Support for Trump is fading among active-duty troops, new poll shows
Military Times
Leo Shane
October 23, 2018
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years, leaving today’s troops evenly split over whether they’re happy with the commander in chief’s job performance, according to the results of a new Military Times poll of active-duty service members.
About 44 percent of troops had a favorable view of Trump’s presidency, the poll showed, compared to 43 percent who disapproved.
The results from the survey, conducted over the course of September and October, suggest a gradual decline in troops’ support of Trump since he was elected in fall 2016, when a similar Military Times poll showed that 46 percent of troops approved of Trump compared to 37 percent who disapproved. That nine-point margin of support now appears gone.
During that same period, the number of neutral respondents has dwindled from almost 17 percent to about 13 percent, suggesting political polarization inside the military community has intensified in recent years.
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'A Little Broken' - First Responders Grapple With Unseen Scars of the 2017 Fire Siege
KQED News
Sukey Lewis
October 12, 2018
Shortly after Lucas Boek joined his local fire department, he saw a veteran firefighter walk into firehouse and drop all his gear. “’That’s it, I’m done,’” Boek remembers the man saying. “’I can’t do this anymore.’ And he left.”
A Cal Fire firefighter watches for spot fires from a controlled burn at the edge of the Ranch Fire in 2018. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)
Over the years, the incident stuck with him.
Now, Boek is sitting and talking with two other men in a Ukiah high school classroom. Between the three — medic Corey Bender, 44, and firefighters Lucas Boek, 40, and Brendan Turner, 46 — they have nearly 60 years of experience in emergency response. Sixty years of running toward car accidents, gunshots and flames.
But it’s not the physical danger of the work that these guys are talking about today.
It’s something else, something that until recently has been pretty difficult to discuss openly: their mental health. A 2017 study found that police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Another survey done last year by the University of Phoenix found that 85 percent of first responders have symptoms related to mental health issues.
Navy: Seabee shot and killed in southern Mississippi
Associated Press
October 15, 2018
BILOXI, Miss. — The Navy says a sailor has been shot and killed in southern Mississippi.
News outlets reported the shooting happened early Saturday morning at military housing belonging to Keesler Air Force Base.
The shooting did not take place at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport but the Seabee served there. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class George M. Bell/Navy)
Spokesman Brian Lamar said the dead sailor was assigned to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.
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Veteran’s military mementos stolen, wants them back
FOX 4KC.com
October 15, 2018
MOBILE, Ala. — A Mobile veteran served our country overseas more than a decade ago, but the mementos he brought home were stolen.
Carl Sanders Jr. served for four years and had one tour in Iraq.
Most of his memories were packed up in a duffel bag, but it ended up being stolen.
“I don’t regret one second of anything I’ve done serving my country and the people I served with,” he said.
To remember that time in his life he packed up a bag filled with most of his memories. Things like an Iraqi flag and helmet he found on a mission, but most importantly his uniform.
“It’s the boots I lived in, I fought in,” Sanders said. “A soldiers boots and soldiers uniform that’s more important than anything.”
Losing those keepsakes is difficult for Sanders to swallow as he tries to never forget his military service.
“Those things actually reminded me of who I served with, where I’ve been, some of the things we’ve had to do and I don’t ever want to forget that,” Sanders said. “I don’t ever want to let that go.”
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Fort Campbell soldier shot dead, spouse in custody
Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle
Jason Alt
Oct. 15, 2018
A Fort Campbell soldier was shot and killed Sunday night at the army base, and the soldier's spouse is in custody.
Shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday, all gates on Fort Campbell were closed for about 55 minutes while military police investigated the shooting in on-post housing, according to a news release.
The names of those involved were being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.
"Our hearts and prayers are with the families involved. Any loss of a soldier has a profound impact on the entire Army family," said Brig. Gen. K. Todd Royar, acting senior commander, 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell, in the release.
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