Reporter, The New York Times. Former U.S. Navy EOD & Iraq vet. Reach me securely via Signal at: johnismay.01 or by email at: john.ismay@nytimes.com
Joined July 2012
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- Followers 14,187
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633 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
10 Jul 2021
Just found out we've lost three EOD Techs to suicide in the past three weeks. There is a 24/7 hotline for Techs, their friends and family at 1.888.412.0470 the FB group After the Long Walk here: facebook.com/groups/17289052…
Please reach out if you or someone you love needs help
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John Ismay retweeted
"Disloyal people," Marine colonel called Marines in Quantico during a closed-door meeting.
After a Marine in Warman’s unit died by suicide, members of the unit raised concerns about leadership. Leaked audio obtained by The War Horse shows the response: a two-hour meeting in which the first sergeant and the commanding officer berated Marines for speaking up.
Full story & audio: thewarhorse.org/secret-recor…
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John Ismay retweeted
Best of luck to the US Men’s National Team in their #WorldCup opener tonight!
This picture from 2021 captured the only time our team has found a soccer ball on the bottom of the ocean. It was found at the bottom of a sinkhole that was over 1,200 meters deep (3,940 feet).
ALT A black and white soccer ball rests on the sandy ocean floor next to white boulders.
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Jun 12
Repurposing the RKG-3, a grenade that can blow straight through both doors of an up-armored HMMWV. Insurgents used them to kill and wound a lot of U.S. troops in Iraq during OIF
Jun 11
RKG-1600: Ukrainian modification of the legendary anti-tank grenade for UAVs ngu.com.ua/rkh-1600-ukrainsk…
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Jun 12
I wrote about them for @NYTimesAtWar back in 2013, thanks to declassified storyboards @MSchroeder77 shared with me
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Jun 11
"Dear migrants: Before I say anything else I want to bow before your dignity. ... You are not just numbers or files. You are people who have left behind families and homes. You have dreams that no one has the right to despise.”
Pope Leo XIV in the Canary Islands.
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 11
NEW: Our visual analysis suggests the United States hit two drinking-water facilities overnight in southern Iran with precision-guided munitions. Deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime. w/ @ckoettl @johnismay @ArtemisChats
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John Ismay retweeted
Astronomer and comet-hunter Alan Hale passed away on Saturday, June 6th, at 67 years old in his home in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.
Read more: buff.ly/kA3I1Ef
ALT Photo of Alan Hale in a blue and white striped shirt with brown hair in front of a large white telescope
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 9
From @TheAthleticFC: When the Iran team landed in Mexico for the World Cup, players wore pins that read "#168."
The design commemorates the number of children killed at a school on the first day of the U.S.-Iran conflict. nyti.ms/4e0ioFe
ALT Iranian national soccer team captain Ehsan Haji Safi talks to the press while wearing a blazer and a pin that reads "#168."
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Jun 8
RT @ntabrizy: Today is my first day as an Iran Correspondent for Reuters where I'll continue my Visual Investigations reporting. Thrilled t…
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John Ismay retweeted
NPR pays tribute to legendary photographer David Gilkey who died in Afganistan 10 years ago today. He’s the only @NPR journalist to be killed on assignment. The header photo is Gilkey and me covering a IED attack on US troops in Baghdad in late 2003.
ideastream.org/2026-06-05/re…
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John Ismay retweeted
Pope Leo XIV on war in Iran:
"I think this has already been made very clear: the notion of a just war no longer applies. The problem is that just war theory developed in centuries when no one could have imagined the weapons we have today or humanity's capacity for destruction."
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Jun 7
This would be one nasty problem to throw at Area 8 students at Eglin
#OTD in 1945, the destroyer minelayer USS Harry F. Bauer fending off a heavy Japanese air attack near Okinawa. Unbeknownst to the crew, a 550 lb bomb had pierced the hull and crashed into the fuel tank but failed to detonate. The live bomb was not discovered until 17 days later.
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 5
NEW: The main U.S. air war command center in the Middle East suffered a direct hit soon after the war with Iran began and was severely damaged, sources tell Air & Space Forces Magazine. The Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was hit by Iranian missiles. A secondary facility in South Carolina filled the gap. airandspaceforces.com/us-air…
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John Ismay retweeted
Bruce “Snake” Crandall, the real Medal of Honor pilot behind “We Were Soldiers,” has died at 93.
At Ia Drang, he flew through enemy fire again and again to bring ammo in and carry the wounded out.
trib.al/jhDPiGl
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 1
I spent five years working to report this story and now @Militarydotcom has removed my byline and the bylines of @KToropin and @patriciakime - this article went on to win an award from @Milreporters and allowed Boxer veterans exposed to receive VA compensation.
.@Militarydotcom, which is under new Canadian ownership, removed bylines for a lot of reporters, including me, on stories that include some of our most profound and award-winning stories.
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 2
NEWS - Pentagon schools in Bahrain won’t reopen for new school year.
The decision that affects the lives of thousands of evacuees and raises questions about the future makeup of one of the largest U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
stripes.com/theaters/middle_…
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 1
Update: Hegseth pulled nine officers off the Navy one-star list. The only three female and two of the three black male officers on the 22-person list.
Jun 1
Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List. The result: a slate of 22 new one-star admiral nominees that bears little resemblance to the force these officers will help lead.
Of special note: The list has no women. w/ @katekelly
nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/po…
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John Ismay retweeted
Jun 1
Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List. The result: a slate of 22 new one-star admiral nominees that bears little resemblance to the force these officers will help lead.
Of special note: The list has no women. w/ @katekelly
nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/po…
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A suspected shell left over from World War II exploded under a house, killing five people and wounding nearly 20, police said Monday. cbsn.ws/4vfEYzj
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