Steve Walsh

Military and Veterans Reporter, KPBS
  • Steve Walsh
    Steve Walsh
    Spark Photography/KPBS

As a military reporter, Steve Walsh delivers stories and features for TV, radio, and the web.

Before coming to KPBS, Steve worked as a journalist in Northwest Indiana and Chicago. He hosted a daily public affairs show on Lakeshore Public Radio and was an original host and producer for the storytelling project Vocalo.org at WBEZ in Chicago. He has been a reporter on Back At Base, a collaboration between NPR and seven public radio stations that looks at veterans and the military.

He is a graduate of Indiana State University. He spent a large portion of his career as a print reporter for the Times of Northwest Indiana and the Post-Tribune in Gary, Indiana. At the Post-Tribune, he was embedded in Iraq twice. He was also an investigative reporter and covered the Indiana Statehouse.

Ways to Connect

After A Military-Wide Stand Down To Address Extremism, What's The Pentagon's Next Step?

By • Apr 7, 2021
Chief Personnel Specialist Jennifer Johnston conducts an extremism stand down March 19 aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. The Pentagon ordered all service branches to conduct the stand downs after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Angel Thuy Jaskuloski / U.S. Navy

After the January 6 Capitol insurrection, the Pentagon ordered all service branches to discuss extremism with the troops. But observers say that's only a first step toward eliminating extremist behavior.

Lessons from Overseas Military Voters

By & • Oct 19, 2020

Voting by mail is nothing new for military service members. Deployed worldwide at any of the nearly 800 foreign bases, military personnel are offered some exceptions during the elections. Some vote by fax from a battleship, and many sent their ballots weeks ago, after receiving them earlier than most voters, at least 45 days before the election. 

Mail-In Voting Is Underway For Service Members, And Their Votes May Be More In Play This Year

By • Oct 15, 2020
San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu stands in a warehouse filled with supplies for the 2020 election.
Mike Damron / KPBS

Military personnel have been voting by mail since the Civil War. This year, some polls suggest that troops' political preferences may be changing.

Why Are There So Few Black Admirals In The Navy? Some Blame A Culture Of Discrimination

By • Sep 10, 2020
Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey (left) speaks with Ensign Dimitri Foster aboard the USS Lake Champlain in 2018. Holsey - one of the Navy's few Black admirals - heads the One Navy Task Force
Craig Z. Rodarte / U.S. Navy

The One Navy Task Force is looking at why only a handful of African Americans reach top jobs. It's also examining discrimination in all aspects of Navy life.

Frozen In Place: Some Military Families Have Waited Months To Move To New Homes

By • Aug 13, 2020
Navy spouse Kellie Kopec lived in an RV with her husband and seven month old daughter as they waited for a waiver that would allow them to complete their move from California to Virginia.
Andrea Dukleth / KPBS

The military issued a "stop movement" order in March in response to the pandemic. While the ban has been loosened, some service members and their families still can't relocate to new bases.

Amid Long Domestic Deployments, Guardsmen And Reservists Push For Equity In Benefits

By • Jun 17, 2020
Members of the California Army National Guard assemble emergency food kits at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
Jason Sanchez / U.S. Air National Guard

Even as members of the Guard and Reserve are seeing longer and more frequent deployments, they don't always receive the same retirement, education, and housing benefits as active duty troops.

Hampered By The Pandemic, The Navy Is Trying To Persuade Sailors To Stay A Little Longer

By • May 1, 2020
Sailors have their temperatures taken as they prepare to board the USS Theodore Roosevelt May 1, 2020 after an off-ship quarantine in Guam.
Nathan Carpenter / U.S. Navy

Military recruiting and training has slowed down because of the pandemic. So the Navy is trying other ways to maintain the size of the force.

Friends And Former Crewmembers Continue To Show Support For Fired Navy Captain

By • Apr 21, 2020
Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, (left) washes dishes aboard the ship on Thanksgiving 2019. Crozier was relieved of his command after urging the Navy to take stronger action to combat a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship.
D.J. Schwartz / U.S. Navy

More than two weeks after Capt. Brett Crozier was relieved of command of the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt, friends and former shipmates are voicing their support.

For Young Military Families, The Financial Effects Of The Pandemic Can Be Severe

By • Apr 9, 2020
Laura White of San Diego's Support The Enlisted Project helps distribute supplies to military families who are suffering financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nick McVicker / KPBS

Deployments, job losses, and the Pentagon's "stop movement" order are among the factors contributing to financial stress for troops and their families.

The Navy 'Trusts The Judgment Of Commanders' To Balance Social Distancing With Military Readiness

By • Mar 26, 2020
Sailors remove the lines off the bollard as the USNS Mercy hospital ship prepares to depart Naval Base San Diego, March 23.
David Mora / U.S. Navy

The Navy has suspended some activities and restricted others to help stop the spread of COVID-19, but the military response to the pandemic can seem uneven at times.

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