Military Times reporters are recognized in the 2022 Military Reporters & Editors Association Awards

Arlington, VA., June 7, 2022 – Military Reporters and Editors announced the winners of their 2021 contest and the Sightline Media Group newsroom was well represented.

Kyle Rempfer won in the domestic coverage category for his piece “Army didn’t prosecute NCO accused of rape. So he did it again. And again.” The judges wrote: This gripping tale of a serial rapist who was allowed to commit his crimes while the Army looked the other way provides a detailed, albeit depressing, look at how Army procedures allow commanders to look the other way as rape victims try to get justice. The amount of reporting in the story – and the sensitivity in the writing – are exemplary. The judges couldn’t put it down, riveted by interweaving the survivors’ voices with the Army procedures and lack of accountability that led to his repeated crimes.

Davis Winkie received an honorable mention in the domestic coverage category for his story, “Wave of Suicides Hits Texas National Guard’s Border Mission.” The judges wrote: These investigative, impactful stories expose the high cost for Texas National Guard troops sent to patrol the border without proper preparation or leadership. His dogged data mining and deep sourcing tell the troubling story of a mission in disarray. He documents suicides and widespread drug, crime and alcohol abuse and car accidents. His nuanced stories reflect his deep understanding of the National Guard.

Finally, Steve Losey also received an honorable mention in the overseas coverage category for his piece at military.com, “Escape from Afghanistan: One Interpreter’s Desperate Run Past the Taliban to Safety.” The judges wrote: This was a compelling, timely and detailed account of the harrowing journey of “Said,” an Afghan interpreter who had helped the U.S. military, trying to escape from Kabul with his family and seeking help from the American government, the Marines at the Abbey Gate and private groups in the U.S., during the dangerous, uncertain final days of the war as America’s chaotic evacuation was in full swing. Losey’s day-by-day account of Said’s family’s perilous journey–and his own efforts to help as best he could—captures a compelling story of missed opportunities, narrow escapes, cellphones dying and futile efforts by so many to get a Special Immigrant Visa that could get them out and save them from the Taliban’s retribution. It’s a story many journalists who covered the war understand and wrote about as they tried to help their own Afghan interpreters, some of them friends, escape Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul and since.

Congrats to the team on their model for writing, sourcing, structure and sensitivity used in these stories.

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