Military.com
 | |
Type of site | News Website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Owner |
|
| Editor | Zachary Fryer-Biggs |
| Parent | Randstad Holding |
| URL | www |
| Launched | 1999 |
| Current status | Active |
| ISSN | 2165-7726 |
Military.com is a website that provides news and information about the United States military, service members, veterans, and their families as well as foreign policy and broader national security issues.
Founded in 1999, the site became a division of Monster Worldwide in 2004, and now a subsidiary of Valnet. Among the company's revenue streams are advertising, veteran employment, and lead generation.
About 10 million people have registered on the site, according to the company.[1]
The site offers daily news, investigations and feature reporting, and a dozen newsletters. Sub-channels include information for spouses, resources to use the GI Bill, and entertainment and fitness. Military.com also offers three apps on iOS and Android: Military News App, Military Pay App and Transition App to help servicemembers move to civilian life.
History
[edit]The website was founded by Christopher Michel in 1999 and went live in 2000.[1][2] Its advisory board originally included two former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as other academic and business leaders.[1] In 2004, Military.com was acquired by Monster Worldwide in 2004[1] for around $39.5 million.[3] In August 2016, Ranstad Holding acquired Monster Worldwide.
Previous presidents of Military.com include Greg Smith, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral who was president of Military.com and a vice-president at Monster from November 2014 to August 2017,[4] and Terry McCreary, a retired rear admiral who was president of the company from 2010 to 2014.
In September 2024, Monster merged with CareerBuilder, and funds managed by Apollo Global Management became the majority owner of the website. This acquisition included Military com.[5] That year, the editorial staff had unionized, but hadn't been able to reach a contract with management.[6]
Valnet acquisition (2025–present)
[edit]On June 24, 2025, its parent company CareerBuilder + Monster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[7] Military.com, alongside a scholarship search site FastWeb, sold to Valnet for $27.25 million.[6] Before the sale was finalized, the union wrote to the vice president of CareerBuilder + Monster's media devision laying out concerns of Valnet's "documented patterns of gutting editorial teams, stripping outlets of their integrity, and transforming reputable publications into clickbait content farms."[6] After the sale, several reporters were laid off,[8] while others left for new jobs, and Valnet hired freelancers to write articles; running the site has been Rony Arzoumanian, Valnet's head of mergers and acquisitions.[6]
Criticisms
[edit]Military.com has been criticized for taking advertising from for-profit colleges. Its former partner in lead generation, QuinStreet, previously settled with the U.S. government after being accused of preying on veterans.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "About Us". Military.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
- ^ BusinessWeek, Christopher P. Michel
- ^ Monster Worldwide, 16 March 2004, Monster Worldwide Announces Strategic Interactive Acquisition; Acquires Military Advantage, Inc. to Drive Growth and Expansion in United States Government Sector Archived 2013-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Greg Smith LinkedIN profile". linkedin.com. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ Moody, Kathryn (September 17, 2024). "Monster and CareerBuilder complete merger". Industry Dive.
- ^ a b c d Scott, Liam (November 26, 2025). "The Vanquishing of Military.com". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (2025-06-24). "CareerBuilder + Monster, which once dominated online job boards, file for bankruptcy". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (September 12, 2025). "Military.Com 'Effectively Dead' After Valnet Forces Big Layoffs, Newsroom Union Says".
- ^ Halperin, David (2016-02-01). "Military-Branded Websites Push Veterans to Troubled For-Profit Colleges". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-04-20.