Military

In The Moment ... February 8, 2018 Show 273 Hour 1

Senator Rounds serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee subcommittee on readiness. He joins us  from Washington to discuss the bipartisan compromise to increase military and domestic spending.

In The Moment ... August 7, 2017 Show 150 Hour 1

South Dakota ends the 2017 fiscal year with a nearly $8 million surplus.  Despite revenues being lower than expected the state cut enough spending to prevent a deficit.  SDPB's Andrew Bork looks at the specific categories of the state budget to explain how it happened.

South Dakota Secretary of Veterans Affairs Larry Zimmerman joins Dakota Midday for a look at topics that pertain to veterans throughout the state. He also talks about his "Veterans Bucket List" which encourages citizens to reach out to vets in a variety of ways during the year.

Sunday, August 7th is Purple Heart Recognition Day nationwide.  

In South Dakota officials are holding a rededication ceremony for the state’s Purple Heart memorial in Pierre.

The Purple Heart is awarded to veterans who were either wounded or killed in combat.

Governor Dennis Daugaard has proclaimed Monday, June 27, as "Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Day.”  He wants South Dakota residents to consider causes and treatments of injuries and conditions that come after stressful events. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries are more commonly known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders.  While such conditions can happen to anyone who has gone through a difficult period, Veterans Administration psychologist, Doctor Kyle Lythgoe, says many military members have trouble asking for outside help, even if they really need it.

Congress is working on the National Defense Authorization Act. It passed the U.S. House and is currently before the Senate. Not everyone agrees on what the measure should look like.

South Dakota has more than 6,000 women military veterans. Kayla Williams is the newly appointed director of the Center for Women Veterans at the Department of Veteran Affairs. (She also recently participated in a Literature and Medicine conversation in Sioux Falls via conference call, days before her national appointment was announced.) She sits down with Dakota Midday host Lori Walsh to talk about her new role, how VA plans to serve the largest growing population of American veterans, and why some women don’t even call themselves veterans.

Ben Jones is Dean of Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of History at Dakota State University. He’s an Air Force veteran and he’s taught at the Air Force Academy. He also served as an advisor to the National Military Academy in Afghanistan. 

He joins Dakota Midday host Lori Walsh to discuss his new book "Eisenhower's Guerillas: The Jedburghs, The Maquis, and the Liberation of France."

For more information about the book, click below:

When he was around ten years old, Faith-native Scott Petz saw the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds at Ellsworth Air Force Base. He remembers watching the pride, precision and professionalism of the Air Show and made it his goal to be part of the demonstration squadron. 25 years later, Major Scott Petz was back at Ellsworth earlier this month as a member of the Thunderbirds. He flies the No. 8 jet as the advance pilot/narrator for the squadron. 

Dozens of National Guard soldiers are deploying to Kuwait. They are set to spend nine months overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom – Spartan Shield. The deployment begins in February. Members of the 196th are preparing for their time in the Middle East, and they aren’t alone.

Over the 240 years since American colonists first took up arms against the British Empire on Lexington Green, the branches of the military and their various uniforms have played an important role in our country’s history. SDPB’s Jim Kent recently visited a military uniform display at the 1881 Courthouse Museum in Custer to explore that history and the changes in how our servicemen – and women – dress…both on the front lines and off.

The military order of the Purple Heart chapter of Sioux Falls held its 6th annual conference on Saturday. The 30 some purple heart Veterans were all wounded in combat from WWII to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

From their bright purple shirts, to their wheelchairs, canes, and service dogs, Purple Heart veterans share a bond. Department Commander Mark T. Williamson says the experience of being wounded in action lasts long after the conflict stops. 

Charles Widener, Director of the Arbegast Materials Processing and Joining Lab at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, discussed Cold Spray Technology which was developed at the school.  It received funding from the Defense Department and from the South Dakota office of economic development.  Cold Spray Technology is used to repair metal, like on airplanes or large machines.

Two-hundred fifty South Dakota soldiers are deploying to the Pacific Theater. The men and women are military members with the 114th Fighter Wing in Sioux Falls. The Air Force National Guard unit is tasked with using tactical fighters to destroy enemy forces, supplies and equipment. Soldiers gathered Sunday for a mobilization ceremony. 

The thick soles of tan-toned boots hit smooth concrete at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls.  The boots match the fatigues of the men and women who lace them up. Hundreds of pairs shuffle together in the din of the crowd.

Sioux Falls aviation artist and historian John Mollison visited about the latest project from Old Guys and their Planes, "Push Somone," the incredible story of F-4 Phantom pilots Bob Pardo and Steve Wayne.  Mollison also discussed his work as it pertains to preserving aviation history through art and the audio/visual projects on which he works with Rick Lingberg of Sioux Falls.

On a day set aside to acknowledge members of the Armed Forces, one soldier honors his civilian heroes back home. A member of the US Army Reserves 315th Engineer Battalion provided a gift to Sioux Falls Fire Fighters this Veterans Day. 

Michael Havlovic is a Fire Apparatus Operator for Sioux Falls Fire Rescue. He is a Sergeant 1st Class currently serving in Afghanistan. Havlovic had a United States flag flown over a command post at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan on September 11th. Two months later on Veterans Day, a fire captain presented that flag to Fire Chief Jim Sideras.

Two years ago Janine Stange set out on a mission to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" in every state. The Long Island native known as the National Anthem Girl is now in the home stretch with just six states left to go.

On Thursday she'll cross South Dakota off the map when she sings at the American Legion Division II Central Plain Regional Baseball Tournament in Milbank. As she has at other events, Stange will also invite people to sign thank you messages for military members and veterans.

Along with colorful fireworks, the Fourth of July is also celebrated with music. Audiences in the Black Hills have the opportunity to hear a variety of sounds with concerts by performing units from the United States Air Force Academy Band.

SDPB-TV airs "Coming Back with Wes Moore" for three consecutive Tuesdays beginning May 13 at 7:00 p.m.

Ellsworth Air Force Base is home to the 28th Bomb Wing, one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the United States Air Force.  Earlier this month, Ellsworth officials announced that the base will downsize personnel this year as part of a nationwide shift in Air Force funding priorities.  As the military draws down troops in Afghanistan, the Air Force is developing new aircraft, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the KC-46 tanker and a new long-range strike bomber.  The talk of downsizing personnel comes at the same time Ellsworth has undertaken base improvements and renov

The Department of Defense wants to increase the airspace it uses to train its B1 bombers and other aircraft.  The proposed expansion quadruples the training airspace the military currently uses, covering a huge swath over parts of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.  Air Force officials say expanding the training airspace for military aircraft makes practice missions more like the real world.  But farmers like Anita Lee in Meade County are urging the federal government not to approve the expansion project.  Pilot and South Dakota aviation historian Norma Kramer also expressed h