Military & Veterans

Every three days, an Oregon veteran commits suicide. The problem has reached critical mass, prompting the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and Governor Kate Brown to make veteran suicide prevention a top priority.

The new interim Director of the Roseburg Veterans Administration Health Care system held a town hall this week on the Medical Center campus. This comes as the VA Office of the Medical Inspector prepares to release a full report on its investigation into complaints of bullying and a “toxic culture” at the facility.

The Director of the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Roseburg, Doug Paxton, has stepped down. He’s the 2nd high profile resignation since a VA investigation of mismanagement at the facility.

Last month, the city of Springfield unveiled a new memorial that’s dedicated to women veterans. It’s one of only a handful of monuments across the nation that honors women in the U.S. military. KLCC’s Rachael McDonald spoke with two veterans who helped create the memorial.

Investigators from Veterans Affairs in Washington D.C. will be in Oregon next week to visit the Eugene and Roseburg V.A. healthcare facilities.

U.S. Army soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (in Washington State) are helping fight fires in southern Oregon. 200 soldiers have been deployed to the Umpqua North Complex of Fires, which has burned nearly 40-thousand acres east of Roseburg.

Across the Eugene-Springfield area, people gathered in parks and cemeteries to honor those Americans who gave their lives in times of war.

A formidable weapon against the Axis powers is visiting the Eugene Airport this weekend.  The World War Two-era bomber – a B-17 Flying Fortress called the “Aluminum Overcast” – will offer visitors a chance to learn of the aircraft's role in disrupting the Nazi supply chain.  KLCC’s Brian Bull reports:  

One of the most famous bombers of World War II is in Eugene, this week.  A B-17 Flying Fortress --deemed the “Madras Maiden” -- touched down Monday, as part of an ongoing effort to educate people about the war against the Axis…and the airmen who served.  KLCC’s Brian Bull reports. 

Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy visited the White House this week to be honored by First Lady Michelle Obama for the city’s work to house homeless veterans.

On Veteran’s Day, Friday, the City of Springfield will unveil a new Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial at Willamalane Park.

Not everyone can trek to our nation's capitol to see the real thing. So for the past 30 years, a smaller version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall has traveled the country.

On Thursday the replica wall opened at Skinner Butte Park in Eugene.

Congressman Peter DeFazio has announced federal grant funding of nearly $1 million to help homeless veterans in southwestern Oregon.

A California couple has donated a valuable lot of land in Roseburg. They’ve asked a local non-profit to develop it for veteran housing.

Wednesday marks the one year anniversary of the death of Brian Babb. The Oregon Army National Guard veteran was shot by Eugene Police while suffering from a mental health crisis. His family is holding a benefit Wednesday in Eugene to celebrate Babb’s life.

There is a memorial to U.S. women veterans in Washington D.C. The City of Springfield wants to build one in Oregon. Women vets met Monday to talk about what it will look like.

The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs is investigating a security breach that may have compromised the personal information of nearly 1000 vets.

Last November, First Lady Michelle Obama challenged Mayors around the country to "make a commitment to end veteran homelessness in 2015." The mayors of Eugene and Springfield rose to the challenge and progress has been made over the past year in "Operation 365". There is still a lot of work to do to house veterans in our community.

Nearly 300 soldiers with the Oregon Army National Guard will be honored in a formal demobilization ceremony Saturday in Medford.

The soldiers are with the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The unit is based in Southern Oregon and has soldiers from cities including Roseburg, Coos Bay and Grants Pass. They deployed to Afghanistan in September of 2014.

Ingersoll: "Much of their mission is classified so I can't go into specifics, but they were all over Afghanistan performing security operations."

On this Memorial Day, hundreds of Oregon families are celebrating with their soldiers who've recently returned from overseas deployments.

During the past month, nearly 800 soldiers with the Oregon Army National Guard have completed deployments ranging from 9 months to more than a year. Some provided security in Afghanistan during the drawdown of troops. Others with an engineer battalion worked on soldier housing in Kuwait and U.S. military facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan. Sgt. Phillip Steiner is a spokesman with the Oregon Army National Guard.

Congress gave Newport’s Coast Guard air station a one-year reprieve after a threatened December closure. The community still fears they’ll lose their rescue helicopter. This week, opposing parties filed declarations in court.

A Washington D.C. Coast Guard official filed documents in federal court claiming the closure was only a proposal. In response, the Newport Fisherman’s Wives filed a contradicting statement. Ginny Goblirsch with that group says the Coast Guard’s decision had been presented as final: