Q & A: Investigating the Military’s Misconduct Discharge

On May 20, 2013 By

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries are the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But another problem is starting to emerge after these soldiers come home and seek treatment. In a three-part series that started yesterday in the Colorado Springs Gazette, investigative reporter Dave Philipps examines the growing number [...]

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Ghost Army Feature

Ghost Army Doc on PBS in May

On April 30, 2013 By

Ghost Army

Back in 2011, we produced this slide show and radio feature (above) on local artist/teacher George Vandersluis and his involvement in the “Ghost Army,” a unit of WWII artists who created a modern Trojan horse: mass deceptions including inflatable fake tanks and sound effects records that helped the allies win the [...]

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Afghans Want U.S. To Clarify Troop Level Post 2014

On April 5, 2013 By

The United States has pledged to remain committed to Afghanistan beyond the year 2014. That’s when the U.S. and its NATO allies are set to hand over the security mission to Afghan forces. But the U.S. has not yet said how many troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014, and that is causing concern among Afghans.

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Haven Behavioral War Heroes Hospital: A Profile

On March 19, 2013 By

Ten years after the start of the war in Iraq, veterans are increasingly struggling with substance abuse, which often goes hand in hand with post-traumatic stress disorder. A recent study shows that one out of five active duty service members say they drink heavily. As the numbers grow, so does the need for programs aimed at helping heal these invisible wounds. One of the places offering such programs is Haven Behavioral War Heroes Hospital in Pueblo, which opened in 2009. KRCC’s Shanna Lewis has this profile of the facility, which brings together staff with military backgrounds to focus on soldiers coming home from current wars.

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Captain Charles Vernon Bush. Photo: Air Force Academy

Memorial Service at AFA for 1st African American Grad

On March 15, 2013 By

A memorial service is scheduled tomorrow for the first African American graduate of the Air Force Academy. KRCC’s Hannah Sohl has more.

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Sequestration Impact on Local Military Establishments

On March 1, 2013 By

With the pending sequestration comes across the board government cuts, but many entities are already feeling the heat, including the Department of Defense. KRCC’s Katherine-Claire O’Connor has more on what that means for some local military establishments.

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Military to Extend Some Benefits to Same-Sex Partners

On February 13, 2013 By

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has announced that the military will extend some benefits to same-sex partners. KUNC’s Grace Hood has more on what the move will mean for the 26-thousand men and women serving at Fort Carson.

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AM Round-Up: Gov’s Energy Office stripped of funds; Rep. Polis moves to decriminalize marijuana; Pueblo considers lease to Ft. Carson

On February 6, 2013 By

State senators took the unusual move of voting to take away a portion of state money from the Colorado Energy office for the rest of the fiscal year…Democratic Congressman Jared Polis has introduced a bill in the House to end prohibition of marijuana at the federal level…Pueblo’s City Council is considering a proposal that would allow Fort Carson’s HAMET program, or High Altitude Mountain Environment Training, to rent space at the Pueblo Memorial Airport.

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Pueblo Memorial Airport Considers Leasing Space to Army

On February 5, 2013 By

Army helicopters may soon be flying in and out of the Pueblo Memorial Airport…

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Round-Up: Gov. signs wildfire executive orders; Sen. Udall pushes for air tanker acquisition; Chinooks arrive at Fort Carson

On January 31, 2013 By

Governor John Hickenlooper announced new initiatives yesterday to try and make Colorado better prepared for wildfires…Colorado Democratic Senator Mark Udall is urging the US Forest Service to accelerate their acquisition of eight new firefighting air tankers ahead of this year’s wildfire season…Three Chinook helicopters have been delivered to Fort Carson for a new combat aviation brigade.

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HAMET Training Begins at Fort Carson

On November 28, 2012 By

Fort Carson is hosting nearly 300 soldiers and 30 helicopters from Fort Riley in Kansas for high altitude training. KRCC’s Eliza Densmore reports.

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AM Round-Up: CS Council approves oil & gas regs and panhandling ban; HAMET training begins at Fort Carson; and more

On November 28, 2012 By

Colorado Springs City Council yesterday gave initial approval to regulations concerning oil and gas drilling within city limits…Council also voted in favor of a ban on panhandling in the downtown area…Fort Carson is hosting nearly 300 soldiers and 30 helicopters from Fort Riley in Kansas for high altitude training…Firefighters battling the Fern Lake Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park have ordered more resources to help contain the blaze.

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AM Round-Up: State’s tourism industry opens annual conference; Coloradans paying less at the pump; Marine from LaJunta who’d been MIA laid to rest; and more

On October 10, 2012 By

The state’s tourism industry kicks off a three-day annual conference today in Steamboat Springs….AAA says Coloradans are paying less at the gas pump than last week…Two of the four candidates in the race for the 3rd congressional seat will take part in a debate tonight night in Pueblo…Thirty-seven years after he was declared missing during the rescue of an American ship crew that was seized by the Khmer Rouge, a Colorado Marine native to LaJunta has been buried with military honors.

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Air Force Academy Crash Investigated

On October 2, 2012 By

Two aboard the training plane have not yet been named…

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ParcoFeature

microLECTURE: The Evolution of the Warrior Ideal and the Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

On September 20, 2012 By

Colorado College Economics and Business Professor, Lt. Col. Jim Parco (Ret.) presents a micro lecture on the relationship between the perception of the warrior ideal and the argument against the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

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missile_usarmy125

Mystery Missile Explained

On September 13, 2012 By

Confusion over an unexpected vapor trail in southern Colorado finally cleared up.

