Military

News > Military

Second day of SkyFest brings Thunderbirds, celebration of Fairchild Air Force Base’s history

UPDATED: Sun., May 15, 2022

The second day of SkyFest offered precision skydiving, midair refueling and the exhilaration of the Thunderbirds streaking above a crowd estimated at more than 100,000.

News > Military

‘We’re your Air Force’: Thunderbirds celebrate 69 years representing the branch with a peek inside their signature wild rides

UPDATED: Thu., May 12, 2022

Sure, fireworks are all well and good. But when it comes to airborne entertainment, there’s nothing quite like watching the Thunderbirds.

News > Crime/Public Safety

‘My office in the sky:’ Fairchild welcomes, refuels Thunderbirds ahead of Skyfest this weekend

UPDATED: Thu., May 12, 2022

Airman 1st Class Aidan Clark got engaged Wednesday and helped refuel fighter jets 25,000 feet above the ground Thursday somewhere in northeastern Nevada.

News > Military

Army poised to revamp Alaska forces to prep for Arctic fight

UPDATED: Thu., May 12, 2022

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Army is poised to revamp its forces in Alaska to better prepare for future cold-weather conflicts, and it is expected to replace the larger, heavily equipped Stryker Brigade in the state with a more mobile infantry unit better suited for the frigid fight, Army leaders say.

News > Health

Cerner falls short of contract target for ‘uptime,’ prompting McMorris Rodgers to accuse VA of ‘blatant negligence’ over computer outages

UPDATED: Tue., May 10, 2022

WASHINGTON – The company developing an electronic health record system used at Spokane’s VA hospital has not kept the system online consistently enough to meet a key obligation in its $10 billion contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a top VA official.

News > Military

Jill Biden thanks US troops in Romania amid Ukraine war

UPDATED: Fri., May 6, 2022

Delivering good cheer — and 5 gallons of ketchup — Jill Biden thanked U.S. troops deployed to Romania as a check against Russian aggression for their service, as she began a four-day trip to Europe to see first hand the refugee crisis caused by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

News > Military

Thousands of smartphones purchased by VA went unused

UPDATED: Thu., May 5, 2022

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wasted nearly $2 million when most of the smartphones bought during the pandemic for homeless veterans went unused, according to an inspector general's report.

News > Crime/Public Safety

More Fairchild personnel named in criminal indictment alleging theft of ammunition from base

UPDATED: Thu., May 5, 2022

John I. Sanger, 30, is one of six servicemembers named in an indictment handed down this week by a federal grand jury charging the members with crimes, including theft of government property, possession of stolen ammunition and possession of an unregistered firearm. Authorities, including members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, were first alerted to Sanger by social media posts.

News > Military

Moscow attorney awarded Bronze Star for actions during Iraq War

Mon., May 2, 2022

On Friday, Michael Wells was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the fourth-highest honor a U.S. service member can receive, in a small ceremony in Moscow attended by family and close friends.

News > Military

‘A powerful display’: Inland Northwest veterans honor their fallen comrades in long-delayed Honor Flight trip to D.C.

Sun., May 1, 2022

WASHINGTON – Gary Dagastine scanned a polished panel of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Tuesday, looking for a familiar name.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Former Fairchild airman sentenced to 16 months in prison for Manito Park assaults, three other sex crimes

UPDATED: Fri., April 29, 2022

A former Fairchild Air Force Base senior airman was sentenced to 16 months in prison for assaulting a woman and girl earlier this year near Manito Park, as well as for three other sex crimes.

News > Military

US Army ‘returns’ cake to Italian woman for 90th birthday

UPDATED: Thu., April 28, 2022

With a round of “Happy Birthday” in Italian and English, the U.S. Army toasted an Italian woman with a birthday cake Thursday to replace the one that U.S. soldiers ate as they entered her hometown during one of the final battles of World War II.

News > Crime/Public Safety

2 Fairchild sergeants accused of stealing ammo from base after anti-government rhetoric posted online

UPDATED: Wed., April 27, 2022

John I. Sanger and Eric Eagleton are both named in an 11-page criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Spokane on Tuesday. An FBI agent with the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force, working with the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, accuse both men of taking the ammunition for personal use at a shooting range near Fishtrap Lake and tied Sanger to social media claims that the U.S. Capitol should be taken by force in the weeks following the U.S. presidential election in 2020.

News > Health

Lawmakers grill VA officials, Cerner execs over flawed health record system’s impact on Inland Northwest veterans

UPDATED: Tue., April 26, 2022

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers on Tuesday grilled officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs and executives with Cerner Corp. about problems with the company’s electronic health record system being piloted in Spokane, Walla Walla and other sites across the Inland Northwest.

