A Look Back at Our Most Impactful News Stories of 2025

Well, that was quite a year.

The news stories we are highlighting as our Most Impactful of 2025 are ones you won’t find anywhere else. They’re stories that captured indignation and fear, hope and heroism, bravery and vulnerability.

There are investigations into a billion-dollar industry connected to veterans benefits, and an exodus at VA. Plus introductions to a network of DIY veterans treating their trauma with psychedelics, and a World War II POW who witnessed the execution of U.S. soldiers in the Philippines and, more than 80 years later, is helping investigators try to locate their remains.

We’re also adding a bonus this year: A link to our ongoing timeline of the story of 2025—how the Trump administration’s policies have impacted the military and veterans. We call it Operation Timeline. And the mission continues.

Here is our list and links to the Best of 2025.

They’ve Never Been Arrested. Why Does the FBI List Thousands of Service Members as Potential Criminals?

POW Witness: He Was Forced to Watch an Execution of U.S. Soldiers. 80 Years After WWII, His Story Sparks a Search for Their Remains

‘We Need to Terminate Treatment’: VA Mental Health Providers Say They Are Under Pressure to Limit Care

‘No Purging on My Ship.’ She Hid an Eating Disorder and Lost Her Navy Career. It Saved Her Life

Exodus at VA: 10,000 Employees Are Resigning in September. Here’s the List

‘Nobody to Watch My Twins.’ Military Spouses Quit Jobs, Families Bust Budgets in Scramble for Child Care

‘They’re Taking Shirly’: An Army Sergeant Thought His Family Was Safe. Then ICE Deported His Wife

This Company is Spending Millions to Profit Off Veterans’ Benefits. Why Won’t Lawmakers Stop It?

Homegrown Trips: Desperate for PTSD Relief, Veterans Turn to Each Other for DIY Psychedelic Treatments

‘I’m Just Trying To Be Good At My Job’: Transgender Troops Brace for Decision on Military Ban

Operation Timeline

The Trump Administration’s Impact on Veterans and the Military