American Homefront Project

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The American Homefront Project is reporting on military life and veterans issues. We're visiting bases to chronicle how American troops are working and living. We're meeting military families. We're talking with veterans -- in their homes, on their jobs, at school, at VA hospitals -- to learn about the challenges they face.

Support for the American Homefront Project comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as part of CPB's ongoing effort to expand coverage of local, regional, and national issues. Additional support comes from our partner public radio stations -- North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC, Texas Public Radio, KPBS-San Diego, KCUR-Kansas City, and WSHU-Fairfield, Conn.

Series

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American Veteran 
5 Pieces

In commemoration of Veteran’s Day, the American Homefront Project collaborated with the PBS documentary series "American Veteran" to profile men and women who have served in the U.S. military.

Pieces

The military is offering to transfer troops affected by anti-LGBTQ laws, but the process isn't easy
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Service members and guests - including Space Force Command chief master sergeant John Bentivegna (center) - attend the Air Force LGBTQ Pride celebration at the Pentagon on June 6, 2022. This image has been altered to obscure security badges. , Credit: Eric Dietrich / U.S. Space Force
Military families can move to new bases if they're stationed in states with laws hostile to LGBTQ people. But families who try to take advantage of...

Bought by KUT


  • Added: Jun 30, 2022
  • Length: 03:52
  • Purchases: 1
The Army suicide rate is at its highest level in years. Plans to reduce it are getting mixed reviews
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Malia Nemetz, an Army retiree who is now Fort Leonard Wood’s Suicide Prevention Manager, gives a mini-presentation to soldiers, family members, and civilian employees during the base’s Resiliency Fair, part of the effort to improve mental health and reduc, Credit: Jonathan Ahl / American Homefront
Soldiers are dying by suicide at the highest level since 9/11, and while some bases are trying do more to help prevent suicide, critics say its not...

Bought by WRFA-LP, Texas Public Radio, KUT, North Country Public Radio, KRPS and more


  • Added: Jun 16, 2022
  • Length: 03:22
  • Purchases: 6
Fighting stigmas and regulations, the VA is giving clean needles to veterans who use illegal drugs
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: VA pharmacist Jacqueline Byrd (left) and Dr. Minh Ho (center) provide supplies to a patient in the syringe services program at the Orlando VA Medical Center. The program provides veterans who inject illegal drugs with clean supplies and instructions about, Credit: Patrick Baxter / Orlando VA Medical Center
The program at eight local VA hospitals offers clean supplies, mental health care, and other services to reduce some of the risks of substance abuse.

Bought by WRFA-LP, Texas Public Radio, KUT, KRPS, and KPBS


  • Added: Jun 13, 2022
  • Length: 03:46
  • Purchases: 5
For some military veterans in Uvalde, the school shooting has rekindled memories of the battlefield
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: The Department of Veterans Affairs mobile Vet Center idles in front of American Legion Post 479 in Uvalde, Texas. Counselors conducted about 20 one-on-one sessions with veterans and other residents in the mobile unit., Credit: Steven Roland / U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Among the many people dealing with the trauma of the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas are military veterans who live nearby.

Bought by WRFA-LP, KRPS, and Texas Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 06, 2022
  • Length: 03:51
  • Purchases: 3
Most military recruits come from families of people who served. Experts say that's not sustainable.
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Military and community leaders, including Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (second from left), applaud new military recruits at a "Community Salute to Service" May 11 at Waynesville, Mo. High School., Credit: Dawn Arden / U.S. Army
The military is having a tough time finding new recruits, and one factor may be its heavy reliance on families of those who’ve served.

Bought by Texas Public Radio, KPBS, WRFA-LP, North Country Public Radio, and KUT


  • Added: Jun 02, 2022
  • Length: 03:27
  • Purchases: 5
Her son was killed in Afghanistan last year. This is her first Memorial Day as a Gold Star mother.
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Cheryl Rex,right, is comforted by her mother, Clarinda Montsuoka, near the grave of Rex's son at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Orange County, California. Lance Corporal Dylan Merola was killed in Afghanistan in August 2021., Credit: Steve Walsh / American Homefront
Cheryl Rex's son Dylan was among the last American victims of the Afghanistan war. In the months since his death, she's visited his grave almost ev...

Bought by Texas Public Radio and KWMU St. Louis


  • Added: May 24, 2022
  • Length: 03:32
  • Purchases: 2
More than a three-day weekend: A small movement tries to return Memorial Day to its original meaning
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Nassau County, N.Y. Executive Bruce Blakeman shows a video of the Israeli Memorial Day moment of silence. Blakeman is calling for a similar county-wide initiative on Long Island. , Credit: Desiree D'Iorio / American Homefront
Leaders in Long Island, New York want people to pull their cars off the road and stop what they're doing for two county-wide moments of silence to ...

Bought by WRFA-LP, Texas Public Radio, and North Country Public Radio


  • Added: May 23, 2022
  • Length: 03:36
  • Purchases: 3
The Supreme Court will decide if Guardsmen and reservists can sue states for employment violations
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Former Texas State Trooper LeRoy Torres reviews legal paperwork with his wife Rosie in their Robstown, Texas home in 2019. Torres resigned from his job after returning home from Iraq in 2008. He said the state refused to make job accommodations for a disa, Credit: Carson Frame / American Homefront
When National Guard members and reservists deploy, a federal law is supposed to preserve their civilian jobs and benefits. But in some states, gove...

Bought by WRFA-LP, KPBS, and KUT


  • Added: May 12, 2022
  • Length: 03:43
  • Purchases: 3
Misunderstood and sometimes parodied, the U.S. Space Force is educating the public about its mission
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Troops operate the Space Based Infrared System satellite constellation from Schriever Space Force Base in Colorado. The system enables service members to report ballistic missiles and space launches, nuclear detonations, and other data to the President, S, Credit: JT Armstrong / U.S. Space Force
The newest military service branch is responsible for protecting satellites and other objects in space, which it expects will be critical parts of ...

Bought by KRPS, WRFA-LP, Texas Public Radio, KPBS, and KUT


  • Added: May 05, 2022
  • Length: 03:55
  • Purchases: 5
For the Ukrainian military, a long partnership with U.S. National Guard units is paying dividends
From: American Homefront Project
Caption: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Air National Guard Base in Sunnyvale, Cal. in September 2021. The visit was part of a decades-long partnership between the California National , Credit: Duane Ramos / California National Guard
The State Partnership Program has quietly become a powerful tool for diplomacy and modeling U.S. values around the world.

Bought by Texas Public Radio, WRFA-LP, KUT, and KMXT


  • Added: May 02, 2022
  • Length: 04:00
  • Purchases: 4

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