News > Military

Soldier killed, 2 hurt at Washington state training center

UPDATED: Tue., April 26, 2022

A soldier was killed and two others were hurt during an exercise at the Yakima Training Center in central Washington state, Army officials said.

News > Military

Senate panel finds ‘grave’ health risks in military housing

UPDATED: Tue., April 26, 2022

One of the largest providers of military housing in the United States continues to respond inadequately to mold and other structural problems, threatening the health and safety of service members and their families, according to a Senate panel's investigation.

News > Military

‘Worth a lifetime of PTSD’: Cradling a Ukrainian infant, a Post Falls Marine and counselor finds meaning in his pain

UPDATED: Mon., April 25, 2022

WARSAW, Poland – On March 28, as bombs fell on the then-besieged city of Kyiv, Jared Malone was livid and confused

News > Health

Veteran hospitalized at Spokane VA after missing heart medication, highlighting health record system’s prescription problems

Sun., April 24, 2022

WASHINGTON – Leaders at Spokane’s VA medical center filed a report warning of potentially “severe” harm to a veteran who was hospitalized with heart failure in March after a troubled computer system contributed to a vital medication not being renewed, the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed.

News > Crime/Public Safety

‘They’re alive because he said something’: Army veteran may have saved others during downtown Spokane shooting before he was shot

Sun., April 17, 2022

Nathanael Beier yelled for people to get down before a bullet struck him in the head during last weekend’s drive-by shooting outside Lucky’s Irish Pub in downtown Spokane.

News > Military

With COVID-19 mission over, Pentagon plans for next pandemic

UPDATED: Mon., April 11, 2022

U.S. military medical teams deployed during the coronavirus pandemic brought back lessons as the Defense Department looks to see what worked and what didn't.

Featured Stories

‘My office in the sky:’ Fairchild welcomes, refuels Thunderbirds ahead of Skyfest this weekend

Latest Stories

Second day of SkyFest brings Thunderbirds, celebration of Fairchild Air Force Base’s history

‘We’re your Air Force’: Thunderbirds celebrate 69 years representing the branch with a peek inside their signature wild rides

‘My office in the sky:’ Fairchild welcomes, refuels Thunderbirds ahead of Skyfest this weekend

Army poised to revamp Alaska forces to prep for Arctic fight

Cerner falls short of contract target for ‘uptime,’ prompting McMorris Rodgers to accuse VA of ‘blatant negligence’ over computer outages

Jill Biden thanks US troops in Romania amid Ukraine war

Thousands of smartphones purchased by VA went unused

More Fairchild personnel named in criminal indictment alleging theft of ammunition from base

Moscow attorney awarded Bronze Star for actions during Iraq War

‘A powerful display’: Inland Northwest veterans honor their fallen comrades in long-delayed Honor Flight trip to D.C.

Former Fairchild airman sentenced to 16 months in prison for Manito Park assaults, three other sex crimes

US Army ‘returns’ cake to Italian woman for 90th birthday

2 Fairchild sergeants accused of stealing ammo from base after anti-government rhetoric posted online

Lawmakers grill VA officials, Cerner execs over flawed health record system’s impact on Inland Northwest veterans

Soldier killed, 2 hurt at Washington state training center

Senate panel finds ‘grave’ health risks in military housing

‘Worth a lifetime of PTSD’: Cradling a Ukrainian infant, a Post Falls Marine and counselor finds meaning in his pain

Veteran hospitalized at Spokane VA after missing heart medication, highlighting health record system’s prescription problems

‘They’re alive because he said something’: Army veteran may have saved others during downtown Spokane shooting before he was shot

With COVID-19 mission over, Pentagon plans for next pandemic

Latest headlines

Don Harmon, Airway Heights' mayor in the late '90s, enters county commission race against Al French

Innovia launches program that would pay college tuition for every Inland Northwest student

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman 'thrilled' to call Seahawks-Broncos on Monday Night Football debut

PGA shaping up as much different from previous 4 in Tulsa

Behind the amazing photo of the Milky Way's very own black hole

Most read stories

Man sentenced to 12 years in prison for molesting girls he was babysitting

Family on the move: For married 'Hamilton' stars, life on the road comes with a portable crib, high chair

Spokane priest in apparent mental health crisis intruded into Windsor Castle barracks, causing 'security breach' at home of Queen Elizabeth II

'The new swamp': 2,500 miles from Mar-a-Lago, Central Washington primary in Newhouse race tests heft of Trump's endorsement

Why staying connected is vital to your health – and how you might qualify for low-cost internet