Stephen Ruiz

Stephen Ruiz is an associate editor and content writer for Military.com. He previously worked for more than 30 years as a copy editor, writer and online producer for various newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel. His writing also has appeared in Reserve & National Guard, Military Families and Military Influencer magazines. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys running, playing with his dog, Holly, and rooting on his hometown New Orleans Saints.

Latest Articles

Baseball players Paul Skenes, Sam Kulasingam and Aerik Joe pose in their military uniforms.

How the Air Force Academy Molded Paul Skenes, the Best Pitching Prospect in This Year’s Baseball Draft

Coming from a military family, Paul Skenes had a pretty good idea of what awaited him at Basic Cadet Training before his...

'Did I Make the Right Decision?' How to Take the Guesswork out of Army Basic Training

The goal of basic training is to transform a recruit into a soldier. It's as much about constructing the proper mindset as it...

A self-portrait by former Army and professional football player DeWitt 'Tex' Coulter.

The Last First-Round NFL Draft Pick from a Service Academy Was Also a Respected Artist

A self-portrait of the last player from a U.S. service academy to be drafted by an NFL team in the first round is for sale by...

Pvt. Henry Johnson, shown circa 1919, was nicknamed 'Black Death' after surviving 21 wounds, killing 4 Germans and injuring 10-20 others during an encounter in the Argonne Forest in France during World War I.

How the Story of This Medal of Honor Recipient Wounded 21 Times Was Almost Lost to History

Henry Johnson's discharge papers contained no mention of his heroic actions or injuries, depriving him of any awards or...

Army Brig. Gen. George Owen Squier, also a notable inventor and aviation enthusiast, is shown in his military uniform.

Before He Founded Muzak, This General Brought Innovation to the Army

Looking to improve the military's long-range communications, George Owen Squier tested his theories on whatever resources...

Vets2Industry founder Brian Arrington participates in a Feeding the Homeless event on Thanksgiving in 2019.

How a 'Mad' Former Airman Is Helping Transitioning Service Members

Vets2Industry (V2I) compiles information about military transition resources onto one website to support service members...

Facilitator Christina Kim prepares to record Nancy St. Claire and her husband, Tom Garcia, as part of StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative tour in Nashville, Tennessee.

You Can Record With StoryCorps' Military Voices Initiative in 2023 in These States

In 2020, former Army cavalry scout and sniper Garett Reppenhagen spoke with StoryCorps -- a nonprofit that chronicles the...

Former Air Force flight nurse Jim Lorraine is the president and CEO of America's Warrior Partnership, a nonprofit that partners with communities to try to prevent veteran suicide.

Former Flight Nurse's Nonprofit Takes Community Approach to Combat Vet Suicide

During his 22-year military career, first as an Air Force reservist and then on active duty, Jim Lorraine tended to service...

Marine Corps Reserve Sgt. Kolton Lehman, left, is on the field at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with other finalists for the USO/NFL Salute to Service Showdown Madden tournament in November.

How the USO's Focus on Gaming Is Sending 2 Service Members to the Super Bowl

As Kolton Leyman advanced in the USO/NFL Salute to Service Showdown video-gaming tournament, he could not contain his...

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society visiting nurse T’Sheira Scott, based in Yokosuka, Japan, teaches a healthy girl interactive workshop.

Visiting Nurses Handle Patients with Care as Relief Society's 'Best-Kept Secret'

NMCRS nurses conducted almost 15,000 visits in 2022, a nearly 20% increase over the previous year, according to data provided...

Professor Mike Morris addresses members of the first Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in July 2007.

How Veterans Are Supercharging Their Businesses Through a Free Entrepreneurship Program

More than 2,200 vets have graduated from the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans program since its launch in 2007.

Gen. Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, shown in the late 1940s. (Sanaa Lasher/Air Force Scientific Advisory Board photo)

From Aviation to Aid Society, Air Force's Only 5-Star General Changed Service Forever

Because of Arnold's charitable nature, thousands of undergraduate college students receive assistance today through a grant...

Marine Corps wheelchair basketball player Carlos Cruz-Tejeda shoots against Team Canada at the Department of Defense Warrior Games near Orlando, Florida, Aug. 23, 2022.

How the Warrior Games Create a Special Bond for Military Athletes with Disabilities

Camaraderie unites the 300 athletes representing the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command...

Warrior Games athlete Gabe George, a retired Navy hospital corpsman, demonstrates how he competes in archery despite having his right arm amputated.

After 2-Year Pandemic Break, Warrior Games Athletes Get Another Shot at Competition

Hosted by the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, the 2022 Department of Defense Warrior Games are scheduled for Aug. 19-28...

Joseph Beyrle, who served multiple stints as a German POW during World War II, fought for the U.S. and Russian armies. (Facebook photo)

How This POW Became the Only Soldier to Fight for the US and Russia During WWII

While with the Red Army, Beyrle was involved in several firefights with Germans and helped blow open a safe at one of the POW...

