SEAL chief Edward Gallagher and the history and culture of the elite SEAL commando teams that lead to what the men who served under him testified were a number of cold-blooded murders. In 2014, Philipps published for a three-day series "Other Than Honorable" in '' The Gazette'' of

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

on the treatment of injured American soldiers being discharged without military benefits. The series was awarded the Pulitzer for national reporting Philipps has been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize four times, i
2009
for an investigation of violent crime in Colorado Springs by returning combat soldiers, i
2018
for breaking news coverage of a mass shooting in Las Vegas, and in 2024 and 20
2024
for an investigation showing soldiers were getting brain injuries from firing their own weapons. Philipps also won the 2009

Livingston Award The Livingston Awards at the University of Michigan are American journalism awards issued to media professionals under the age of 35 for local, national, and international reporting. They are the largest, all-media, general reporting prizes in Amer ...

for his reporting on violence in infantry troops returning from

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. His book, ''Lethal Warriors'' chronicles how the 12th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, produced a high number of murders after soldiers returned from unusually violent combat tours. Philipps has written extensively about wild horses in the West. His work gained attention in 2012 when U.S. Secretary of Interior

Ken Salazar Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Mexico from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administ ...

threatened to punch him for asking about problems in the department's wild horse program. The incident was later parodied by the satirical news publication The Onion. Philipps's subsequent reporting led to state and federal investigation of the wild horse program and its largest horse buyer. His 2017 book
''Wild Horse Country''
traces the culture and history that created modern wild horse management. Philipps graduated from Middlebury College in 2000 and earned a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2002.

Education

Middlebury College, 2000 Columbia University School of Journalism, 2002

Notable works

*
ALPHA: Eddie Gallagher and the war for the soul of the Navy SEALs
' *"Top Gun Pilots Fly at the Extremes. Their Brains May Suffe

*"Pattern of Brain Injury is Pervasive in Navy SEALs who Died by Suicid

*"A Secret War, Strange New Wounds, and Silence From the Pentago

The New York Times, Nov. 5, 2023 *"Death in Navy SEALs Reveals a Culture of Brutality, Cheating and Drug

The New York Times, Aug. 30, 2022 *"How the U.S. Hid Airstrikes that Killed Dozens of Civilian

The New York Times, Nov. 13, 2021 *"Civilian Deaths Mounted as Secret Unit Pounded ISI

The New York Times, December 12, 2021 *"The Unseen Scars of those who Kill by Remote Contro

The New York Times, April 15, 2022
Wild Horse Country, the history, myth and future of the mustang, America's horse
The New York Times, July 20, 2021 *"Anger and Anguish for SEALs who reported Edward Gallaghe

The New York Times, Dec. 27, 2019 *"Navy SEALs were warned against reporting their chie

The New York Times, April 23, 2019 *"Wounded Warrior Project Spends Lavishly on Itsel

The New York Times, January 27, 2016] *"In unit stalked by suicide, members try to save one another

" The New York Times, Sept. 19, 2015
Other than Honorable
" The Colorado Springs Gazette, May 19, 2013
Casualties of War
," The Colorado Springs Gazette, July 28, 2009.
All the missing horses
" ProPublica, Sept. 28, 2012
Honor and Deception
" The Colorado Springs Gazette, Dec. 1, 2013

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipps, David 1977 births American male journalists Living people Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners Livingston Award winners for National Reporting