
Steve Walsh
Military and Veterans Reporter, KPBSAs 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.
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The military is taking a hard line on troops seeking religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine mandate. Lawyers say that could have consequences for others who seek different kinds of religious accommodations.
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Hearings have yielded few answers for parents after the tragic July 20 accident in which nine troops drowned off the coast of San Clemente Island.
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Strict restrictions aboard Navy ships - put in place after a major COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 - have been eased, as the Navy tries to balance safety with fulfilling its mission.
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The Darkhorse Battalion, based at Camp Pendleton, is the Marine unit which suffered the highest percentage of casualties during the 20 year war.
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The White House and Congress are vowing to help thousands of Afghans who face retribution for working with the American military. Some have come to the U.S. on special visas. But others are in danger of being left behind.
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Hundreds of U.S. military veterans have been deported for committing crimes, sometimes decades after they left the service. Now, many are hoping the Biden Administration lets them return to the United States.
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A group of female recruits completed Marine boot camp in San Diego this spring - the first time the Corps has trained women outside of Parris Island, S.C. But there are no immediate plans to make the new female boot camp permanent.
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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.
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The Marines have the fewest number of women of any of the services. Though the Corps has now integrated its two boot camps, that's just one of several hurdles the Corps faces to fully embracing women.
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The Marine Corps established Wounded Warrior Battalions to aid troops with the worst mental and physical injuries. But Marines in the battalions who are suicidal or suffer from PTSD can still be discharged for misconduct.