Military

News > Health

‘Something’s got to happen’: Veterans groups, workers at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center protest recommendation to end services

UPDATED: Wed., June 1, 2022

The protesters, numbering two dozen at times, held signs defending staff at the hospital but criticizing the Veterans Affairs Administration. They said they were spurred by a March report recommending that inpatient medical and surgical services be discontinued at the military hospital and instead take place in civilian and community health centers.

News > Military

We the People: Memorial Day has been a national holiday for decades, but it can come with fresh pain on a local scale

Sun., May 29, 2022

With Memorial Day 2022, the first in many years that the United States is not engaged in a major war on foreign soil, we are reminded that conflicts always come with a first casualty as well as a last.

News > Health

Computer system expected to go down temporarily at Spokane VA hospital due to weekend construction

UPDATED: Fri., May 27, 2022

WASHINGTON – The computer system used by health care workers at Spokane’s VA medical center is expected to go offline during construction this weekend, but Department of Veterans Affairs officials said Friday the planned outage would not impact the care veterans receive at the hospital.

News > Military

Panel recommends new names for Fort Bragg, other Army bases

UPDATED: Tue., May 24, 2022

An independent commission on Tuesday recommended new names for nine Army posts that commemorated Confederate officers. Among their recommendations: Fort Bragg in North Carolina would become Fort Liberty and Fort Gordon in Georgia would become Fort Eisenhower.

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.

Latest Stories

‘Something’s got to happen’: Veterans groups, workers at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center protest recommendation to end services

We the People: Memorial Day has been a national holiday for decades, but it can come with fresh pain on a local scale

Computer system expected to go down temporarily at Spokane VA hospital due to weekend construction

Panel recommends new names for Fort Bragg, other Army bases

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

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