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cadets_break_re

Air Force Cadets Help Clean Biomass from Mountain Shadows

On August 29, 2012 By

It’s been two months since the Waldo Canyon fire ripped through the Mountain Shadows neighborhood, destroying nearly 350 homes in the process. As residents of the community sift through the damages, one of their own put together an effort to help clean up some of the downed trees and even the surviving vegetation. KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin reports.

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Round-Up: Defense Dept. awards another construction contract in preparation for Combat Aviation Brigade; Lawmakers seek extended emergency order

On August 24, 2012 By

The Defense Department has awarded another multimillion-dollar construction contract for a new helicopter brigade at Fort Carson…With the severe drought still gripping the region, two Colorado Republican lawmakers are asking the federal government to extend an emergency order that opened up more lands for livestock grazing and haying.

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Round-Up: Senator Udall talks federal response to the Waldo Canyon Fire

On August 10, 2012 By

Senator Mark Udall says the federal response to the Waldo Canyon Fire serves as a good example of how agencies can work together. The comment comes after a meeting yesterday known as an After Action Review with forest officials, the military, and other firefighting agencies.

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Round-Up: CS Utilities continues damage assessment; and more

On August 7, 2012 By

Crews with Colorado Springs Utilities continue to assess damages to the Northfield Water System after flash flooding last week caused significant erosion and debris flow…Two groups trying to get measures on November’s ballot turned in petition signatures yesterday…The newest class at the Air Force Academy is being formally accepted into the school’s cadet wing.

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Round-Up: State unemployment rate edges up; Three members of Armed Forces injured at shooting; and, more

On July 20, 2012 By

Colorado’s unemployment rate edged up slightly to 8.2 percent in June…Several Colorado moviegoers who watched a masked gunman shoot 71 people at a screening of the Dark Knight Rises say they initially thought his entrance was part of the film…and, the U.S. Department of Defense says three members of the Armed Forces were wounded in this morning’s movie theater shooting in Aurora and one is unaccounted for.

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Round-Up: CO Dept. of Ag says West Nile is in two horses; New naval sub to be commissioned USS Colorado

On July 19, 2012 By

The Colorado Department of Agriculture says West Nile Virus has shown up in two horses, one in Weld County, the other in Fremont County…A new naval attack submarine will bear the name of the centennial state. The last USS Colorado was decommissioned after World War II.

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Maffs

In the Cockpit: C-130 Aerial Firefighters

On July 3, 2012 By

The heavy hitters in the wildfire fighting game are the MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System) equipped C-130 Hercules cargo planes operated jointly by the National Forest Service, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves. Since the 1970′s there have been 8 C-130′s so equipped and are operated by the 302d Airlift Wing [...]

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News

Harvard School of Public Health
Scientific Tooth Fairies Investigate Neanderthal Breast-Feeding
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Our closest relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, breast-feed their offspring for several years. Some baby orangutans nurse until they are 7 years old. Researchers found a way to test ancient teeth for clues about when humans cut nursing short.
 

Getty Images
Judge: Unredeemed Borders Gift Cards Are Worthless
May 22, 2013 | NPR · A Manhattan judge upholds a lower court ruling that $210 million worth of unredeemed gift cards from the defunct book chain are no longer valid.
 

AP
Lois Lerner’s Brief And Awful Day On Capitol Hill
May 22, 2013 | NPR · The IRS bureaucrat showed up long enough at a House hearing into the scandal engulfing her agency to declare her innocence and her constitutional right to say no more.
 

Arts & Life

Courtesy Ai Weiwei
China’s Artist Provocateur Explores New Medium: Heavy Metal
May 22, 2013 | NPR · In 2011, police detained Ai Weiwei for 81 days. Now, he’s released a song that’s turned the experience into a heavy metal protest song, along with a dystopian nightmare video. The lyrics are explicit and angry. Ai says his music is for the many political prisoners who remain jailed.
Windows Media | MP3 | NPR Player | Add to NPR Player
 

American Zoetrope/Nala Films
Cannes Diary: Delusions Of ‘Gatsby’ (And Dreams Of Notoriety)
May 22, 2013 | NPR · All is Gatsbyish excess on the Croisette, where the Cannes Film Festival’s early tone might well have been set by Baz Luhrmann’s lavish film — and by Sofia Coppola’s accomplished The Bling Ring.
 

Styling The NBA
May 22, 2013 | NPR · Basketball star Carmelo Anthony is known off the court for his signature fashion flare. Host Michel Martin speaks with his stylist, Khalilah Williams-Webb, about what goes into dressing Anthony and other high-profile clients.
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Music

Courtesy of the artist
Kobo Town: A Haunted ‘Jukebox’ Filled With Caribbean Sounds
May 22, 2013 | NPR · The Toronto-based band plays a hybrid of old-school calypso, ska and other West Indian styles. But the new album Jumbie in the Jukebox doesn’t so much revive classic genres as reinvent them for a new time.
 

AFP/Getty Images
Henri Dutilleux, Leading French Composer, Dies At 97
May 22, 2013 | NPR · The composer, who never fit into any particular school of composition, will be remembered for a relatively small quantity of perfectly realized, richly textured works created for some of the 20th century’s leading virtuosos.
 

Courtesy Ai Weiwei
China’s Artist Provocateur Explores New Medium: Heavy Metal
May 22, 2013 | NPR · In 2011, police detained Ai Weiwei for 81 days. Now, he’s released a song that’s turned the experience into a heavy metal protest song, along with a dystopian nightmare video. The lyrics are explicit and angry. Ai says his music is for the many political prisoners who remain jailed.
Windows Media | MP3 | NPR Player | Add to NPR Player
 

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