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Most Popular Military News

Spc. Daysha Cartagena, Mya Cortez and Staff Sgt. Isaiah Cortez

An Army Couple Had Their Daughter at a Military Hospital. Then the Collections Calls Started for $600,000.

Missteps by Womack Army Medical Center and Tricare landed a Fort Liberty couple in collections.

Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic

Human Remains Have Likely Been Recovered from the Titan Submersible Wreckage, US Coast Guard Says

The news came hours after the announcement that debris from the Titan, collected from the seafloor more than 12,000 feet...

Navy recruiter discusses opportunities with a prospective recruit

Navy Recruiters Will Work 6-Day Weeks, Face Changes to Orders Amid Recruiting Struggle

The move comes as the Navy, like most of the other military branches, struggles to meet its recruiting goals for the year.

Soldier Crashed Helicopter Before Running to and Crashing a Second in 2022 Suicide, Investigators Find

The documents obtained by Military.com said Bellew had no history of diagnosed mental illness or suicidal ideation.

The 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David H. Berger, speaks

The Man Who Started to Transform the Marine Corps Leaves with 'No Regrets at All'

The Marine Corps' top officer -- the man who has overseen a sweeping and much-debated transformation of the branch -- is...

Airman reads pamphlets on the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., on March 10, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Alyssa M. Akers)

Former CEO of Tech School Receives 5-Year Sentence in Largest Post-9/11 GI Bill Fraud Case

The Justice Department worked with the VA Office of Inspector General and the Education Service of the Veterans Benefits...

Latest Military Videos

Russian General Detained After Uprising

Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, is believed to have...

Iraqi Muslims Protest Quran Burning in Sweden

Hundreds of followers of the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr protested this week's burning of the Quran in...

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Rebellion Shows 'Cracks' in Russia System, Per NATO Head

NATO's chief said on Thursday that the weekend rebellion by a mercenary warlord in Russia revealed "cracks and divisions...

Investigations and Features

Poisoned Water: How a Navy Ship Dumped Fuel and Sickened Its Own Crew

A years-long investigation reveals that the Boxer unintentionally compromised its own water supply in 2016.

The Threat from Extremist Groups Is Growing. Service Members and Vets Are Getting Sucked into the Violence.

The U.S. intelligence community deemed racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism -- with adherents such as white...

Army News

Future soldiers recite the oath of enlistment before an NFL game in Phoenix.

What an All-Volunteer Force Looks Like Today 50 Years After America Ditched the Draft

Despite what Americans experienced in the 20th century, the United States does not have a long tradition of conscription.

Army Combat Veteran to Take Over Key Election Security Role Working with State, Local Officials

Cait Conley will coordinate with federal, state and local officials responsible for ensuring elections are secure ahead of...

Navy News

Contractors conduct monitoring operations at tank seven during tank tightness testing at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility

Military Ready to Drain Red Hill After Finishing Repairs

The tanks currently hold 104 million gallons of fuel and sit just 100 feet above a critical aquifer most of Honolulu relies...

The U.S. Naval Academy welcomes the midshipman candidates, or plebes, of the Class of 2026

Class of 2027 Plebes Report for Duty at Naval Academy: 'This Is Not a Normal College Experience'

Nearly 1,000 first-year entrants reported to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis on Thursday for Plebe Summer, the first part...

Air Force News

Pentagon: Chinese Balloon Did Not Collect Intelligence Over US

Relations between Washington and Beijing had already been tense when the U.S. military detected what U.S. officials at the...

Soil excavation at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex

Space Force Still Figuring Out How Bad the Fuel Spill Atop a Sacred Hawaiian Volcano Was

In the months since the fuel spill at a facility perched on the summit of Haleakalā, the Department of the Air Force has been...

Space Force News

Space Force Still Figuring Out How Bad the Fuel Spill Atop a Sacred Hawaiian Volcano Was

In the months since the fuel spill at a facility perched on the summit of Haleakalā, the Department of the Air Force has been...

Sen. Katie Britt departs after the final Senate votes

Alabama US Sen. Katie Britt Puts Space Command Spending Requirement in Defense Budget

Britt's addition to the Senate spending bill comes as Alabama's delegation pursues reports that the head of the Space Command...

Marine Corps News

The Man Who Started to Transform the Marine Corps Leaves with 'No Regrets at All'

The Marine Corps' top officer -- the man who has overseen a sweeping and much-debated transformation of the branch -- is...

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth appeared on the June 28, 2023 edition of "CBS Mornings." (CBS)

Anheuser-Busch CEO and Marine Vet Answers Hard Questions About Bud Light Marketing

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth hired by Anheuser-Busch in 2013, and by 2021, he was leading the company as its chief...

Coast Guard News

Edward Cassano speaks during a news conference on the Titan submersible.

Recovering the Titan 12,500 Feet Underwater Was Dangerous, Complex, Emotional

Investigating the debris is a crucial part of a multiagency investigation into why the Titan imploded.

a building at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Coast Guard Apologizes for Mishandling of Sexual Assaults at Academy

The service also acknowledged it did not widely disclose its six-year internal investigation into dozens of cases from 1988...