Steve Walsh
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 during the term of three governors.
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During the war, young men often tried to join the National Guard to avoid being sent overseas. But that war changed the nature of the guard — paving the way for today's deployments abroad. -
Indiana's National Guard is fighting to stay relevant after the base has quieted dramatically now that troops have come home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. -
Veterans may go outside the VA for private medical care if they had to wait more than 30 days for an appointment or live more than 40 miles from a VA facility. The location rule has been updated.
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Last year, Congress tried to make getting care for vets easier by giving them the option of going outside of VA facilities. Seems pretty simple, but making that rule work hasn't been all that easy.
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Veterans service officers often help veterans successfully navigate the complicated benefits process. For instance, not all vets in Indiana know about VSOs or have access to them. -
With gasoline prices on the rise and pressure mounting to make better use of domestic energy, natural gas vehicles are making a comeback. Climate change is also driving demand — natural gas produces 20 to 30 percent fewer carbon emissions than diesel.
